Mike Smith used to take water from his 35-foot well and give it to his horses.
However, following a chemical spill in the mid-1990s at the Denver Federal Center, he stopped.
“The water was bad. You could smell it,” he said of the contamination.
The rogue chemical from last decade, trichloroethylene, has reappeared in the Smith’s neighborhood off West 5th Avenue following some drilling last year.
The drilling discovered 1.3 to 39 parts per billion of TCE in the ground water. State drinking water standards name a limit of 5 parts per billion.
An industrial degreaser, TCE is believed to be a carcinogen.
Drinking small amounts of TCE for a prolonged period is believed to cause liver and kidney damage, impaired immune system function and impaired fetal development in pregnant women.
Now, well owners in the area northeast of the federal center are encouraged to have the Colorado Department of Health test their groundwater this summer.
TCE was initially used as a degreaser for asphalt, said Brian Nielsen, Lakewood environmental manager.
Although there was an underground storage tank leak on the government property in 1996, officials have not determined the TCE is a result of the leak.
“We don’t even know where it’s coming from,” said Shelly Clubb, regional environmental manager for the General Services Administration. “Our investigation is looking for the source. We’ve found it on site and we’ve found it off site. It’s one of those chemicals that sticks around for awhile.”
During the 2004 drilling, the General Services Administration found 14 wells with traces of TCE. The highest trace, at 39 parts per billion, was taken from a field south of Dennison Elementary School.
Jeannine Napperman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said if wells in the neighborhoods test higher than state standards for safe drinking water, well owners should not use the water for drinking.
She said if homeowners use the well water to water vegetables there is still no danger because the sunlight would neutralize toxic chemicals.
Despite assurances, Smith said the well water will pass neither his lips nor the lips of his horses.
“I really don’t think they have it totally under control,” he said of the General Services Administration. “It’s good that they’re testing it. I guess they’re giving it their best shot.”
The Denver Federal Center is acknowledged as the largest collective of federal government buildings outside Washington, D.C. The center began operations in the 1940s, building small munitions and artillery shells for the Second World War.
Residents in the area interested in having their wells tested should contact Shelly Clubb by July 15 at 303-236-8000, Ext. 2342.