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Municipal authority asks board to allow PFOS test well on elementary school property
Summary
A municipal authority representative asked the Delaware Valley School District board for permission to install a temporary test well on school property after lab data showed long-term PFOS averages above the referenced threshold; board members requested written agreements, proof of lab results and assurances about site safety for students.
Vincent Cordova, representing the municipal authority, asked the Delaware Valley School District Board of Education for permission to install a temporary test well on Delaware Valley Elementary School property to confirm a potential new clean water source after PFOS sampling showed elevated levels.
Cordova said the state Department of Environmental Protection began requiring water facilities to test for PFOS in 2024 and that “one of our three pumping locations was being affected by these PFOS chemicals, specifically PFOS.” He asked the board to allow a short-term test drill at a location identified by the municipal authority’s hydrogeologist on district land, saying the drilling would confirm the site’s viability.
The municipal authority proposed beginning drilling within two weeks. Cordova said the drill itself would likely take one day, with a second day to purge the well, and a follow-up sampling event about two weeks later. He said laboratory results are available and that the four-quarter average of the laboratory data provided to the authority is “above the DPC threshold.” Board members asked for the full lab reports; Cordova said the lab results can be supplied.
Board members raised questions about truck access and student safety. One board member asked whether drilling equipment could reach the site “in the woods” and whether the work area would be “far enough away from where the kids will be when they’re outside at recess or in a class.” Mr. Eversdike (staff member) was called forward to address access and proximity; he indicated he was prepared to speak to operational logistics.
Several board participants cautioned for a written agreement before any fieldwork. One board member recommended obtaining a written commitment from the municipal authority’s contractor to reimburse the district’s engineering costs and to formalize liability and access terms in a signed agreement before drilling or signing a contract.
No formal vote occurred during the presentation; the request was discussed and board members asked for the lab results and for a binding, written agreement specifying cost responsibility and operational details before granting permission.
Clarifying details provided in the meeting: the drilling proposal envisioned a 1–2 week operational window to complete the initial work, the drilling rig would operate off the edge of a field with the bore itself requiring one day, and the authority cited a four-quarter laboratory average that it said exceeded the referenced DPC threshold. The hydrogeologist recommended a site on district property but the board asked for confirmation of truck access and distances from play areas prior to approval.
Recent material presented by the municipal authority included a written proposal and lab result summaries; board members requested the underlying lab reports and a written indemnity/expense commitment before any fieldwork would proceed.
