CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to treat the water in a Cheyenne city well contaminated by an industrial solvent used at a Cold War-era missile site, city and state officials said.
“I think the Army Corps listened to what we had to say and appeared to be responsive,” said Bud Spillman, water plant manager for the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities.
Jane Francis, geological supervisor for the state’s Water Quality Division, said federal officials agreed Friday to install carbon treatment units to remove unsafe levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, from the well.
TCE, which was used by the military to clean nuclear missile parts at sites near Cheyenne, was first detected in city water in 1993.
Long-term exposure through drinking water can cause liver problems and may increase the risk of cancer, according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
Since 2003, the contamination “plume” has expanded, contaminating three city water wells and some private wells.
Until December 2008, the city’s water treatment system was able to remove all detectable levels of TCE from the well water.
City officials had to shut down the Finnerty well in December after tests showed TCE levels had doubled and were too much for city filtration systems.
Francis said the carbon treatment units should take care of the problem and could even be used to more thoroughly treat water from other city wells that contain TCE.
In the long term, Francis said her office and the city will continue to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to find a suitable way to clean up the TCE plume.
