CAMDEN, OHIO — The village of Camden could lose its water supply in the next six weeks because of high levels of road salt and associated contaminants in the village’s drinking water wells, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency started an in-ground investigation Wednesday, Aug. 18, in response to resident complaints about the taste of the village’s water.

Water in one of the village’s three wells has too much salt and brine for drinking use, said Heather Lauer, an Ohio EPA spokeswoman. A second well in current use is experiencing higher salt levels, which continue to rise, she said. The third well is not being used to avoid potential contamination.

“At the rate that the salt is rising they could lose that whole well field within six weeks,” Lauer said.

The wells serve about 2,500 village residents, according to Lauer.

Camden’s water is considered safe to drink, but the village is providing bottled water to residents who don’t like the taste, Lauer said.

The agency in August 2009 notified Camden business owner Rod Good that large, uncovered salt piles on his property posed a potential threat to the village’s drinking water and runoff from the piles also could contaminate surface streams. The salt is owned by Cargill Inc. and Central Salt.

In addition to the overland runoff, a field tile drained some of the salty water to a nearby stream bed that is dry during part of the year. Much of the moisture that falls into the stream during summer months percolates into the ground and subsequently the aquifer, Lauer said.

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