VANCOUVER WATER STATION #4 CONTAMINATION WASHINGTON EPA ID# WAD988475158

EPA Region 10 Clark County Vancouver 3rd Congressional District Other Names:

Last Update: February, 2007

Site Description

Vancouver Water Station #4 is located in the city of Vancouver, Washington, approximately one-half mile north of the Columbia River. Station #4 is one of several well fields used to provide drinking water to Vancouver and surrounding areas; it blends water output from other wells to supply drinking water to approximately 108,000 people. In 1988, the State Department of Health sampled the production wells at Water Station #4 under guidelines provided by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and discovered perchloroethylene (PCE) at levels exceeding the Federal standards. The sample also showed very low levels of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE). The City took Station #4 out of service in October of 1989.

Site Responsibility: This site is being addressed through federal, state and local actions.

NPL Listing History	Dates
Proposed Date:	07/29/1991
Removed Date:
Withdrawal Date:
Final Date:	10/14/1992
Deleted Date:

Threats and Contaminants

Media Affected: Groundwater
Groundwater is contaminated with PCE. Accidental ingestion of, or direct contact with, contaminated groundwater could have adverse health effects.


Cleanup Progress

Early Actions: The city of Vancouver has constructed two air stripping towers at the site. The towers began operating in early 1992, and are removing contaminants from the production wells. The treated water is then distributed to the community. The city of Vancouver and EPA have sampled soil gas, groundwater, and existing and newly installed monitoring wells. PCE was not detected in any soil samples collected from the monitoring well borings; however, high levels of PCE were discovered in the groundwater of some monitoring wells. Based on data collected in March and September of 1998 contamination levels have dropped significantly. Dry cleaners are a suspected source, but further investigation has been unable to confirm the actual sources of contamination.

The ROD was signed in on September 1, 1999, to continue operation of the existing air stripping treatment system. In the ROD, the site was designated as construction complete. This signifies that all cleanup remedies for the site have been implemented.

The second Five Year Review was conducted and completed in September, 2008. The review concluded that the remedy remains protective of human health.


Regional Contacts

SITE MANAGER(S):	Nancy Harney
E-MAIL ADDRESS:	harney.nancy@epa.gov
PHONE NUMBER:	206-553-6635
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR:	Judy Smith
E-MAIL ADDRESS	smith.judy@epa.gov
PHONE NUMBER:	503-326-6994

Information pertaining to this site is housed at the following location(s):
Vancouver Public Library (Administrative Records)
1007 East Mill Plain Boulevard
Vancouver, WA 98663-3504

EPA Region 10 Superfund Records Center (Administrative Records)
1200 Sixth Avenue, ECL-076
Seattle, WA 98101