Bad water risk at air bases
Drinking water at homes close to Ohakea Air Force base is to be tested out of concern a firefighting spray foam may have contaminated supplies.
The foam was used in training by defence staff at Base Woodbourne, in Marlborough, and Ohakea, in Manawatu¯ . Commercial airfields may also be affected.
Properties near the air bases were told yesterday defence staff wanted their consent to obtain water samples from wells, drains or streams on their properties for testing.
Government agencies are investigating potential water contamination as levels of two chemical compounds, PFOS and PFOA, found by the New Zealand Defence Force, are above guidelines for groundwater at these sites. The compounds were banned from use under the Stockholm Convention in 2006.
About 60 properties near the Ohakea base, mostly dairy farms, could be affected by the contamination.
Residents are being offered an alternative water supply until the test results came back, likely in January.
A Manawatu¯ dairy farmer, who did not wish to be named, said he was frustrated by the lack of information.
‘‘We have a farm [bordering] right on the base. They rang us up a while ago telling us they were going to get some water, but they didn’t tell us what for – you’d think they’d let you know. But I guess they wanted to keep it quiet.’’
Water for the farm comes from a bore on the property, but people don’t drink from it, he said.
He wanted the agencies involved to front up at a community meeting.
‘‘Letting you know in a letter is pretty s .... If contaminants were found in the milk, that’s money to us. We want to know what they are testing for and what the results are.
‘‘I’d like to know what’s going on, but there’s not a whole lot you can do – what are going to do, ring the police? It’s all being done inhouse.’’
Nearby resident Bonnie Wapp said she thought the information provided in yesterday’s letter was good.
‘‘The ministry says the chemicals are in everyday products, so it doesn’t really bother me.’’
Her family’s drinking water came from rainwater, so their supply wasn’t affected.
Ministry for the Environment spokeswoman Laurie Edwards said the Defence Force had known that PFAS and PFOA were present at Ohakea above acceptable guidelines since June.
In September, tests revealed the potential for PFOS or PFOA to move beyond the Ohakea base boundary. However, the drinking water on the Ohakea and Woodbourne bases was found safe to drink, Edwards said.
Tests on milk produced from farms neighbouring Ohakea did notdetect the chemical compounds above reporting limits.
Environment Minister David Parker said properties close to the bases were still being checked for contaminated water, but advice from health officials so far was that there was no acute human health risk.
There were still many unanswered questions about how often the foam was used, where and who by.
‘‘Whether it was used more widely by other departments of government, we don’t know yet.
‘‘We don’t know how often the fire service used similar foams in their training purposes. It appears its most concentrated use is probably at airports.’’
The ministry was not aware of any commercial airports carrying out testing for contamination. The Defence Force hasn’t received new supplies of the foam since 2002.