The samples were collected on Oct. 11 and Oct. 16, and the analyses were conducted by Eurofins Eaton Analytical, an EPA-certified laboratory in California.
A third sample was collected on Oct. 23 which is currently out for testing.
GWA's Y-15 water well in Yigo was outfitted with an interim water treatment system on Oct. 12. Photo by Skyler Obispo
“After two more consecutive weeks of satisfactory laboratory results, GWA will confer with [the Guam Environmental Protection Agency] to lift the ‘Do Not Drink without Treatment’ advisory issued to affected GWA customers in the Yigo/Santa Rosa area,” GWA said.
Until then, the utility will continue to operate the GAC treatment system at Y-15 and until the permanent treatment system is completed.
According to Oct. 21 dieldrin sampling results from 124 GWA wells, 83 locations showed a running annual average of 0.00 to 0.10 parts per billion (ppb), while 32 locations had no traces of dieldrin. Two locations — D-17 in Mangilao and Y-15 in Yigo — tested at 0.2 to 0.5 ppb and 0.5 ppb or higher, respectively.
D-17 according to GWA has been offline since July 31 with treatment under construction.
On Oct. 10, GWA launched its point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment system programs which supplied NSF 53 or NSF 401 certified treatment systems to affected customers or provided reimbursements to customers who had purchased their own systems.
“While the interim GAC system provides strong treatment performance at the facility level, the POE program offers an additional safeguard and peace of mind for customers until GWA’s permanent GAC treatment system is fully operational,” the utility said. mbj
West Virginia Attorney General John B. “JB” McCuskey is leading a coalition of 21 state AGs asking the Supreme Court of the United States to protect the right of states to manage their own environmental permitting.
The Guam Solid Waste Authority discontinued its bulky waste self-haul service at the Harmon, Agat, and Malojloj residential transfer stations effective June 1, officially reverting to an appointment-only curbside collection model.
The USS George Washington left its forward-deployed port of Yakuska in Japan on May 30 for its spring deployment on patrol in the Indo-Pacific, according to media reports.
The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office indicted Paul Chen, former director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam, which serves Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, for allegedly exploiting his official position to execute multiple fraud and asset misappropriation schemes totaling more than $130,000.
