Fostoria resident complains about well water

FOSTORIA — Fostoria resident Louis Watkins reported water from his underground well tasted and smelled bad at a June Seneca County General Health District Board of Education meeting. Watkins alleged the nearby landfill, owned and operated by WIN Waste Innovations about 2.5 miles south of the Watkins property, was to blame. After receiving water quality data reports from the Watkins well and monitoring wells on the landfill property, The Advertiser-Tribune spoke with Nathan Manning, a research scientist at the National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University, who found the Watkins water had high levels of sulfates, which can cause a bitter taste and foul smell. In high amounts, it can also cause gastrointestinal issues, he said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard for what constitutes a high level of sulfate in drinking water is 250 mg per liter. Water sampling reports taken from Watkins' property between December 2022 and December 2024 show sulfate levels consistently between 500-700 mg per liter, with one test showing levels of sulfate above 800 mg per liter. Water sampling reports from monitoring wells located across the WIN Waste Innovations landfill site, tested in November 2024, show sulfate levels consistently above 250 mg per liter. Of the 58 samples taken, 38 were noted at 480 mg per liter or above and 12 samples showed a sulfate concentration of 800 mg per liter. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, sulfate is a chemical compound composed of both sulfur and oxygen atoms. Sulfate can also be bonded to other chemical compounds to have a wide variety of uses, including Epsom bath salts, detergents and cosmetics. "Sulfate is naturally occurring, so it's hard to point to a specific cause or source, but the levels (of sulfate in Watkins' well) are definitely high enough to cause smell and taste issues and potentially more serious health issues in the long term," Manning wrote in an email. "2.5 miles is close enough that I would be concerned about groundwater contamination. These are relatively shallow bedrock aquifers, but they are relatively large in area and a contaminant plume could likely travel that distance over a long period of time with a constant source, like a landfill." In a follow-up phone call with Manning, who clarified that his expertise lay mainly in surface water like lakes and streams, he said he would be concerned with the high levels of sulfate if it was noted in the Sandusky River, for example, a typical location he might check for sulfates in his profession. In a phone call, Watkins reiterated the bitter taste and smell of his well water, and mentioned instances of skin irritation after bathing in it. At the board of health meeting, Seneca County Health District Director of Environmental Health Ryan Sendelbach informed the board that he had viewed water sampling reports from the Watkins property and had not noted anything concerning in the data. When asked why the data was not concerning to the health district, Sendelbach said the district does not have jurisdiction over Watkins' well. "The health department has jurisdiction over wells that we permit with regard to nitrate, E. coli and Total Coliform bacteria when it comes to water sample parameters," Sendelbach said. "The health department doesn't have jurisdiction over existing wells; we just provide guidance if someone has questions. "If someone feels they have high sulfur, we tell them to contact a water treatment business to treat the issue," he said. Sendelbach clarified sulfate and sulfur are similar. WIN Waste, Ohio EPA respond A statement from Ben Nutter, community engagement and government affairs manager for WIN Waste, says the landfill is not impacting local groundwater. "Data from the Seneca County General Health District or our independent third-party professional confirm that landfill-related groundwater is not impacting residential drinking water supplies near Fostoria," Nutter wrote in an email. He said groundwater samples had been taken from wells "located in the direction from which groundwater flows towards the landfill," as well as from wells located in the direction in which groundwater is flowing away from the landfill. "Sulfate concentrations observed in groundwater at our facility are consistent with natural background levels," Nutter said. "This indicates that the presence of sulfate is a naturally occurring condition in the regional groundwater and not the result of any impact from landwater operations." Bryant Somerville, press secretary for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, who, after viewing relevant water sampling reports, said, "We can assure residents that the WIN Waste Innovations landfill is not affecting their well water … To date, no contamination has been found in monitoring wells in the bedrock groundwater zone around the landfill." In an effort to confirm whether or not the levels of sulfates found in groundwater in the area are typical of the region, The A-T attempted to speak with hydrogeologists at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, scientists at the Columbus branch of the United States Geological Survey and a representative from Seneca Conservation District, none of which commented on the matter.