SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Eleven years ago, tetrachloroethylene, better known as PCE, was found in two municipal wells and three private domestic wells in the western portion of South Lake Tahoe.
The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board started an investigation and conducted several public meetings as the plume of PCE made its way from the site of a former dry cleaning business at the Y, toward water wells operated by Lukins Brothers Water Company and Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association, and the lake.
The investigation led them to discover a 400-acre plume of PCE underground, and they determined the chemical entered the groundwater at the site of the old Lake Tahoe Laundry Works, which was located at the South Y Center that is now home to Raley’s and other stores.
When the PCE hit the soil, five water wells were closed – two of Lukins wells and three of the Keys’ wells. In 2019, the plume was deep, from 26 feet to 52 feet deep, 140-180 feet below the surface. Drinking water has remained safe, and the providers and others have worked to protect it. Now, what is coming from the proposed settlement can further protect South Lake Tahoe’s drinking water.
The proposed settlement would require Seven Springs Limited Partnership and Fox Capital Management Corporation, the former and current owners of the property, to provide treatment for municipal drinking water wells and address pollution affecting the Tahoe Valley South Subbasin for a period of 59 years.
Under the proposed settlement, the former and current owners of the property will give the drinking water providers $4.1 million for PCE treatment, long-term monitoring, and other improvements, ensuring continuous access to safe drinking water for thousands of South Lake Tahoe residents and businesses.
“Protecting water quality and human health is one of the Lahontan Water Board’s top priorities, and this agreement represents a major step forward to address legacy contamination from dry-cleaning activities,” said Ben Letton, Lahontan Water Board executive officer. “The proposed settlement should give South Lake Tahoe residents confidence that their drinking water is safe today — and will remain safe in the decades ahead.”
If approved, the settlement will:
- Ensure continued access to safe drinking water by funding groundwater treatment as needed for Lukins Brothers Water Company and Tahoe Keys Water Company.
- Providing monetary compensation to the water purveyors for past and ongoing impacts to their drinking water supplies.
- Require a 59-year groundwater monitoring and response program, using a network of monitoring wells to provide early detection of elevated PCE levels before they reach municipal wells.
- Continue remediation of the contamination source using technologies such as soil vapor extraction and targeted groundwater treatment.
The proposed settlement is subject to approval by the regional board at a future meeting, where it can accept or reject the proposed settlement but not modify its terms. The regional board encourages residents to review the proposed settlement and submit public comments by the Nov. 20 deadline.
PCE is a man-made chemical used from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s as a solvent for dry cleaning clothes and degreasing metal. During the late 1980s, concerns about the toxicity of PCE led Federal and State environmental agencies to list PCE as a probable carcinogen and as a toxic pollutant.