Residents' water tainted by gas

After finding gasoline in some well water, the Environment Ministry is warning residents in a neighbourhood near Kingston that it could be months before they can safely drink their water again.

Although the story didn't come to light until this week, Esso says that on Feb. 2 between 8,000 and 10,000 litres of gasoline leaked from an underground line at its service station on the 401 just west of Kingston.

The company reported the leak to the provincial spills centre, but said it didn't know at the time the spill had gone off-site.

It wasn't until early in March that Environment Ministry officials realized the leak could be getting into the wells of eight nearby homes. The affected residents have been drinking bottled water since.

In November, one of the affected residents had complained to the ministry of a gas smell coming from the water. The ministry tested the water, but thought the source was from that site.

It went back to test the resident's water again in March, and discovered the larger problem.

The Environment Ministry's Penny Stewart acknowledged that it's possible the gas was leaking from the station in November, but said it's impossible to absolutely determine after the fact.

And although traces of gas have been found in the well water, an Imperial Oil/Esso spokesperson said there isn't enough evidence to make a direct link.

"We have not determined what the source of the impacted wells are," said spokesperson Kim Fox.

As well as offering bottled water, the company has installed water purification systems and has offered the residents the option of staying in a hotel.

Environment officials don't yet know how far the leak has spread.

The company has launched a study to determine the extent of contamination in the groundwater and must report to the ministry with an action plan.

The ministry says it could be months before the neighbouring residents are given the all-clear to drink their well water.