A federal agency is stepping in to provide support to address Yigo’s dieldrin water contamination crisis—aid that Mayor Frances Lizama says is significant relief. Federal support is now underway to address the water contamination crisis in Yigo. 

Over the weekend, the Office of the Governor announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that funding, technical expertise, and compliance support are being made available—all to accelerate cleanup and restore safe drinking water for impacted families. The news comes after a letter from Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio.

Mayor Lizama says the help can’t come soon enough, telling KUAM News, “Honestly, it’s a big relief.”  She added, “We can only do as much as we can by assisting. This relief with the federal coming in and stepping in and assisting, and also providing filtration systems for the families–of course, I’m hoping that process will take place soon because just trying to get the necessity–it’s very difficult.”

In a formal response, the acting administrator of the USEPA says the agency is working closely with Guam EPA and the Guam Waterworks Authority to provide immediate resources and solutions. The Governor’s Office noted that GWA can use grant funds to purchase filtration units for homes and install treatment systems at the wellhead–in addition to another USEPA grant to cover construction and installation costs of those treatment systems. 

“They are seeing that this is an emergency because it deals with health. We are trying to do the best we can. I’m very thankful that the lieutenant governor took that approach of declaring the emergency. I used to work…when it comes to dealing with FEMA, they don’t roll out their resources until a declaration has been declared," the mayor added. "This is one of the things I was glad that the acting governor at the time, Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio, has done.”

As federal aid prepares to roll out, the mayor says the community has stepped up in a big way—organizing a bottled water drive to help neighbors in need. I reached out to Cost-U-Less, and we started the bottled water drive," Mayor Lizama confirmed. "The response has been overwhelming, considering the number of residents that have been affected or are affected. The response has been very positive. We’ve gotten this morning–over six pallets of water being donated.

"So, in the meantime, we’re doing our part to assist these residents until such time as all these filtration systems get in place. I can’t emphasize how grateful… they’re coming out to assist us. Any assistance that we can get just means a lot.”

Mayor Lizama is also calling for better communication when it comes to public health risks, saying, “I think in this case, with Yigo, I think that the vice and I should be made aware prior to...nobody wants to know last-minute what’s going on. Especially when it deals with our essentials—water for the most part. We all can live without power, but we need the water. I guess, just giving a heads up—not this last minute, hey, this is what we found out kind of thing.”

Meanwhile, USEPA and GWA are working to expedite construction of a permanent treatment system for well Y-15–to include looking for ways to speed up the project’s scheduled construction timeframe.  And while the community waits for long-term fixes, Lizama reminds affected families that fill stations and water tanks remain in place. 

“The fill stations," she said, "we have one located here in front of the Yigo Mayor's Office and one right up outside the Yigo fenceline. We have the water tankers across Upi Elementary School–one in East Gayinero at the entrance of Gill-Breeze, and one up along Route one by Arendo. Residents can go to any of these areas. I did inquire about additional water tankers for areas like Ysengsong, Mayot, Chalan Emsley, residents in between Upi Elementary and East Gayinero. Maybe this is something that we can assist them with.”

In the meantime, the USEPA is providing the Guam EPA with technical and compliance support to implement Guam’s Dieldrin Interim Action Level Rule, carry out confirmatory monitoring, and the eventual lift of the “Do not drink without treatment” advisory once safety standards are met. Residents with questions or concerns about water safety may call the Guam EPA Dieldrin Hotline at (671) 888-4342, available daily from 7am to 9pm, or visit epa.guam.gov for more information.