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ST. CHARLES — Efforts to clean up decades-old contamination in St. Charles’ water well protection district aren’t working and won’t meet their deadline, according to a new report from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA has been working for decades to clean up the Superfund site, south of Highway 370 on the city’s north side, precariously close to a well field where St. Charles gets the majority of its drinking water.

But the main cleanup tool, the 337-page EPA report concludes, “does not appear to be functioning as intended.�

EPA’s Regional Public Affairs Director Ben Washburn on Wednesday told the Post-Dispatch that he understands community members will be disappointed.

“Our goal is to get the contaminants cleaned up, and that is certainly what we are working towards,� he said. “We understand the public wants to see this site cleaned up, and we want to see that too.�

Washburn stressed that repeated testing has shown the city’s drinking water continues to be safe to consume.

Kara Elms, a leader of the St. Charles Clean Water Advocates group, worries the contamination has spread.

“We’ve been given so many excuses as to why this site has not been cleaned up,� she said. “I think if the EPA had managed the site better this would have already been cleaned up. The EPA has dropped the ball with this whole thing.�

Industrial company Findett Corp. began operating in 1962 at the site, in an industrial area near the intersection of Elm Point Road and Governor Drive.

Findett and another company, Cadmus, both used chemicals that were later determined to be polluting the surrounding area due to “inadequate waste management practices.�

In the late 1970s, the EPA became involved in testing, monitoring and overseeing the cleanup effort, according to EPA documents.

From 1977 to 1981, Findett excavated the site and moved contaminated soils offsite. The company repeated that step in the early 2000s, hauling off 71 truckloads to a facility in Oklahoma.

In 2021, the agency installed a pair of Groundwater Extraction and Treatment System wells that pumped between five to seven gallons of contaminated water per minute out of the ground, purified it and then released it back into the city’s sewer system.

But the system broke down periodically, often due to frozen or clogged pipes.

The breakdowns could last a few hours, a couple of days or even a week or longer, according to James Curry, an engineer with the EPA.

Dense soil, Curry told the Post-Dispatch, further limited the effectiveness of the system.

He said the longest breakdowns occurred when a polar vortex sent temperatures plunging into the single digits for several days. Curry explained that the wells’ heaters became overworked and quit.

According to the EPA, the wells are supposed to purify out many different contaminants found at the site.

But testing has shown contaminants and pollutants — including vinyl chloride, benzene, xylene, chlorobenzene and dichloroethene — continue to be found at the site, the report said.

Prolonged exposure to vinyl chloride, which is used to make PVC plastics, can lead to rare forms of liver cancer as well as leukemia, brain and lung cancers. Benzene is known to cause cancer, particularly leukemia.

Exposure to xylene, an industrial solvent, can negatively affect the body’s central nervous system and can lead to vomiting, slurred speech, loss of balance, and loss of consciousness in rare cases. And chronic exposure to chlorobenzene can lead to numbness and muscle spasms in humans and restlessness, tremors and muscle spasms in animals.

The report found that the chemical concentrations are “above ecological concerns, but below human health concerns.�

Curry and Washburn said the agency is most closely monitoring the levels of vinyl chloride in the water.

“Vinyl chloride has the highest potential to move easily in the groundwater,� Curry said.

Washburn said that any clean-up of vinyl chloride would also remove the other contaminants from the groundwater.

Curry, who has studied the Findett Superfund site extensively, will present his findings in a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the St. Charles Police Department, 1781 Zumbehl Road.

He said the meeting will include a presentation, and include a time for residents to ask questions directly of EPA officials. He will also discuss what the next steps are for cleaning up the site, as the agency explores other treatment options.

“We’ve learned a lot about cleaning up groundwater contamination,� he said. “We know most sites don’t get cleaned up in 20 years.�