PIEDMONT - Some Piedmont leaders say the contamination of drinking water by a severe storm and flood in August could help them get a water system.

All of the about 150 Piedmont residents and many in the surrounding area depend on septic systems to handle their sewage and wells to provide drinking water.

The Aug. 17 storm dumped heavy rains, which flooded septic systems and wells, resulting in contamination in many of the wells.

State and federal water experts explained the extent of the contamination Wednesday night to about 40 area residents at a meeting in Piedmont.

Some candidates for the town board's first election on Nov. 5 said after the meeting that they hope the storm-caused contamination can help the newly formed town get federal money to pay for a water system.

Sonny Hemsher, an unopposed candidate, said he hopes the town can hook up to the Black Hawk water system, which has been extended to Summerset south of Piedmont.

But Piedmont will have to build a costly water-delivery system first, he said.

"The storm did have a silver lining," Hemsher said. It led to documentation by the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey that the Piedmont area is susceptible to contamination of its drinking water.

Three of five monitoring wells in the Piedmont area showed increased levels of fecal material after the Aug. 17 storm, USGS hydrologist Larry Putnam told the group.

The monitoring wells are part of a larger system of monitoring wells in an ongoing study of the potential effect of septic systems on water quality in the Black Hills.

Two of three monitoring wells in Piedmont showed fecal coliform bacteria, which could come from human or animal feces, Putnam said. One of two wells in the Mountain Shadows area just above the town also showed fecal coliform. Those same

three wells also showed the presence of E. coli bacteria, including one well in town with high E. coli levels. Putnam cautioned, however, that not all E. coli bacteria are harmful.

Putnam said the USGS will sample those five monitoring wells again in about a month.

Private wells in Piedmont were also found to be contaminated after the storm. Residents were urged to boil water before using it for drinking or cooking. The state provided free testing kits and free testing at the state Department of Health laboratory in Pierre.

Approximately 40 percent of the private wells around Piedmont tested after the storm showed contamination, according to Linda Harris of DENR's drinking-water program.

Total coliform bacteria were found in 80 of 209 water samples sent to the state lab.

Of about 30 samples from Piedmont tested by private labs in Rapid City, 14 had total coliform bacteria present.

Harris said total coliform does not cause illness but is an indication of contamination from a variety of sources and can include fecal coliform. She said water with total coliform is not considered safe for drinking or washing uncooked foods.

The private labs also found fecal coliform in five samples, indicating very unsafe water, Harris said.

Harris said Piedmont area residents can still get testing kits and get their water tested free at the state lab.

Harris said a 1998 study of water quality in the greater Piedmont area found total coliform in 119 of the 428 wells tested (28 percent) and fecal coliform in 16 of the wells (4 percent).

Hemsher and Dave Murphy, another town-board candidate, said the Piedmont area's water quality problems are long-standing.

Part of the problem is that most of the lots in Piedmont are small, with septic tanks and well heads too close together, Hemsher said. "Everybody's got a drain field, and everybody's got a shallow well," he said.

The Piedmont Preschool & Child Care Center was the first place in town to test and treat its water, owner Bernie Haag said. Re-testing found the water safe to drink, but Haag still has bottled water for the kids there.

And he is still concerned about water quality in Piedmont. "I think it's added to a concern that's been here for a long time. But you're talking to a community that's tight on a dollar. Not everybody can afford to go out and punch a deep well."

Murphy predicted some people will have to continue testing and treating their wells in the wake of the storm. "I feel sorry for the people that have shallow wells that are going to be contaminated for a long time."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com