t
Status Update for the Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility
b
The Water Authority continues monitor the progress of corrective action activities being conducted by the Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) and the Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) to address the Bulk Fuels Facility Spill that has contaminated the aquifer near the Ridgecrest Well Field. Recent activities have included the following:
Continued drilling of the sentinel wells by the U.S. Geological Survey on behalf of AFCEC;
Planning for drilling of additional monitoring wells to further characterize the depth and length of the dissolved phase ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume;
AFCEC has begun solicitation for a contractor to install the first phase of a "pump and treat" system that will begin collapsing the EDB plume closer to the KAFB boundary and away from the Ridgecrest well field.
Also, some members of the public have raised concerns regarding the potential impacts to the entire Water Authority service area in the event the KAFB Bulk Fuels Facility contamination enters a drinking water well. The Water Authority Governing Board recently passed resolution R-14-11 that declares that the Water Authority will not allow EDB at any detectable level to enter the drinking water system. If a production well or wells need to be shut down due to the contamination from the fuel spill or other unforeseen event, there is sufficient redundancy in supply to provide full service to customers in the short-term, while permanent replacement supplies are acquired. Although arsenic is a natural occurring substance that occurs in the middle Rio Grande Basin above drinking water standards, the Water Authority has initiated several water resource development activities and protection measures to ensure the community's potable water supply remains safe to drink and sustainable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None