Officials raise concerns over the future of Tucson’s drinking water

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TUCSON, Arizona (KOLD News 13) – Arizona Governor Doug Ducey sent a letter to the Department of Defense requesting action to be taken to reduce the potential for water pollution at four Arizona military bases, including Davis Monthan in Tucson and Luke Air, Mining Force Base in Glendale.

It involves a group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

A few years ago a cloud containing PFAS was discovered on the southside of Tucson near Davis-Monthan. It is heading for Tucson’s central well field and runs the risk of contaminating the water for 65,000 water customers and, in the future, all of the city’s drinking water.

“Lake Mead isn’t forever. The Colorado River isn’t forever, ”said Steve Kozachik, member of the Tucson City Council. “And that is our elixir of life and the pollutants are located directly outside the central borehole field.

The concern is if Tucson’s other sources of drinking water, especially the cap, are restricted due to the drought, the water from the well field will become Tucson’s main source of water for consumption. “

“We’re one of the few states in the country where every single drop of groundwater is considered a source of drinking water,” said Misael Cabrera, director of the Arizona Department of the Environment.

Cabrera supports the governor’s decision to “chase” the Department of Defense for action.

“We are asking for preventive maintenance and stop the migration of this cloud before it reaches the drinking water,” he said.

The state has already allocated $ 3.3 million to the Tucson site to help slow the cloud down.

“We are currently developing a mitigation system to treat the highest concentrations of this cloud,” said Cabrera. “So it is unlikely that the cloud will move any further.”

That still doesn’t pay for the cost of cleaning, which will likely be significant.

“We know it will cost tens of millions of dollars and we didn’t,” Kozachik said. “It’s not fair to our installment payers to have to write these checks while we know who the real culprit is and that’s the DOD.”

The contamination around the bases happened because the fire fighting foam used by the Air Force contained the PFAS chemicals. This foam was wiped onto the floor where it seeped into the groundwater.

It’s an unregulated chemical, but the EPA has set standards for drinking water. Some of the sites near Davis-Monthan contain 200 times the recommended limit.

The first step in getting the Department of Defense to act is a letter from the governor, but it is uncertain when that could happen.

“It’s very difficult to predict, but I hope for next week,” said Cabrera.

Copyright 2021 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

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