SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE_1987-1992

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J Lincoln Center -2- 21 July 1587 Three dry cleaners operate in Lincoln Center. Richard Azevedo, from the Regional Board, Laurie Cotulla, from the San Joaquin Local Health District, and Ron Rall, from the San Joaquin County Utilities Maintenance District, visited Village Cleaners and Norge cleaners on 4 November 1985 and confirmed PCE had been used. They were not able to access One-Hour Martinizing. They visited other businesses at the shopping center, and found no other apparent sources of these chemicals. According to Laurie Cotulla, .all the dry cleaners use PCE, and TCE is used occasionally. On 19 November 1986 a sample was taken from LVMD Well no. 6 which showed a PCE concentration of 19. 5 ppb. The well was shut off on 9 December 1986, and remains off at this time. This well is screened from 210 to 262 feet, and has a sanitary seal down to 40 feet, according to the original well log. An existing filter in the well makes renovation, as was undertaken in well no. 1, impractical. Sanitary sewer lines maintained by the San Joaquin County Public Works Department and owned by LVMD are also within a short distance of the polluted wells, and may also have contributed to the problem. It is apparent that a ground water investigation and subsequent clean-up are necessary at this site. CONCLUSIONS Wells which draw water strictly from deeper aquifers supply water which does not have problem levels of contaminants. When shallow ground water enters the wells contaminant levels in the water tends to exceed state action levels. Shallow ground water near LVMD's wells number one and six is contaminated with PCE. Contaminated ground water exists at least down to 42 feet at well number one. Beneficial uses of groundwater have been impacted. Specifically, LVMD municipal supply well number one was unavailable for use from 15 January 1985 to 1 May 1986, and well number six was unavailable for use from 9 December 1986 to the present since the state's drinking water standard for PCE had been exceeded. The initial sources of the PCE now in wells near Lincoln Center appears to be the three dry cleaners which have operated on the property of Lincoln Properties Limited. Lease agreements provide the landowner the ability to regulate activities on this property which impact the underlying ground water resources. San Joaquin County Ordinances require owners of sewer laterals to maintain those laterals. Whether the contaminants were introduced to the subsurface through the laterals or from some other locationon the shopping center property, Lincoln Properties Limited, the shopping center owner, was responsible for preventing the contamination, and should be required to conduct an investigation to determine the source and extent of ground water contamination at this site.