State Department of Health to hold a fact finding hearing on Raspberry Falls

Published on Loudoun Times Mirror web-site

written by Crystal Owens

MAY 16, 2011

Virginia Department of Health officials will hold a fact-finding session with Raspberry Falls residents to determine if a formal hearing is warranted on whether the state is doing enough to ensure safe drinking water for the community.

The fact-finding hearing, set for May 26, will be conducted by state Department of Health District Director Dr. R. Dana Bradshaw.

Bradshaw will then make a recommendation to the state Health Commissioner based on his findings.

Residents of the community north of Leesburg requested the hearing after officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently said they would not continue to pursue access to parts of the property to conduct a dye trace study.

A dye trace study would conclude if there are sources of contamination to the ground water that serves several communal wells within the community that rests on karst geology.
In karst geology, surface water can easily drain downward through joints in the rock, making direct contact with the groundwater.

In October 2009, Loudoun County Supervisor Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin) requested the dye trace study for Raspberry Falls after she was bombarded with concerns from residents who said they were worried about the quality of their drinking water.

The community is surrounded by dairy and bison farms as well as a golf course. Residents said they worried that fertilizers and bacteria from the properties were leaking into the community’s groundwater supply and complained of health problems and corroding copper pipes, among other issues.

The state Department of Health already has determined one well on the property to be groundwater under the direct influence of surface water – or GUDI.

Loudoun Water, the entity that operates the communal system, shut the GUDI well down in November.

In letters to Loudoun County government leaders, EPA officials said they’ve been denied access to parts of Raspberry Falls to conduct the dye trace study that are owned by Van Metre, the company that built many of the homes in the community.

Other parts of the property are controlled by Loudoun Water, who are cooperating with the EPA, spokesman Mike McGill said.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA has the authority to conduct various types of investigations to protect human health and the environment.