New Test Results Offer Hope on Jet Fuel Spill

There is some good news regarding the jet fuel spill that has been contaminating groundwater near Kirtland Air Force Base.

New preliminary test results indicate that after drilling an array of 116 test wells on the base and in Albuquerque’s southeast heights, the Air Force may have identified how far a plume of fuel-tainted water has spread. And — if the plume were to continue acting as it has been — it appears to be decades away from affecting the city’s drinking water supply.

Jim Davis, head of the New Mexico Environment Department’s Resource Protection Division, said “the probability the wells will be affected by this contamination plume is relatively small.”

This is important because it could buy the Air Force time to continue its cleanup efforts — which should remain a top priority. The Air Force has taken ownership of the problem and is close to activating a large pump system that will suck fuel out of the ground. Smaller pumps have been burning off fuel for several years.

In 1999, the Air Force discovered that jet fuel had been leaking, possibly for several decades, from an underground pipe at its storage depot. The leak was stopped, and the entire system has since been replaced. Estimates for lost fuel range from a few million gallons to 24 million gallons. In 2007, Air Force officials discovered the fuel had reached the aquifer, 500 feet below ground. The Air Force set aside $50 million for current efforts to identify the size of the plume.

An Air Force spokeswoman described the new results as “encouraging” but said further tests are needed to ensure the results are accurate.

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority was also cautiously optimistic.

“We’re happy that the first sampling looks clean, but I think we need to have more sampling events,” said John Stomp, the utility’s chief operating officer.

Clearly, water sampling and testing will become a routine part of Kirtland’s mission for many years, as will the continued removal of the fuel and its contaminants.

But if these latest preliminary test results prove reliable, there is less reason to fear the loss of pristine drinking water for the city.