Almost two years after being passed by Athens City Council, the Wellhead Protection Plan is still in the planning stages.
The plan, which aims to protect the municipal water system, is in the educational stages, said Athens City Councilwoman Carol Patterson, D-2nd Ward. A team is educating both businesses and local residents.
Some of the educational themes include alerting businesses about what they can and cannot do, as well as educating residents about how to dispose of car oil and the dangers of using lawn chemicals, Patterson said. It is especially important that residents in the protection areas are educated because their actions have a bigger effect on the wellheads.
There are a lot of misconceptions about the plan, which was passed July 29, 2002, Patterson said. Many are unsure what is and is not allowed within it. For example, a restaurant is allowed to be located on Columbus Road, but it would be monitored by the city and there would be certain regulations and standards business owners would have to follow, such as their drainage procedures.
The ordinance is temporary and will be replaced when a permanent plan is written, she said.
Officials hope to have a plan finalized by the summer of 2005, said Crystal Kynard, manager for the Athens City Water Treatment Plant.
The team also is developing protection strategies for high-risk areas and continuing to work on a plan for emergency response, she said.
Meetings to plan for GEO probing, a test where workers take samples from the soil to gather more information about ground water, will take place this summer, Kynard said.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency sets guidelines and endorses sections of the plan. The agency takes a source inventory during which it goes to facilities and collects information on chemical use and disposal and also studies the recharge and delineation areas, which are areas that contribute to the water that flows into aquifers, Kynard said.
Two businesses, Hutton's Garage at 8675 Armitage Road
and Bargain Billy's Salvage Store at 4 S. Plains Road, have not submitted inventories. The inventories include a list of chemicals used in the store, how they are used and disposed.
While the fact that these businesses have not submitted inventories does not affect the overall plan, notices were sent to these businesses in April 2003, Kynard said.
In relation to the plan, council members also are looking at flow patterns in local golf courses and the feasibility of proposals for chemical-free golf courses, said Councilwoman Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward. Council members also want to implement a more preventative plan in which dangerous chemicals are prohibited, instead of allowing dangerous chemicals and then cleaning them up before they go near the water supply.
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Janet Nester
