Letter to the editor

*Editor’s Note: This was submitted as a Letter to the Editor and was sent to the Dept. of Environment and EnergyNebraska Dept of Environment and EnergyRe: Public Water Source concernDear Sirs:Here recently, the City of Fairbury and the LBNRD rural water people are proposing a new well site in the area approximately 2 miles north of the Alexandria State Lakes on the Bill Glenn property in Jefferson County, Nebraska. There has been much opposition and controversy over this proposal and I found it my civic and moral responsibility to report what I consider a real possible health issue associated with the source of this water supply. I am enclosing a map of the ground water flow in the proposed well field area, which was provided to the public by the NRD. My concern with this is, given the direction of flow of the ground water, the volume of the water, and the distance the ground water will be pulled from. The direction of flow of the ground water lies directly in the path of an old abandoned sand pit to the South West of the proposed well field about a mile, give or take. For many, many years this sandpit served at a place that the locals and farmers would dump garbage, oil barrels, old chemical and pesticide containers, dead animals, car batteries, and what not. A lot of it went over the edge and into the water, never to be seen again, but a lot of it went in one general area. I farmed in the area and would drive by several times a day and witness people dumping things there. I remember one year the Union Pacific Railroad had a big derailment south of town. They hired several contractors to clean up the mess from the wreck. A large trench was dug in the sand (very large) and for about two weeks, there were tons and I mean tons, of cleanup debris from the train wreck, including lots of dead chicken carcasses dumped into this trench and then covered up. There are two open water areas in this old pit and as you know that is the actual ground water. If need be, I will be more than willing to take an agent of yours to the exact locations of these dumpings for core samples or exhumation. As you and I know, a lot of this stuff does not go away, and given the sandy soil conditions, there is only one place for it to go. Of course, because of their age, and given the fact that they didn’t live in the area, I am sure a lot of the people involved in this well project were not aware of this, so this is why I feel it is my moral obligation to report it. If I were on Fairbury City water or LBNRD water, I would certainly want to know where the source of my water was coming from and what I could possibly be drinking. Sometimes we as citizens are the last to know about these things unless an honest, community minded individual comes forward and advises the public. Your prompt attention to this matter will be greatly appreciated.Regards;/s/ Louie HansonFairbury

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