0287-PORT_Lapel-Pin_brown_stewardshipFive years ago the Port of Vancouver turned on a “pump and treat” system to clean contaminated groundwater beneath port property and in the Fruit Valley neighborhood.  Today, that water is significantly cleaner thanks to efforts by the port and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Past industrial practices allowed chlorinated solvents to enter the soil and groundwater. In 1982 the port purchased the sites and as part of a settlement agreement, and assumed cleanup responsibilities for both properties.  Today the port places strict protocols on operations and all of its tenants to help prevent discharges, spills and contamination from reaching groundwater. 

Fortunately, cleanup efforts have been very successful and the pump and treat system and other previous actions have reduced contamination in the groundwater.  Below are totals for 2013 and for the past five years of pump and treat operations. 

2013

1,238,735,000 gallons of groundwater treated

95.88 lbs of Volatile Organic Compounds removed from groundwater

5 Year total

5,712,644,320 gallons of groundwater treated  

886.69 lbs of Volatile Organic Compounds removed from groundwater

Recognizing the importance of this project to the community, the port’s environmental team will continue to monitor the pump and treat system on a monthly and quarterly basis. For more information on the Fruit Valley cleanup, read a summary of the port’s Active Cleanups.