The Wellhead Protection team is reaching the last step in the development of a plan to protect Athens' water supply while several area businesses continue to collect inventory.
The Wellhead Protection Project is a temporary ordinance that would describe the rules for allowed and prohibited land use in the Wellhead area near the Hocking River. The plan is moving onto its third step, which is the developing and writing of the actual plans by team members.
The first and second steps - determining the recharge area for the wells and taking an inventory of all the facilities and the recharge area - were approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Recently, the plan has experienced a slowdown because some businesses did not reply in time for the plan's inventory of area businesses to be completed. Inventory includes general business information and construction updates.
It is taking a little longer than thought
said Councilwoman Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward. But we have to get it done right.
Any business within the vicinity of the river can potentially contaminate the water and was included in the inventory, Bain said.
Seven area businesses did not respond in time for the inventory, and the city is working with four of the facility owners to get inventory completed.
Three locations at Ohio University are in the process of completing inventory. These include OU's Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex, the OU Driving Range and the OU Innovation Center, which responded but failed to submit new construction information.
Crystal Kynard, manager for the Athens City Water Treatment Plant, said one council member offered to contact Frank's Bait Carryout & Confectionery, 101 Central Ave., to help collect the necessary inventory.
Other businesses that had no response are Hutton's Garage, 8675 Armitage Road; Wazoo Ltd. Bike Rental, 9980 Armitage Road; and Bargain Billy's Salvage Store, 4 S. Plains Road, Kynard said.
Kynard, Athens Fire Department; Eagon Associates, the ground water consultants; and Athens Code Enforcement office are involved with the inventory and system analysis. A county representative and two business owners are also part of the team.
The inventory is to give a database of any potential hazards out there. As a team we will look at all those facilities and see what types of strategies need to be if any
for those chemicals
Kynard said.
As an Ohio EPA requirement, the team must include education, outreach and ground water monitoring components in the plan.
(The team) should have strategies to address any contaminate when complete
Kynard said.
Eagon Associates is developing the plan for Athens after completing reports on the inventory sheets sent to them. The Ohio EPA has endorsed the sheets.
Meetings in upcoming months will discuss how the Wellhead Protection team will manage a potential contaminated source, as well as how to prevent contamination in the first place, said Christopher Cobel, an environmental scientist with Eagon.
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