For seven years, they've waited, listening to officials promise a permanent clean water supply but never seeing the result.
Now, after yet another delay, residents say they are starting to lose hope - arguing that officials don't have a sense of urgency to provide the roughly 500 homes and businesses affected by contamination from Ivy Industrial Park with what they had been promised.
"It's just frustrating and disappointing," said resident David Hubble, who has voiced the community's concern for years. "It's turning into one of those things that just drags on, and you have to wonder whether it will ever be finished."
In April 2011, the state Department of Environmental Protection signed a settlement with industrial park tenants Bostik Inc. and Sandvik Inc. - the companies deemed responsible for contaminating groundwater in Scott, South Abington, Waverly and North Abington townships with trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). TCE has been known to cause several types of cancer as well as neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, liver toxicity and kidney toxicity if it is ingested or absorbed through the skin, according to reports issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Those residents and business owners exposed to TCE and PCE were offered installation of a water treatment system that removes all the toxins. Bostik and Sandvik paid for the systems, which are monitored by the DEP. As of April 2011, there were 235 homes and businesses using the treatment system.
The settlement calls for the companies to pay for a 21-mile, $20 million waterline, to connect the affected homes and to plug the residents' contaminated water wells.
Fly in the ointment
Less than a month ago, the South Abington Twp. Zoning Hearing Board rejected an appeal made by Pennsylvania American Water Co. for an upgrade of the existing pump station on Griffin Pond Road that would act as the primary source for the waterline.
The proposed upgrade, which called for the construction of a pump station alongside the existing one, would create too large of a footprint in a small neighborhood, board members argued.
The decision, which can be appealed by PAWC, leaves the project at a standstill and residents in the dark as to when - if ever - this waterline will be constructed.
PAWC spokeswoman Susan Turcmanovich said the company will not make a decision on how to proceed until it receives an official notification saying its appeal was rejected.
"I think we have gone above and beyond the requirements to make this more residential-looking, and more acceptable for neighbors," said attorney Edward Neyhart, who is representing PAWC. "This plan has been approved by the DEP and EPA."
Board members have since urged PAWC officials to look elsewhere, citing the Griffin Pond Reservoir and well locations in Waverly Twp. as alternatives.
But, as Mr. Neyhart had said at the meeting, the Griffin Pond Road location is unique because of its well capacity, water quality and elevation.
"The location is uniquely suited," he said. "It's the consensus choice."
For now, residents and township managers can only wait - and hope for a solution.
"We can't move forward with this project until they (PAWC) determine where to draw the water from," South Abington Twp. Manager David O'Neill said. "It could take a while. It may be time to go back to the drawing board."
Despite the extensive delays and the uncertain future, Bostik and Sandvik are not in jeopardy of violating the settlement, a DEP spokeswoman said. The settlement mandated that the companies submit a work plan for the installation of the waterline within 60 days of the consent order and agreement - which they did - but didn't list a deadline for start of construction.
"Right now, we are just going to move forward with what we can control," said Ray Germann, who was speaking on behalf of both Bostik Inc. and Sandvik Inc. "We still plan to start construction on the waterline at some point during the next construction season."
Though he said there isn't an exact date, Mr. Germann said the companies will advertise the project in the coming months. He said he couldn't confirm how long the construction will take, as it could vary depending on the contractor.
Even when construction begins, DEP officials say it will take about nine months to a year to complete.
"At this point, it probably won't be ready for another three years at least," Mr. Hubble said. "The promises have been made over and over again. But they haven't been met."
Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter