COMMENTARY WHITTAKER SHOULD AID IN CLEANUP OF CONTAMINATED WELLS.

Byline: Peter Kavounas

SANTA CLARITA - As you may have read recently, another local water supply well has been contaminated with perchlorate. The affected well, located near Saugus Speedway, was only slightly above the notification level for perchlorate, but it has been shut down, and no water is now being served from it.

It seems obvious that the source for the contamination is the Whittaker- Bermite munitions testing site, located in the heart of the Santa Clarita Valley and immediately adjacent to the contaminated well.

The city of Santa Clarita, the Castaic Lake Water Agency and your local water suppliers have been working together to compel Whittaker Corp., the former owner of the property and the generators of the perchlorate contamination, to fund and begin cleanup efforts. To date, Whittaker has undertaken no such efforts. The consequences of such inaction to our community are extremely serious.

Our local groundwater basin is a priceless water resource. Since the affected groundwater has served as both an annual water supply and a backup dry year supply for the Santa Clarita Valley, its importance cannot be overstated. It is essential that these groundwater supplies continue to be available to meet the needs of our community.

With five wells now out of service, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we must begin a treatment process for the contaminated wells, such as that already in use in the San Gabriel Valley and other parts of California. The water cleanup must be accompanied by a companion project to remove contaminants from the soil at the Whittaker site so the area doesn't continue to feed them to groundwater supplies.

While we know what needs to be done, we are focused on ensuring that valley residents will not be saddled with the costs of the cleanup effort.

This massive cleanup will cost tens of millions of dollars and must appropriately be borne by the polluters. In November 2000, the agency and local water suppliers filed suit to compel the various responsible parties, including Whittaker-Bermite and its insurers, to pay for the cleanup of the perchlorate and the restoration of water supplies. However, it will be necessary for the agency and the water suppliers to advance payment of some costs to get the groundwater cleanup program started. It is expected that costs will be recovered as the litigation progresses.

The situation is like a dark cloud with a silver lining. The silver lining - the contaminated part of our local water supply is restorable and is not lost forever. The dark cloud - it will not be available until treatment technology is put in place, and that will cost money.

Whittaker should assist this community. Local water suppliers should not be forced to front the money for the groundwater cleanup effort. While litigation will eventually prevail and force Whittaker to pay, valley residents may see increases in water rates or taxes or both, as the treatment technology is funded and brought on line. This is patently unfair since Whittaker's past activities are the cause of the problem.

Residents of the Santa Clarita Valley should be outraged.