GILROY
– For the sixth consecutive time since testing began in March,
the city’s drinking water wells have tested clean for
perchlorate.
GILROY – For the sixth consecutive time since testing began in March, the city’s drinking water wells have tested clean for perchlorate.
The news arrived just three days before the mayor and city staff will tell state-level water quality regulators to make sure Gilroy’s supply stays perchlorate-free.
Gilroy Water Operations Supervisor Dan Aldridge reported Tuesday that tests run in August once again showed no detectable level of perchlorate. The level at which the state requires water users to be warned about the contaminant is 4 parts per billion.
“It’s still good news; the water is clean,” Aldridge said.
Gilroy uses eight wells to supply residents with all of their drinking water.
Of the nearly 450 contaminated private wells between Tennant Avenue in Morgan Hill and north Gilroy, six are located south of Leavesley Road, bringing the garlic town more deeply into the perchlorate mix in recent months.
In June, a perchlorate test on a private well at Holsclaw Road south of Gilman Road showed a 4.7 parts per billion (ppb) contamination level. In August, five private wells between Leavesley and Gilman roads east of U.S. 101 tested positive for the toxic chemical.
