Tim and Sarah Brown’s baby girl was born without a thyroid
gland. Because even small amounts of perchlorate can sometimes
affect the thyroid, particularly in fetuses and infants, the young
north Gilroy couple attended Saturday’s meeting at Gavilan College
on the perchlorate issue, hoping for information.
By CAROL HOLZGRAFE
Staff Writer
GILROY – Tim and Sarah Brown’s baby girl was born without a thyroid gland. Because even small amounts of perchlorate can sometimes affect the thyroid, particularly in fetuses and infants, the young north Gilroy couple attended Saturday’s meeting at Gavilan College on the perchlorate issue, hoping for information.
“The incidence of this happening is one in 4,000 and that is usually with some genetic connection,” Tim Brown said. “There is no known genetic connection in our families.”
His 5-month-old child will have to take a daily dose of thyroid medicine every day of her life.
The Browns were two of almost 300 South Valley residents who attended the meeting, calmly listening to three circulating panels of engineers, experts on health and agricultural issues and representatives of government agencies appointed to protect the public.
Another San Martin couple, David and Barbara Connor, has given up trying to sell its San Martin home and property for the time being.
“They (prospective buyers) come through and don’t make any comment (on the water),” David Connor said, “but they just don’t come back.”
The couple was willing to consider that other things might affect property values besides the contaminated wells. The weekend real estate report showed a 40 to 60 percent decline in property values for San Martin.
“I’ve heard that nothing is selling,” David Connor said, although he was glad they came to Saturday’s meeting. “It was very informative.”
Informative was the comment of the day after the three-hour meeting.
The water district was surprised in February when 800 people showed up at the first communitywide meeting on perchlorate.
“We expected 400,” said Mike DiMarco, spokesman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. “This time we were prepared.”
Besides the Student Center main room, the water district opened a large classroom and set up a large tent to hold an overflow crowd that failed to appear. Rain was a persistent part of Saturday’s weather.
Spanish-speaking residents could pick up headphones and hear the rotating panel’s words translated in the climate-controlled tent. At least two residents did.
Harvey Billalba, Bob Turner and Lou Haller, three neighbors who share a Maple Avenue well, were worried that there still are no answers about the relationship between well depth and perchlorate contamination nor how much the amount of water pumped from a well matters.
The men were almost resigned about housing prices in an area where perchlorate sits atop property values like a two-ton weight.
“I’ve gone ahead and put mine up for sale,” Turner said.
He’ll hope for the best.
Lois Bravo had contacted numerous government agencies in Sacramento and Washington about the perchlorate problem.
“I wanted to hear from the primary sources,” said Bravo, who was not satisfied with the response. “They just told me to go someplace else.”
Her inch-thick file on perchlorate – one of several, she said – was thicker by the end of Saturday’s three-hour meeting.
“There is still not enough information,” Bravo said.
Margaret Wolford, who lives at Middle and Llagas avenues, was quietly crocheting a baby blanket while she listened intently to the three hours of facts and figures.
“I think the water district has risen to the occasion,” Wolford said. “They are very efficient and have tried to be honest with us.”
Wolford was one of the 800 residents who attended the first, sometimes contentious, communitywide meeting on perchlorate in February.
“I was very concerned at that meeting,” Wolford said. “We all were.”
During Saturday’s question-and-answer period, questions were submitted in writing rather than from open microphones (as at the February meeting). One questioner asked that Rosemary Kamei, the area representative to the SCVWD board of directors, write a monthly report on the board’s perchlorate-related activities.
Kamei agreed to do just that, and the first report will appear soon at Web sites www.morganhilltimes.com and www.gilroydispatch.com
“Outreach is very important,” Kamei said.
One panel was asked about the possibility of leaving the perchlorate plume alone to disappear by itself, which it will do in several decades as long as the source is eliminated.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” said Tom Mohr, panelist and engineer for the SCVWD.
Kamei stressed that Mohr’s comment was a direction from a board committed to doing something about the problem.
Kamei was joined by most members of the water board: Sig Sanchez, Tony Estremera, Joe Judge, Richard P. Santos and Larry Wilson. Gilroy was represented by Mayor Tom Springer.
