Craig Mescher, an engineering consultant hired by Donnelsville to study the village and determine the best way to get clean water to the area, said after evaluating options — including New Carlisle and Enon — Clark County was determined to be the most effective and inexpensive option to safely provide water to village residents.
“As we did our study, that Donnelsville said right away was they don’t have the capacity to operate, maintain, bill (a new system), they don’t want anything to do with that,” Mescher said. “Clark County already handles the billing and the maintenance of the sewer system within the area.”
Mescher said the Environmental Protection Agency would like every community to be on regional systems, which makes sense for a community the size of Donnelsville. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 256 people lived in the village in 2021.
The EPA first detected tetrachloroethylene — a chemical commonly used for dry cleaning and degreasing metal — in the water supply in 1990. They closed nearby school wells after the chemical was detected, and in 2010, the Ohio EPA asked the U.S. EPA to assess the groundwater and presence of nearby wells that draw from the same aquifer after trichloroethylene, cis-1 and 2-dichloroethene were also detected.
“The highest levels of PCE detected were from houses north of U.S. Route 40 ... along the western edge of the village,” an EPA document outlining the investigation states.
In 2011, the EPA installed drinking water treatment systems at homes in which the contaminant was found, as well as the community park.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, long-term exposure to tetrachloroethylene can lead to an increased risk of developing certain cancers. People exposed to low levels of the substance for long periods of time can experience changes in mood, reaction, memory, attention or vision.
The contamination source is still unknown, however, one EPA document identifies a manufacturer of truck, airplane, car seats and high-chair parts that was on North Hampton Road as a “possible source.” The EPA is still working to find the source.
The site was added to the EPA Superfund list in 2018, which made it eligible to receive federal funds to drive long-term cleanup efforts.
Clark County has the capacity to provide about 1.7 million gallons water per day, Mescher said. Bringing water from the county will cost $5.37 million, but the EPA will likely fund 70-75% of the project.
“We have plenty of capacity,” Mescher said.
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