EPA will provide access to Elkhart, Indiana municipal water for Lane Street residents whose wells are contaminated by TCE

The EPA’s Region 5 is using money from the Superfund program to construct water line connections to provide the residents of Elkhart, Indiana’s Lane Street area with access to municipal water. The project will connect to the city water supply approximately 30 homes whose well are contaminated or threatened with contamination from an industrial solvent called TCE, or thichloroethylene. The solvent is often used to clean machinery.

Since the TCE contamination was discovered in 2007, the Indiana Dept of Environmental Management has provided the families with water filtration systems or bottled drinking water.

The source of the TCE contamination is still under investigation. Until its source has been identified, it is difficult to develop a plan to effectively clean up the site.

For the full story, go to the EPA Press Release.