e-coli

The exact words may not have been spoken, but the message was clear for Town of Batavia residents Wednesday evening: Get on public water.

No matter how much you like your well water, there's no way to guarantee it will remain safe.

"We want to be sure people understand that those are three tests and those are three bad contaminates (e-coli, coliform and nitrates), but there is a concern you should have on other items possibly getting in (your water)," said town engineer Steve Mountain.

The tests for e-coli, coliform and nitrates are quick and easy, but Mountain's message was, if those containments can reach well water, so can other contaminates.

Once a well is shown to be susceptible to contamination from surface water -- which the tests for those three substances prove -- then the well should really be considered unsafe.

Tests of wells around the town found that containments from manure as well as human waste is getting into the ground water, and when members of the 100-person audience at Wednesday's meeting wanted information on how to trace the source to agriculture, Town Supervisor Greg Post suggested, gently, they were looking in the wrong direction.

“If there’s a blend of both (human and agricutlure), it really doesn’t matter," Post said. "The water’s not safe.”

Of the 38 wells tested in the Bank Street Road, State Street Road, Batavia-Elba Townline Road area, 14 tested positive for bacteria and 11 of 13 tested positive for unsafe levels of nitrates.

In the rest of the town, 11 of 52 tested positive for bacteria and 28 of 47 for nitrates.

The results show that Town of Batavia wells are susceptible to contamination from surface water.

Illustrating the point from the audience Wednesday night was Harlo Towner, a Batavia-Elba Townline Road resident who said his well water is completely unusable. He showers at the YMCA or his daughter's house in West Batavia, and when he comes in from gardening, he goes through a regime of anti-bacterial hand washing.

It's been that way for years.

He blames, in part, pesticide planes from the airport.

He said growing up his daughters had stomach problems and rashes that went away when they left for college.

For the past five years, he's been battling cancer. He doesn't think it's a coincidence.

"It's a really bad situation," he said. "We really need water bad. I think everybody on the road signed up for it."

Part of tonight's presentation included Mountain explaining how residents can get on public water, which consists of creating water districts.

There are grants available to help pay for the creation of water districts, but residents can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $700 per year for public water once a district is created, Mountain said.

Photo: Towner is in the center of the picture.

More wells in the area of Bank Street and Townline roads have tested positive for e-coli bacteria, according to Town Supervisor Greg Post.

With 25 percent of the 55 wells checked in that area testing positive, Post said it's time for the town to make free well tests available to all homeowners in the town.

And the town is also ready to help neighborhoods that want to switch to public water get started on that process.

"I would have a hard time as town supervisor if I denied somebody even on the other side of town help if they had the same issue," Post said.

In an unattributed press release from the Town of Batavia, officials say well contamination is a serious issue that demands immediate attention. The town is working with the Genesee County Health Department to determine the extent of contamination.

From the press release:

It's the Town's experience that wells within the Town are highly susceptible to well contamination during spring thaw. The Town strongly encourages any Town of Batavia property owners that do not currently have public water to contact the Genesee County Department of Health at 585-344-2580 and request a one-time sampling. The Genesee County Health Department will collect the sample and plot the location of the water well with a GPS survey device. These samples are funded by the Town of Batavia. You may request a test for coliform bacteria and nitrates. The results of the test will be available at Batavia Town Hall.

Any property owners who are interested in public water are encouraged to notify the town in writing (either with an informal petition, by individual letter or e-mail). In areas of concentrated interest, the Town will begin the process of seeking grant funding to extend public water to those areas.

Previously: Three residential wells on State Street Road contaminated by e-coli

(Updated 3:18 p.m.)

The wells of three homes on State Street Road in the Town of Batavia have been contaminated by the deadly bacteria known as e-coli, according to the county's Interim Health Director Randy Garney.

The likely cause of the contamination, according to Garney, was the spreading of manure on nearby farm fields.

The three homes are located between the airport and the Genesee County Emergency Management Office.

Residents contacted the health department Monday complaining about discolored water and a funny smell, Garney said. The water was tested on Tuesday and positive results came back Wednesday.

Resident Joe Pionessa (pictured), who has lived on State Street for 22 years, said his water tested positive for bacteria, but no e-coli, though he believed neighbors on both sides of him did have e-coli in their well water.

He said it wasn't a big deal. He doesn't drink water ("I know what fish do in it," he said), and he thinks his water has already cleaned up quite a bit (he dumped chlorine in it after noticing the funny smell on Thursday).

He doesn't want negative publicity for the farmer, whom he said he's known for years and he believes was following state guidelines.

"Stuff like this happens and he certainly didn't do anything maliciously," Pionessa said. "He was very apologetic. Shit happens, and this time it happened here."

Somebody, he said, possibly the farmer, left three cases of bottled water yesterday on Pionessa's front steps.

Letters have been sent to 44 of the surrounding home owners in both Batavia and Elba warning them of the potential contamination and asking them to contact the health department to have their water tested if they suspect any contamination.

The test is free.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger said test results of the well water at the county building came back negative this afternoon. Not that it mattered much, Yaeger said, since personnel there have drank bottled water since the day the facility opened.

Because the wells were contaminated from a ground water source, it's probable that the residents will never again be able to use the wells for potable water.

Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post said the Town has already started the process of helping the residents determine if they want to create a water district and hook their homes into the public water system.

This sort of contamination is a common issue in the Town of Batavia, according to Post.

"We anticipate that this will be an issue until every household in the community is on public water," Post said. "The only solution to this is to ensure that well water is no longer the primary source of water because all well water is at risk."

While the town doesn't supply water, they do have resources available to help with getting the engineering done, the cost analysis and setting up the process of putting homes on public water

"There is a process and we’re certainly already mobilized," Post said.

There was a similar problem on Ellicott Street Road two years ago, where a farmer was "guilty of farming" -- spreading manure in accordance with state regulations -- and more than 100 homes were effected by e-coli contamination. The town was able to help expedite the process of getting the homes on public water.