The Mahomet Aquifer Protection Alliance held an event Saturday to update community members on efforts to address potential groundwater contamination.

An aquifer is an underground layer of materials such as sand or fractured rock where water can be extracted from using a well. The Mahomet Aquifer supplies clean water to 14 counties in Illinois, including Champaign County. 

The event focused on a coalition of agencies’ attempts to obtain sole source designation for the aquifer in response to Clinton Landfill, Inc.’s installation of a chemical-waste landfill above it. Sole Source designation protects an area’s groundwater resource by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to review certain proposed projects within the designated area, according to the EPA’s website.

Champaign County and the University are members of the coalition. 

The coalition hired the firm Layne Hydro to study and submit the application for Sole Source designation. The application was submitted in December and is currently under review.

“I firmly believe that (the Mahomet Aquifer) qualifies under the definition,” said Allen Wehrmann, project consultant for Layne Hydro. “Whether or not it should be (designated as a Sole Source) is a question for the public and the EPA.”

The Layne Hydro report concludes that although “there are potential alternative sources of water to the Mahomet Aquifer for some communities and public water suppliers, there are no economically feasible alternative sources.”

Approximately 100 community members attended the event, which featured speakers including Illinois senators Michael Frerichs, D-52, and Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet.

“I thought it was just a terrific event,” said Steve Carter, retired city manager and member of the Protection Alliance. “It was very successful. It was a new venture for the group … we had a great turnout with pretty broad representation.”

Because the region is dependent on the Mahomet Aquifer, local governments do not want to risk potential contamination, Carter said. Clinton Landfill Inc. could not be reached for comment by press time; however, according to their website, the waste that will be put in the landfill will be handled appropriately through contact with state and EPA officials.

“It poses a small risk certainly not in my lifetime or even of the lifetime of the next generation, but down, down the road, who knows,” Wehrmann said. “My feeling is basically, ‘Why put it over the aquifer and entertain any risk at all?’ Let’s put it over some place where it’s not over a major, regional water supply.”

Champaign Mayor Don Gerard said some are concerned about unintended consequences, such as companies not wanting to build in the area because of stricter regulations that will come with Sole Source designation.

“If you’re going to bring an industry here that could potentially ruin our aquifer — our water supply — then that’s the point of it being sole source,” Gerard said.

Although designating the Mahomet Aquifer as a Sole Source aquifer will protect it from federally-funded projects that could harm the resource, it does not protect it from private projects. Still, Wehrmann thinks this will raise awareness and lead people to be more careful.

Carter anticipates the EPA will hold a public forum early next year before they reach a decision about the Mahomet Aquifer’s status. He also said the Mahomet Protection Alliance will consider hosting more events to keep the community updated.

Angelica can be reached at [email protected].