Regarding the recent article in The Signal (March 21) that documented the continuing spread of groundwater contamination from the Whittaker-Bermite site.
Groundwater is the source of approximately half the water we drink in the Santa Clarita Valley. The so-called “pollution plume left behind by Whittaker-Bermite” is an underground flow of perchlorate-contaminated water that is flowing off the Bermite site.
Mr. Steve Cole of SCV Water is quoted as stating that the “plume” is moving off the Whittaker site and has already contaminated some SCV drinking water wells.
Water runs downhill, even underground. The fact that the Whittaker plume is flowing off the site indicates that the water level under the Whittaker site is higher than the level of some drinking water wells off the site. The solution to this problem is NOT to build roads and thousands of homes on the site that might add to the problem by concentrating and possibly increasing run-off from the site, thereby raising the level of the water under the site further.
One solution is to lower the groundwater level under the site. More wells need to be drilled on the site and pumped to lower the water level under the site. Once the water level under the site is lowered sufficiently, the plume will start to flow back toward the site and away from our drinking water supply.
I understand that the almost 1,000 acres of undeveloped land in the middle of our valley is a tempting development target. However, our access to safe drinking water should be a more immediate priority. The land will still be there after the plume is drawn away from a valuable source of our drinking water.
Paul Zerella
Saugus
