IL Senator Rose and Sangamon Valley Public Water District release letters to address natural gas leak by Peoples Gas

Getting to the bottom of the 2016 Peoples Gas natural gas leak at Manlove Field may be a lengthy process, but Illinois Sentator Chapin Rose and the Sangamon Valley Public Water District are not waiting for answers from People’s Gas.

Senator Rose sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on October 19 asking the Attorney General to file a case against Peoples Gas (PG) to force an independent review and engineering study of what happened and who is impacted in the natural gas leak that has impacted the Mahomet Aquifer.

Rose also hopes the Attorney General will order Peoples Gas to provide free water testing from an independent authority for homeowners in the area.

The letter states, “…No independent or thorough scientific study has been conducted to determine the extent of the leak, where it stops and who is impacted.”

“Moreover, after a meeting this past Monday night (October 16, 2017) attended by hundreds of area residents, it is clear to me that PG’s canvass was less than scientific and certainly not transparent.”

According to Rose, “many residents reported that they received ‘business card’ on their doors but no mention of ‘why’ the business card was left, and absolutely no mention of any urgency to call PG (and, apparently, no local media notification).”

Rose said many people in the area only learned about the leak two weeks ago when Spiros Law sent out a press release about the informational meeting on October 16.

Peoples Gas said they tested 33 homes within 5,000 feet of the leak, and found five wells to be affected by the natural gas.

After the informational meeting, Rose visited a constituent’s home, who has had a “milky” cloudiness, a consistent indicator of natural gas being present in water, for the past 10 months. Rose said this constituent’s home was not part of the 33 wells tested.

“Given their proximity to the leak site, and the timeline of when this started, these individuals deserve to have their water tested by an independent source,” Rose wrote.

Rose also told the attorney general constituents have told him that Peoples Gas is asking homeowners to complete waivers of their legal rights in order to have their water tested.

Peoples Gas was also providing bottled water to four of the five homeowners whose wells had been affected by the natural gas.

“Rose wrote, “one of the five homeowners told me that PG removed bottled water service from the home, just as they hired their own counsel to address the situation.”

Rose implores the Attorney General to “enjoin People’s Gas from predicating free water testing on legal waivers and also that PG be enjoined from taking other punitive actions against my constituents who are simply trying to get factual answers to their very legitimate questions and enforce their own rights.”

Rose’s office said he had “positive conversations regarding this issue with both the Chief of Staff and Bureau Chief of Environmental Protection” last week.

Much like Rose is also concerned about the effect of the natural gas leak on the Mahomet Aquifer, which provides water to over half a million Illinoisans, the Sangamon Valley Public Water District is taking extra steps to ensure the water they supply to Mahomet residents north of Interstate 74 and east of IL 47 is safe.

Like many Mahomet Aquifer residents, the Village of Mahomet Water District and Sangamon Valley Public Water District learned of the natural gas leak about two weeks ago.

General Manager Kerry Gifford spoke to several State officials when he learned of the leak to see how it may have impacted the general water source.

Because there is not a “prescribed approach or mandate on how to address this situation,” SVPWD will be collecting samples for all of their wells and treated water to test for methane residuals through Tech Lab and Isotech Lab on a quarterly basis for a year.

Based on the first year’s results, the schedule may be adjusted.

SVPWD will also be consulting with experts from the Illinois State Water Survey, including a groundwater geologist, to stay current on all information that is provided by government agencies.

Should SVPWD finds dangerous levels of methane gas in the wells, their water treatment plant has aeration technology that will vent the methane to the atmosphere before it enters the water supply. Should SVPWD find methane concentrations high enough to cause a public safety or health concern, a public notice will be sent out via US Mail and posted to their website and social media accounts.

For up to date information on the SVPWD water supply, visit www.svpwd.com.

The SVPWD letter also includes information for well owners even though SVPWD does not control individually owned wells.

Aside from education, SVPWD advises well owners to contact the Illinois State Water Survey for well testing and to have a licensed well driller inspect the wellhead for proper ventilation.

The Village of Mahomet also posted a statement on their website and social media account.

“The Village of Mahomet is aware of the natural gas leak in rural Champaign County and the concerns expressed for the Mahomet Aquifer.  At this time it appears that the incident is isolated to private wells located more than five miles north of the Village’s municipal wells.  We will continue to monitor the situation and look forward to the appropriate state agencies investigating and determining if any areas outside of the natural gas leak should be concerned.”

The Village of Mahomet provides water for residents south of Interstate 74.

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