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WATER GREMLIN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT. PUBLIC COMMENT DRAFT sampled: A map.showing the general locations of the wells sampled can be found at Water Grem1in.Public Health Assessment Series —Private Well Sam plin .(www.health.state.mn.us/communitie5/environrxient hazardous does sites ramse w rivatewell2. df Because 1,4-dioxane was discovered in the shallow, groundwater on the Water Gremlin property in December 2019, MDH collected. water samples from 11 private wells in.`late January and early February of 20M Three of the xi wells had detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane, although the concentrations found (between.0.06 and 0.12 p0b) were significantly less than the HRL of 1 ppb. In April 2020,the. MPCA required Water Gremlin to sample private wells. with in a one -mile radius of its facility. MPCA and MDH prioritized testing locations based on the results of the.sampling earlier in 20Z0, Water Grern[in's environmental consultant (Wenck).sent letters to 97 residents at the priority locations requesting access to.collect and test a well Water sample. Forty-four well owners provided access to sample in.August 2020. MDH staff. also.collected duplicate samples from eight homes at the same time to verify test results. These MDH-collected samples were analyzed at the M D H Public Health Laboratory. The samples:coIlected by Wenck were tested by Pace Analytical and those.. results were reported directly to MPCA. 1,4-Dioxane was detected in three more private:well samples at concentrations of 0.23, 0.8, and 0.95 ppb. These concentrations are also below the HRL. The results of the samples.collected by MDH staff from the eight homes analyzed at.the Public Health Lab reported the some results (all not detected) for those homes,as the lab used by Water Gremlin, Because of the detections.of 1,4-dioxane in private we.lis,.Water Gremlin was required to conduct additional private welIsampling.1n 2021. WaterGrem lin's environmental consultant.(Stantec, formerly Wenck) sent letters to 129 residents requesting permission to test their well. Letters were sent to homes beyond the one -mile radius along Goose Lake Rd where 1,4-dioxane was detected in 2020. Stantec. received permission to sample the water from 49 wells on 48 properties. Initial results of this sampling effort in. J.uly 2021 showed. eight wells had l,4-dioxane above the MDH HRL, ranging from 1,1 to 3 ppb. These results led MPCA.and MDH.to expa rid the scope of private well testing in Gem Lake. By February 2022, a total of 92 private wells have been tested; 21 wells exceeded the 1,4-dioxane HRL and in another two wells the concentration was.exactly 1 ppb (see Figure 11 for genera1.locations). MPCA and M D H sent results to all residents. All households that .had.1 ppb of 1,4- dioxane or higher in their water were contacted directly and are receiving bottled water from a state - provided vendor. It is unknown whether the 1,4=dioxane detected in the Gem Lake private wells is from Water Gremlin. Additional investigation is needed to determine the source(s), MPCA is requiring Water Gremlin to investigate how far 1,4-dioxan.e has spread offtheir property and MPCA is investigating other potential sources in the area for possible releases of 1,4-dioxarie or products that may contain it. Becausethe. sourcq of the.1,44oxane contamination is. unknown, MPCA created a separate webpage to comrnunic.ate:wit h Gem Lake residents about. the private well sampling located at..Protecting Gem Lake residents from contaminated drinking water htt s: www. ca.state.mn.us waste rotectin - em-lake- residents-contaminated-drinking-water). MDH and MPCA continue to.sample residential wells to identify and define the area where 1,4-dioxane concentrations are above the HRL in order to protect health and ensure Gem. Lake residents have a safe drinking water supply. 92FA