Council to consider letter addressing water quality concerns

The Eureka City Council is set to consider a letter from the mayor to the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, a subdivision of the California Environmental Protection Agency, regarding a potential water contamination hazard.

The letter is on the agenda for the March 2 meeting as a consent calendar item. Unless pulled, all items under consent are typically approved with a single vote with no further readings or discussions.

The letter expresses concern over the nowdefunct McNamara and Peepe Lumber Mill site, as the department issued an imminent and substantial determination for the site in April 2008, with little progress being made in addressing the pollutants on site.

State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assemblyman Jim Wood (DSanta Rosa) will also be receiving copies of the letter.

The lumber mill is located between Arcata and Blue Lake by the side of the Mad River, just upstream from Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District collectors which provide water to two-thirds of Humboldt County residents.

These collectors also supply all of Eureka’s water.

The reduced use of water wells in this industrial zone has increased the probability of contaminants originating from the mill to reach groundwater stores, causing concern regarding HBMWD water quality, according to the agenda report.

The letter urges action from the DTSC and other state agencies in cleaning up the site to prevent the water supply from becoming contaminated, as the money allocated by the department for the McNamara and Peepe Lumber Mill site will only be spent on investigating the site.

“We understand that budgets are limited. However, we encourage DTSC and the state to redouble its efforts to immediately identify and utilize all available funding sources to clean up the former McNamara and Peepe site to prevent contamination of our drinking water source — the Mad River,” the letter states.

Brian Gerving, Eureka’s director of public works, said the city’s water supply has not had any issues caused by the site as of this date and all involved local agencies closely monitor water quality.

“There hasn’t been any evidence of any contamination or any degradation of the safety of the city’s drinking water,” he said.

However, pushing to clean up the site is part of an effort to maintain a safe water supply.

“We just want to ensure that (contamination) does not happen, and that’s why we want the DTSC to better prioritize the cleanup of the McNamara and Peepe site,” Gerving said regarding the letter’s drafting.

The city of Eureka posted its last drinking water consumer confidence report in 2019, available at https://bit.ly/3bEBP58.