PRA warns of potential contaminated water in Perkasie wells

Around 165 homes in Perkasie that are not connected to the public water system may have wells with contaminated water, according to the Perkasie Regional Authority. PRA presented its report about TCE contamination in Perkasie ground water Nov. 5 to Perkasie Borough Council.

The well water contains traces of TCE, a contaminant that may cause cancer, according to PRA Manager Gary Winton.

TCE has also been known to cause respiratory diseases in children, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report.

The residents in those 165 homes KDYH EHHn nRWLfiHG DERuW WKH FRntamination several times and were given payment plan options, said Winton in a phone call.

“TCE ... will not go away anytime soon,” Bruno Mercuri, the hydrogeologist for Perkasie, said at Monday’s meeting.

The borough discussed a plan for when residents in those homes move, the new residents would have to connect to public water.

“I’m all for connecting them tomorrow,” Winton said.

Winton said, however, that those residents have been resistant to changing over to public water.

It would cost around $5,000 to $7,000 to connect to the public water supply, Winton said.

PRA suggested that the borough expand the ground water restriction area throughout the entire borough.

“vou’ll see that Perkasie is dotted with an enormous number of potential sources of contamination,” Mercuri said, in reference to a map given to council.

The borough decided to talk about expansion in the next coming weeks.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the borough announced it would waive permit fees for property reconstruction related to Hurricane Sandy. Residents will have until the end of the 2012 year to take advantage of no permit fees.

Borough Manager Daniel Olpere also gave a hurricane report Monday.

“We were pretty well-prepared, but I also think we were very lucky,” Olpere said. “We could have been hit pretty hard.”

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The borough discussed ways to improve communication between residents and the borough offiFH DERuW HPHUJHnFy VLWuDWLRnV, besides using the website. The borough has already launched an email newsletter, for which not many residents have signed up, Olpere said. The borough also uses ReadyNotifyPa, an emergency noWLfiFDWLRn SURJUDP WKDW VHnGV Dn email or a text message to residents who sign up for the program. Olpere encouraged residents to sign up for it.

Also on Monday, council President Matt Aigeldinger said he would like to see the borough help the Pennridge FISH organizDWLRn, D IRRG SDnWUy, finG D nHw building.

Pennridge FISH currently houses its operation in a section of the Perkasie Regional Authority operations center building in Perkasie. The authority, however, recently broke ground on a new building in West Rockhill and plans to move into the new facility by the middle of August or beginning of September of next year, leaving Pennridge FISH without a home.