Raleigh official: Falls Lake not affected by nearby well contamination
While the Environmental Protection Agency continues its investigation into well water contamination in a Wake Forest neighborhood, officials are keeping a close eye on nearby Falls Lake, which provides drinking water for Raleigh and other Wake County municipalities.
Posted — UpdatedWell water at about 20 homes off Stony Hill Road have tested positive for the carcinogen TCE – a cleaning agent used for de-greasing – in the last two months, according to EPA official Kenneth Rhame.
The cancer-causing solvent is water soluble and travels underground, he said, which means it could pose a threat to other bodies of water in the area. Falls Lake is a little more than one mile from the contaminated wells.
Kenneth Waldroup, assistant public utilities director for the City of Raleigh, said the lake is regularly tested for contamination and that there is no sign of TCE in the water.
Most the the water in Falls Lake comes from surface water flows and rainwater, so contaminated groundwater a mile away is unlikely to have an effect, Waldroup said.
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