Letter: Hinesburg's Aquifer Susceptible to Pollutants
Former selectboard member urges CVSD board to respectfully decline offer of turf field to save Hinesburg's water source which has been damaged before – at great cost.
By Robert Bast
Dear CVSD Board Members,
You have all heard the outpouring of concern about the proposal for plastic “turf” fields. Demonstrated issues about athletic injuries, social concerns about the over-use of plastics, lack of transparency about the composition of the materials of the field, etc. But to me, first among these here in Hinesburg is an abundance of caution regarding protection of the aquifer that supplies our water.
Please let me share an episode of recent history that shows how easily persistent pollutants can wreak havoc on the aquifer in Hinesburg, and how vulnerable it is to surface pollutants.
Up to the 1990s, gasoline was sold in front of Lantman’s store. Also in the 1990s, Saputo Cheese was in business in the village, processing, at one time, a quarter of all the fluid milk produced in the state of Vermont. They used a huge amount of water for cleaning and had their own well for much supply. The drawdown of water in the aquifer, closely monitored, drew hydrocarbons from leakage at the underground storage tanks at the intersection of Charlotte Road and Route 116, enough to become detectable in 1999. The town well behind the town hall was also affected. The town well had to be closed and replaced at significant cost to the system and its users. Monitoring and removal of hydrocarbons and MBTE underground has only concluded recently after 15 years.
Replacement wells for a municipal system are difficult to site. They have to be placed to have a proscribed protection area around them. And of course, they have to produce water in ample quantities. As an example, one extremely promising well was drilled at Geprag Park with ample protection area, lots of flow. But it was determined to be influenced by surface water. The rock formation in this part of the Champlain Valley has cracks in it all the way down to the aquifer, and if you encounter this near your well, the effort to site is a no-go. To remove pollutants after the fact is a massive expense, and an ongoing one.
My point is that it can happen here. It has happened here. The chemistry used to create artificial turf is brilliant in its way. But the surface does break down over time. The surface has a life span. So, its broken down particles go somewhere. When the particles are ‘forever’ chemicals, or even persistent ones and ‘somewhere’ is the aquifer contribution area of the town water supply (the case here), it is evident what will happen, and where responsibility sits.
Please make the correct decision regarding the proposal on the table and say “No, thank you, we’ll happily and gratefully take up a proposal that does not have this possible outcome. But as it stands, this isn’t it.”
Thank you so much for stepping up to serve the communities of the district. I served on the Hinesburg selectboard for 19 years and was intimately involved in the creation of the water system that serves the town, the community school and CVU. Protecting and maintaining the infrastructure that serves the lives of our citizens, students and families is a primary responsibility of elected officials.
Robert Bast is a Hinesburg resident and architect/developer of environmentally sound housing.