Bacteria Prompt Water Limits

Coliform Found in Community Well

By Sandhya Somashekhar (Contact)

Originally published at 12:00 a.m., August 24, 2008
Updated at 1:27 p.m., August 25, 2008

As originally published on Aug. 24, this story incorrectly stated that high levels of a potentially harmful bacteria also had been discovered in wells in the Lenah Run subdivision. Loudoun Water officials were concerned that wells in Lenah Run were being overdrawn, but they did not find any signs of possible contamination in those wells.

With its elegant homes and community golf course, you would expect the Raspberry Falls subdivision off Route 15 north of Leesburg to have lush, green lawns.

But many of the yards in the upscale neighborhood of about 150 houses have been brown and dry this summer, a result of voluntary restrictions by Loudoun Water, which found a spike in a potentially dangerous type of bacteria in one of the community's wells.

Loudoun Water officials conducting a routine inspection in April discovered an unusually high level of coliform, a class of bacteria that includes E. coli. Although coliform occurs naturally in some bodies of water, it is not typically found in water drawn from deep inside the earth, such as a well, said Samantha Villegas, a utility spokeswoman.

After the inspection, the utility asked residents to stop using underground irrigation systems to water their lawns. Authorities suspect the well was overdrawn because of the profusion of such systems, which keep lawns verdant but often use vast quantities of water. They think surface water, such as that found in exposed ponds and streams, was leaching into the well, Villegas said.

The well water is getting standard chlorine treatment and is safe to drink, Villegas said. But surface water requires additional filtration to be safe for consumption, so the leaching could pose a health hazard if it continued.

The utility is conducting follow-up tests, and the restrictions will continue indefinitely, Villegas said, but only on a voluntary basis.

"We could make them mandatory, but we don't want to," she said. "We understand this is a tony neighborhood. They are beautiful homes, and they need to have green lawns. We understand people have already gone in this direction [of buying underground watering systems] and made this investment. We want to work with that moving forward."

Securing adequate, safe water supplies has been a challenge in several Loudoun communities. In Hillsboro, residents rely on an aging and capricious spring. Officials in Purcellville have struggled to ensure an adequate water supply for their residents in the coming years.

The risk of groundwater contamination is particularly acute along Route 15, where the land is made of porous limestone, or karst. Karst is also prone to sinkholes, a problem that worsens as groundwater is depleted. The Loudoun Board of Supervisors is developing new zoning guidelines for developers seeking to build in limestone areas.

An estimated 25 percent of the households in Raspberry Falls were using the underground irrigation systems, and most have complied with Loudoun Water's request to turn them off, Villegas said.

The utility, which serves about 57,000 customers in the county, is considering building a water treatment facility for the neighborhood. The developer, Van Metre, would be responsible for the cost, she said.

Loree Rupy, who has lived in Raspberry Falls about six years, said she is watering only her ornamental beds and gardens, which is allowed under the restrictions. Rupy has turned off her underground watering system.

"Our lawn is completely dead," she said ruefully.

Rupy, who owns Bluemont Winery with her husband, said she is troubled that the wells have not held up, especially because the community has not yet been built out. She said it should have been a given that residents would want to use the irrigation systems.

"It disturbs me that there was this lack of foresight in the planning of the community," she said.

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