Chlorinated solvents have contaminated the groundwater beneath Goshen, Indiana, affecting four municipal water wells that serve the city. The site is also known as the Goshen Municipal Well Field or Goshen North Well Field, and it sits in Elkhart County. The EPA added it to the National Priorities List in March 2022 to make it eligible for federal cleanup funding. Contamination was first detected in 1993, but investigators found more than 67 facilities within one mile of the well field that used chlorinated solvents, and no single source could be identified.
Current contaminant levels in the drinking water are below the Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). The city treats the water at a treatment plant before distributing it to residents. The affected media are groundwater and, through planned sampling, surface water and sediment in nearby Rock Run Creek.
A Remedial Investigation began on September 4, 2025, and covers the entire site as one operable unit. From 2026 to 2029, EPA plans to sample approximately 30 residential water wells, municipal wells, surface water, and sediment in Rock Run Creek to map the extent of the contamination. The agency will also install permanent monitoring wells for quarterly sampling and conduct soil sampling near the site. After the investigation wraps up, EPA will conduct a Feasibility Study to evaluate treatment technologies and costs before choosing a cleanup remedy. No remedy has been selected yet, and no physical construction has started.
EPA contractors are sending letters to property owners who have water wells, asking permission to sample those wells at no cost. The sampling will test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are carbon-containing chemicals that evaporate easily, and for 1,4-dioxane, a colorless man-made chemical that dissolves easily in water. Owners who participate will receive their results. A March 2026 fact sheet provides more details about the well sampling study and upcoming activities at the site.
Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.
