Fort McCoy's Directorate of Public Works ensures post drinking water stays safe

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Soldiers at Fort McCoy for training in Combat Support Training Exercise 78-18-03 fill up a water buffalo March 8, 2018, at a water-filling point on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. The water-filling points are managed by the Directorate of Public Works at Fort McCoy. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

03.23.2018

Courtesy Story

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

The Directorate of Public Works (DPW) works hard to ensure that everyone on Fort McCoy has access to safe, clean drinking water, DPW officials said.

Fort McCoy’s potable (safe-to-drink) water is some of the very best in Wisconsin. In fact, bottled water regulations are less stringent than the potable water regulations that Fort McCoy is required to follow.

The installation obtains potable water from the sandstone bedrock aquifer beneath the post. Six wells located southeast of the cantonment area provide all potable water for the cantonment area.

Potable wells are also located at South Post Housing, the airfield, and in the range areas.

Water quality is tested on a regular basis by the DPW Water and Wastewater Branch, and results are available in the annual Consumer Confidence Report at https://ofmpub.epa.gov/apex/safewater/f?p=136:103:::NO.

Fort McCoy has procedures in place to ensure the safety of personnel and residents if testing ever reveals the water is not safe to drink.

The DPW Environmental Compliance Branch is responsible for investigating and cleaning up all contaminated sites on Fort McCoy.

To date, there have been 45 contaminated sites caused by activities on the post. Forty-three of the sites have been cleaned up to Wisconsin and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements, and monitoring is ongoing at one of these sites. None of these sites have contaminated the installation’s potable wells.

Three of the contaminated sites are Fire Training Burn Pits (FTBPs), of which one is. Two FTBPs are located at the airfield (one active/ one closed), with the third FTBP located beneath the tactical vehicle storage lot north of the Equipment Concentration Site (ECS)-67.

Past use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), used to extinguish solvent fires during training, contaminated shallow groundwater with perfluorinated compounds — perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctonoic acid (PFOA).

Studies have shown that PFOA and PFOS may cause adverse health effects, including liver, kidney, and immune system problems and cancer. Concentrations of PFOS in shallow groundwater north of ECS-67 have been found at levels that are as high as 120 parts per billion, which is greater than the EPA’s drinking-water health advisory level of 0.07 parts per billion.

All of the PFOS/PFOA contamination is located in the groundwater within the sand on top of the bedrock aquifer. It is unlikely that PFOA or PFOS will enter the bedrock aquifer. PFOS/PFOA concentrations beneath Fort McCoy only move in the direction of groundwater flow, which beneath ECS-67 is west, while the cantonment area wells are 2 miles to the southeast.

Similarly, the PFOA/PFOS contamination at the airfield is located in the groundwater in the sand above the bedrock aquifer. Based upon groundwater flow patterns, the risk of the airfield well becoming contaminated is minimal.

Army Environmental Command in San Antonio is in the process of cleaning up PFOS/PFOA groundwater contamination at all affected installations, including Fort McCoy.

While none of the potable wells at Fort McCoy are contaminated, sometimes water in in the buildings is not clear or has a bad taste. This is usually caused by length of time the water has not been run and the type and age of the plumbing.

When water sits in pipes over a weekend or holiday, it can absorb some of the materials in the pipes, which can affect the color and taste of the water. If the water is allowed to run for several minutes, the color and taste usually improve.

There are no lead plumbing pipes in any Fort McCoy buildings. Therefore, lead is not a problem in Fort McCoy drinking water.

(Article prepared by the Directorate of Public Works and Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office.)

• Date Taken: 03.23.2018
• Date Posted: 03.23.2018 10:11
• Story ID: 270403
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US