Seminole commissioners to hear about 1,4-dioxane - Orlando Sentinel

Seminole commissioners to hear about 1,4-dioxane

Seminole County commission Chair Amy Lockhart in an email asked fellow commissioners to refrain from giving interviews about the contamination of the county’s water supply by 1,4-dioxane ahead of a presentation by staff scheduled for Tuesday, records show.

“I am confident that the propensity to publicly speak out individually stems from a desire to help, but moving forward, cameo interviews will be viewed (at least by me) as obstruction and/or interference,” Lockhart said in her July 14 email, which was sent to her fellow commissioners but copied to more than a dozen staffers.

This comes after an Orlando Sentinel investigation revealed in a four-story series this month that 1,4-dioxane, a toxic chemical, for years has been in the drinking water of tens of thousands of people in the county’s northwest side.

The contamination was first discovered in Seminole, Sanford and Lake Mary drinking water wells in 2013. All three public utilities found 1,4-dioxane levels exceeding federal guidelines.

Industrial chemical infiltrated Lake Mary, Sanford, Seminole water wells; few knew and there was no coordinated response

The chemical is deemed likely to cause liver and kidney cancer and other illnesses by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has been labeled as a contaminant of “emerging” concern.

The Sentinel’s series quoted two county commissioners, Lee Constantine and Andria Herr. Constantine, who has prioritized water issues, said he was unaware of the contamination. The information led to “sleepless nights,” he said. “I was in the dark about it.”

Herr, whose district includes the Northwest Service Area, said she favored putting a notice on a dashboard of the county’s website about 1,4-dioxane.

Lockhart in her email referred commissioners to an earlier missive by Deputy County Manager Tricia Johnson that asked for media inquiries to be routed to the county’s communications office, which would respond with a prepared statement.

“I know that each one of us cares deeply about this issue, but let’s be respectful of the fact that this is an issue for the Board to address, and not individual Commissioners,” Lockhart wrote, including in her email a Sentinel-produced map depicting the contamination’s spread.

Kim Ornberg, Seminole’s environmental services director, said Thursday that county staff were still putting together the presentation and therefore could not reveal many details. But it may likely include increasing the testing of drinking water wells, the hiring of consultants, upgrading water treatment plants, and cooperating on a clean-up program with nearby Sanford and Lake Mary.

“What I would like to see is us making aggressive moves to correct the situation,” Commissioner Lee Constantine said. “I would expect them to let us know what positive steps we are taking to protect our citizens. … And I want to make sure that we do the right thing.”

It also was not clear whether the public will have a chance to comment after the presentation.

Seminole utilities struggled to address, pinpoint source of toxic chemical in tap water

The 1,4-dioxane contamination has been linked to an old factory off Rinehart Road, just east of Interstate 4, in Lake Mary.

Built in 1968 by General Dynamics, the facility went through various owners over the years as it manufactured components for telephone systems. In the process, chemicals used at the factory had migrated deep underground into the Floridan Aquifer and eventually into water wells north of the plant.

Seminole and Sanford shut down most of its contaminated wells to reduce 1,4-dioxane concentrations in the drinking water. Lake Mary, which detected the highest concentrations of the contaminant, built and started operating two years ago a high-tech water treatment plant that removes nearly all of the chemical.

A day after the first Sentinel story about the contamination was published online on July 12, Seminole posted on its county website a brief explanation of 1,4-dioxane and assured the public that its drinking water was safe.

How a toxic chemical infiltrated the Floridan Aquifer, tainting Seminole County tap water

The county also stated that staff has started collecting samples from all of its 25 potable wells through August. And every month, staff will test the points of entry for all five potable water systems.

The county also is working with a consultant to develop short and long-term plans related to sampling, monitoring and reporting on 1,4-dioxane.

Tuesday’s commission meeting is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in the commission chambers, at 1101 E. First St., Sanford.

Seminole family plagued by cancer learned tap water was tainted. ‘It all began making sense’ mcomas@orlandosentinel.com