Talkeetna's arsenic filtration installation pushed back to August

The arsenic filtration system that was set to be installed in June in Talkeetna by the Mat Su Borough has been pushed back to August.

Project manager Jeff Walden says the contractor has looked at the high water table and is hoping that the water level might drop later in the season.  The project, originally scheduled for June, is now scheduled to begin August 23^rd.

Another predicament Walden finds himself in is trying to find parking for Chase residents.  He says the Alaska Railroad told the Borough a change was needed in the footprint for the new arsenic system.  The Borough now needs to expand the well-house area in the opposite direction they originally planned.  That means losing some of the Chase parking area.  Walden says it’s his job, as well as the Parks and Rec department, to find a new parking area.  He says he is concerned about area residents and is currently trying to find both the money to move the lot – and —  find the area which might work the best.  He says Department of Environmental Conservation got involved when they found that vehicles sit next to the wellhouse area for extended periods of time. Walden says DEC calls it an environmental hazard as they do not know what liquids might be seeping into the ground.

Walden hopes to have a decision made on what might work best for the parking area before mid July.  At that time, he says he’ll have a public service announcement ready for residents.