Manure suspected as source of E. coli in two Lorraine wells

LORRAINE — Manure may be the source of E. coli bacteria contamination in two wells on Route 189.

Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District has tested a dozen wells. Two tested positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria, two had coliform and two are pending, while six were clear, state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Stephen W. Litwhiler said.

The affected wells are between the village of Adams and the intersection with Washington Park Road. District Executive Director Brian J. Wohnsiedler said, "We suspect ag has a high potential to be the source of the problem."

The investigation is ongoing, but based on its current assumptions, the district is working with Tug Edge Dairy to help the affected homeowners resolve the situation. The dairy farm owns property behind and adjacent to most of the residences in that stretch of the road.

Owner Larry F. Stinson has "supplied them with temporary water sources," Mr. Wohnsiedler said. "If he created the issue, he wouldn't leave these people in a bad spot."

He said the district has not completely ruled out septic systems or wildlife as the source of the contamination for the two drilled wells. Weather also could be a contributing factor. There was not much frost this winter, and spring has brought rapid snowmelt and groundwater table replenishment.

"Sometimes things happen outside our control," he said.

Coliform is associated with the breakdown of all organic matter and in general is not harmful. E. coli comes from the intestines of all warm-blooded animals and does indicate contamination from some kind of mammal waste. One strain of E. coli, however, can cause severe illness.

The investigation should take a few more days or weeks at the most, Mr. Wohnsiedler said. The district will sanitize the wells and, with DEC, recommend a regimen of testing for the affected homeowners. The agencies also may recommend changes in the management plan that the farm uses.

New York dairy farms are among the most highly regulated in the country, said Jay M. Matteson, Jefferson County agricultural coordinator.

"Our farms do as good a job as they possibly can do," he said.

Mr. Litwhiler said that state regulations do not allow manure to be spread within 100 feet of a well, and large farms must have plans for containing manure.

A landowner first contacted DEC because the water was brown. Mr. Litwhiler said if there's anything different about the look or smell of drinking water from wells, homeowners should stop using it and call for testing.

While well contamination cases are rare in Lorraine and that part of the county, the district does have a few cases every spring somewhere in the county, Mr. Wohnseidler said.

"It is important to note that the farmer in question is proactively taking all the steps recommended by this office," he said.