Contamination at old dump spreads: Whiteside County 
trying to keep 
groundwater safe

MORRISON – Like most defunct dumps, the now-closed, county-supervised portion of the Whiteside County landfill was dug out and filled in with trash before the state imposed strict regulations on construction and operation of modern landfills.

And like most agencies stuck cleaning up the mess, the county has spent a significant amount: Millions up front, plus $300,000 to $400,000 a year to contain a continuous flow of toxic chemicals.

Unlike many old dump sites, however, groundwater contamination is on the rise here, and officials fear things could get worse – and more expensive – before they get better.

Contamination has been turning up in shallow monitoring wells, about 30 feet deep, above the depth of most residential well water sources, which typically run 80 to 100 feet deep, county engineer Steve Haring said.

Nevertheless, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recommends that well owners south and east of the Prairie Hills Landfill have their water tested for toxic chemicals.

"If there's any potential for contamination, we always recommend people have their well tested," said EPA spokeswoman Maggie Carson. The cost for testing falls to well owners, who can eventually seek reimbursement if it can be proven that the county is the source of contamination, Casron said.

The EPA has received the most recent test results and plans to either issue either a fine or determine a course of action by Aug. 2, Carson said.

Neelu Lowder, an EPA compliance officer based in Rockford who oversees the landfill, declined to speculate on what the recommendation might be or how much it might cost.

She did say regulating groundwater "is a problem at quite a few sites" where landfills and dumps closed in the early 1990s because of a 1990 law that made it financially difficult to operate highly pollutant landfills.

The list of chemicals near the southeast corner of the Whiteside County landfill, and their adverse health effects, read like an organic chemistry textbook: Ailments such as cancer, neurological disorders and fetal delays can result from long-term exposure to the water in those monitoring wells.

The highly contaminated water, called leachate, is captured and treated, and now is being collected in unprecedented volume – about twice the rate of last year.

As the amount of water pooling under the landfill increased, harmful, cancer-causing agents – found in things such as refrigerators and plastic wrap, gasoline vapor and industrial chemicals – started resurfacing in monitoring wells about a year ago.

Speaking to the county's Public Works Committee this month, two geology consultants who are helping clean up the site suggested the county must spend more money on containment or face fines from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency that can run as high as $10,000 a day.

"It's a situation where you go to the IEPA with your hands out and say: 'We've done something that doesn't fit within the regulations. What are you going to do?'" said Ed Doyle, an engineer with Environmental Information Logistics.

The closed dump is open to the ground – and groundwater – below. So most of the county's management has focused on catching water as it trickles through the landfill.

To that end, the board spent $4 million in 1995 to retrofit the landfill with a maze of pipes and pumps that collect most of the leachate before it reaches the groundwater.

Haring said this year's exceptional amount of rain has compounded problems.

Like a flat roof that sags with age, the sod-covered landfill has small depressions that need to be filled so pools of water cannot form. But the ground is so wet, workers can't haul dirt to the top of the trash heap.

The result is the problem that engineers now have: "As fast we can pump it, it keeps coming in," Haring said.

The board pays to haul about 12,000 gallons a week to Dixon, where the city cleans the water in its wastewater treatment plant for 3 cents a gallon – about $1,400 per month.

Dixon's Water Department also cleans leachate from the Lee County and Ottawa Landfills.

Officials choose Dixon because the plant is only 5 years old and able to process the heavily polluted water relatively quickly and inexpensively, said Dan Mahan, superintendent of wastewater treatment in Dixon.

Since the dump closed in the early 1990s, the EPA has never fined the county for noncompliance.

Ultimately, the problem comes down to money.

"We want to think of the most cost-effective solutions," said Michael Hirt, a senior geologist with Information Logistics. "We want to take care of this without bankrupting Whiteside County."

Worst-case scenario? The EPA could order the county to build an on-site wastewater treatment plant, which could cost about $20 million, the consultants say.

Adding to the county's headaches, a $10,000 piece of monitoring equipment was found to be giving faulty readings.

Administrators thought that methane gas being released into the air complied with EPA standards, when in fact, the landfill had been spewing "significantly more than we thought," Haring said.

The Public Works Committee authorized Haring to buy another monitor because a rental unit costs $250 a week.

So far, state inspectors have taken a lenient stance with county officials, Doyle said.

"You have taken a number of considerable measures to clean it up," Doyle said. But the air noncompliance "could be the trigger that causes some scrutiny."

To test your well

People who live near the Prairie Hills Landfill and think they might want to test their well water for contaminants can call the Illinois EPA in Rockford at 815-987-7404 for kits, cost and advice.

Water tests done by the Whiteside County Health Department do not test for the types of contaminants leaching from the dump.