Milford Contaminated Aquifer

Overview

The Milford Contaminated Aquifer is a Superfund site in Milford, Ohio, listed on the EPA's National Priorities List in March 2011. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found in three of the city's public drinking water wells near Main Street and Lila Avenue in 1986. The site is also known as the Milford Well Field and sits in Clermont County.

Six VOCs are the contaminants of concern, all found in groundwater. They are 1,1-dichloroethene, chloroethene (vinyl chloride), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, and trichloroethene. EPA determined that all six pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment based on the amounts present and potential exposure effects.

The city installed an air stripper to treat the affected wells and has kept that system running. Current water quality levels meet safety standards. EPA completed a remedial investigation from 2013 through 2019, published findings in October 2020, and finished a feasibility study in April 2021. A public comment period ran from December 8, 2021 to January 7, 2022, and EPA and Ohio EPA issued a Record of Decision on April 20, 2022. The selected cleanup approach includes injecting substances into the groundwater to break down contamination using bioremediation and chemical reduction methods, permeable reactive barriers, activated carbon-based technologies, verifying that homes and buildings connect to the municipal water supply, installing new municipal wells with permanent wellhead treatment, adding signs and fencing, and enforcing land-use restrictions.

Remedial design work began in April 2023 and is estimated to finish between March and May 2027. Full remedial action is expected to start between March and May 2028. Human exposure and groundwater migration are both assessed as under control. Physical construction of the cleanup is not yet complete.

Community members can review site records at the Milford-Township Branch of the Clermont County Public Library. Questions can be directed to the EPA community involvement coordinator, the remedial project manager, or the Ohio EPA.