As work continues to remove traces of the toxic pesticide dieldrin from Guam’s water system, lawmakers today took a closer look at how far mitigation efforts have come and what still needs to be done to ensure islandwide safety.

At this morning’s Committee on Utilities oversight hearing, lawmakers pressed Guam Waterworks Authority officials on their progress to remove dieldrin from the island’s drinking water. As KUAM News reported, the pesticide –  banned in the US since the 1980s – was found at elevated levels in Guam’s northern wells, raising public concern and questions about accountability.

GWA assistant general manager Thomas Cruz shared the situation’s timeline once again, explaining that dieldrin was first detected in Guam’s groundwater in 2012.  But without a national standard or directive, no corrective action was required at the time.

Consolidated Commission on Utilities board member Simon Sanchez emphasized that this contaminant remains an outlier, saying, “Even the navy now has announced that there’s traces of dieldrin in their water…they’re saying it's below the standard we (Guam EPA) set because there’s no national standard… all the players are working together to ensure to the greatest degree possible, that the water is safe to drink.”

That cooperation gained structure last year when Guam EPA set its own interim action levels. Now, following a “Do Not Drink Water Without Treatment” advisory, GWA has begun installing granular activated carbon treatment systems to remove dieldrin. The first of those systems went online this month at Well Y-15 in Yigo – where testing confirmed no dieldrin detected after four weeks of treatment. 

GWA has also launched guamwatersafety.com, offering updates, advisories, and assistance for home filtration reimbursement.

Yigo mayor Frances Lizama expressed appreciation for GWA’s continued efforts, noting, “It’s not that they weren’t doing anything. They were already in the process of trying to mitigate the issue and I want to thank them for that. Again, they’ve been working very hard.”

But some residents remain skeptical – including Yigo homeowner Concita Taitano, who says agencies failed to act with urgency or transparency. “The progress that has been made today was because we made them do it. When we had the town meeting, they had nothing. Not even a sign-in sheet," she said.

“They came with nothing! That really bothered me because when you do a town meeting, you do more than just inform, especially if you knew that this was a longstanding issue...there was no sense of urgency and that’s the thing that bothers me, senators.”

Former Guam Economic Development Authority director John Martinez added that while the cause of contamination is still undetermined, Guam should look to other regions for guidance. “While we have not yet determined the cause, it is important to recognize that similar contamination has been documented in Okinawa following years of military and industrial use," he said.

“When Okinawan citizens came to Guam, they warned us about poisoned water, they talked about cultural loss, and social burdens.”

As GWA works toward permanent treatment solutions, lawmakers say continued oversight will be key – not only to ensure clean water, but to rebuild public trust in the process.