Dozens of local residents streamed in and out of Scofield Magnet Middle School Wednesday evening to get information about well water. Ray Jarema spoke with many of them. "A lot of people have come by and said, yeah, I'm going to do some testing, so that was good to hear," said Jarema, section supervisor for the state Dept. of Public Health's private well program.
The Connecticut DPH was one of several departments and individuals, including Mayor Michael A. Pavia, participating in a well-water informational open house. The event gave homeowners with wells the opportunity to speak one-on-one with experts about water testing and remediation, and to make contacts for follow-up concerns.
The state DPH found chemical contamination in drinking water wells near Scofieldtown Road Park and in the North Stamford region. Scofieldtown Road Park was built on a portion of Scofieldtown Landfill, a dumping ground for industrial and household waste. The landfill closed in the late 1960's. The park recently was closed because of soil-contamination concerns. The city recommends all residents in Scofieldtown and North Stamford areas with wells test them for pesticides particularly dieldrin and chlordane, insecticides used widely by farmers 40 years ago. Both are now banned.
"My business is real estate and I think it's incumbent upon me to learn the issues and further educate my clientele as well," said open house attendee Demetrios Frazis, a realtor. "It clearly affects the business and I think a more informed homeowner will be able to ascertain the issues properly."
"We're getting a lot of positive feedback on the event, which is great," said Anne Fountain, Stamford's interim director of health and social services. "People have also been asking about what information is available. This is an issue [for which] we are very much trying to get information out to the public."
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