Aqua North Carolina Turns on Tap to Provide New, Clean Water Supply for Families in Wake Forest Neighborhood
In May 2013, Aqua North Carolina, Inc. (Aqua) turned on the tap to provide clean drinking water to 13 more homes in a Wake Forest neighborhood where homeowners’ private wells were found to be contaminated by solvents. In total, Aqua worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to connect 22 homes in the neighborhood on and around Stony Hill Road to Aqua’s public drinking water supply.
“Aqua is proud that we can help more Wake Forest families get water that is regularly tested and complies with state and federal health standards,” said Troy Rendell, area manager for Aqua. Rendell noted that the situation underscored the benefits to customers of public water systems. Unlike private well owners, Aqua must adhere to federal and state laws that require consistent and frequent tests for contaminants.
In 2005, a private well was first identified as having been contaminated with a volatile organic compound (VOC) called TCE. Since then, additional private wells in the area were found to have been contaminated. Federal and state environmental officials believe two former circuit board assembly companies are the source of the contamination.
Aqua has been providing water and wastewater utility service in North Carolina for more than 30 years and serves about 84,000 homes in 53 counties. Aqua’s public water supply wells serve customers in the surrounding subdivisions of Hasentree, Kenwood Reserve and Stony Bend/Covington Ridge.
Aqua tests the water in its wells regularly. In response to developments involving private wells in the area, the EPA and Aqua collected and tested special confirmation samples from each of Aqua’s wells. Neither TCE nor any other regulated VOC contaminant was detected in any of the samples.