'Military water safe to drink:' Joint Region Marianas allays concerns over dieldrin

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

In a bid to assuage public anxiety over dieldrin contamination, the Joint Region Marianas has reassured consumers that water supply from military bases on Guam is safe to drink.

“After accelerating dieldrin testing, the laboratory results for all active military wells and surface water sources on Guam military installations were below Guam EPA’s Interim Action Level for dieldrin of 0.2 µg/L (parts per billion/ppb),” Rear Adm. Brett Mietus, JRM commander, said in a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

Brett Meitus

 JRM operates 19 active wells and three surface water sources. The Guam Waterworks Authority purchases water from the U.S. Navy's Fena Lake reservoir to supply the civilian communities Agat and Santa Rita. 

“All water produced on JRM installations is safe to drink,” Mietus said.

“Maintaining the safety of our Guam community, both civilian and military, remains our top priority,” he added.

Water samples were taken on Sept. 25 from all active military wells and surface water sources on military installations across the island, on the heels of the local government's disclosure that two of GWA's wells were found to exceed the Interim Action Level for dieldrin.

GWA earlier said the contaminated well in Yigo affected 1,100 residents of the Santa Rosa area, while the one in Dededo has been taken offline.

Dieldrin is an insecticide that was widely used on crops from the 1950s to 1970. It was also used for killing termites until its production ceased in 1987. The USEPA has classified dieldrin as a probable human carcinogen.

Meitus said the JRM’s water system architecture required nine tests.

“Of these nine tests, seven resulted in a ‘non-detect,’ indicating no dieldrin was detected,” he said. “Two tests returned with detectable levels of dieldrin that are 10 times less than the Guam EPA IAL (0.2 µg/L).”

The tests corresponded to two wells located on Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in Dededo, which primarily serve the military community on base.

“The water from these wells is safe to drink (Well NCS 9A: 0.015 µg/L; Well NCS 10: 0.017µg/L),” Meitus said.

“Due to MCBCB’s connection with the greater Guam water system, water from these wells is combined with water from five ‘non-detect’ wells and water from Guam Waterworks Authority before being sent into the broader water distribution system. As a result, any water leaving the MCBCB is diluted even further below the IAL for dieldrin,” he added.

Based on standard procedure, Meitus said, quarterly sample results are provided to the Guam EPA, and a public notice is issued if levels rise above the IAL.

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