U.S. Water News Online
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- About 1,400 residents of F.E. Warren Air Force Base have been told to continue drinking and cooking with bottled water until the source of high lead levels can be determined, base officials said.
An emergency order was issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Denver after routine tests revealed unsafe amounts of lead in drinking water at the Carlin Heights subdivision.
Base officials went door to door asking residents of all 862 homes on the base to use bottled water as a precaution, Gatewood said.
``Carlin Heights is the main concern area, but obviously we're going to test the whole base to make sure the water is safe for all workers on the installation,'' he said.
Testing was conducted recently and results were flown to a laboratory in Casper the same day.
``We have our bio-environmental engineers and water quality manager that are the ones working the tests,'' he said. ``We have informed all residents of the base to not use their water until the tests come back and we could rule out their particular area, so right now all residents are receiving the bottled water.''
Only four areas have been cleared to resume using tap water for drinking and cooking: the Base Exchange, the Chadwell dining facility, the Peacekeeper heavy mobile facility and the historic brick quarters.
The quarters are the only living quarters on base in which the water has been deemed okay to drink, Gatewood said.
About 4,300 people are assigned to the base on the western edge of Cheyenne, but many live in the city and elsewhere.
Of the 862 homes on base, 265 are in Carlin Heights, which was built in 1987 on the southeast side of the installation near Happy Jack Road.
F.E. Warren encompasses 5,869 acres and serves as headquarters for the nation's nuclear missile arsenal.
The base receives its water from the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities. The city's water was recently tested and no abnormal lead levels were detected, said Tim Wilson, the board's executive director.
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