| Abstract |
The 45-acre Waite Park Wells site is in Waite Park, Stearns County, Minnesota, 1,500 feet east of the Sauk River. Waite Park municipal wells No. 1 and No. 3 serviced the city until December, 1984 when routine sampling detected organic contamination in the ground water. The contaminated plume extends east-southeast from the Electric Machinery Manufacturing Company to the wells which are situated in the northeast corner of the Burlington Northern Superfund site. In January 1985 the State issued a health advisory to residents to discontinue using municipal water for drinking and cooking. A water hook up with St. Cloud, Minnesota was completed in February 1985 to provide the 3,500 Waite Park residents with an alternate water supply. In February 1988, the five responsible parties at the site funded a municipal water treatment system and wells No. 1 and No. 3 were returned to service. Remedial investigations did not identify any significant soil contamination at the site in the vicinity of the Electric Machinery Company; however, ground water contamination was identified in the shallow aquifer and, to a lesser extent, in the deep aquifer. The primary contaminants of concern in the ground water are VOCs including PCE and TCE. |
