Contaminated private wells are still a major health concern in Montgomery County near the Baghurst Drive and Salford Quarry superfund sites, writes Zoë Read for WHYY.

New federal funding, however, is aimed at helping accelerate the clean-up efforts there and other superfund sites.

While there is now a public water source as an alternative, residents with private wells near the superfund sites have been relying on bottled water or a filtration system since the 1990s.

Another concern is that without proper clean-up the contamination will spread to other drinking water sources.

The superfund sites in Montgomery County are among 25 across the U.S. that will receive more than $1 billion from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This is the final round of more than $3 billion that has been distributed to priority superfund sites across the country.

“This funding will help improve people’s lives, especially those who’ve long been on the front lines of pollution,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janey McCabe.

“We have a historic opportunity here to restore hope to communities and to transform these blighted Superfund sites, making them not just safe and habitable, but bustling, vibrant places to live.”

Read more about the federal funding for cleaning up superfund sites and how the money will be used in Montgomery County at WHYY.

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