Three More Wells Near Lake Bear Gasoline Taint

Beaver Lake, AK, November 16, 2000 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) –
For nearly a year, Linda Kauffman hoped her luck would hold every time
she turned on the tap.

Technicians tested the water from her well monthly – the same water she
and her husband use to make their morning coffee.

She hoped each test would show that her water had no signs of
contamination from a gasoline spill discovered in January at nearby
Coppermine Lodge in the Rocky Branch area of Beaver Lake.

The Kauffmans’ luck ran out.

The state Department of Environmental Quality announced that their well
and one belonging to Nancy Eiserman contained trace elements of
benzene, a component of gasoline known to cause cancer after prolonged
exposure.

Wells within a one-eighth-mile radius of the lodge are being tested every
month for signs of benzene contamination since the discovery of the
gasoline spill.

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