The Public Health Service Hospital (PHSH) at the Presidio has seen a lot of use and abuse since it was built in 1875. The Presidio Trust has been through a long and sometimes difficult process to re-introduce residential use to the abandoned area. Now that the decision has been made on the reuse of the area, will the site be ready for re-development when the time comes to sign the leases?
The problem is making sure we’ve got a site that is cleaned up properly before redevelopment activities. We’ve known for many years that the PHSH site has had a major landfill under the west parking area. Recently, additional investigations have revealed areas of previously unknown landfilling and potential contamination. New wells have been installed to verify whether any impacts to groundwater have occurred. Soil testing has been conducted and will tell us if the site is contaminated. These soil and groundwater tests will help us determine the best remedy for the site.
The Presidio Trust, the National Park Service, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and community members of the Restoration Advisory Board are examining the findings as they become available. The entire team is focused on moving the project along for redevelopment purposes. At the same time, we want to insure that there are no impacts to Lobos Creek, the Presidio’s drinking water supply, and Mountain Lake, the beautiful natural and cultural resource on the Presidio’s southern boundary.
click on image for detailed view
The time crunch is on. Unfortunately, it’s late in the game to be doing additional field investigations. Clearly though, the team needs to see the soil and groundwater data before proposing a remedy that is protective of human health and the environment.
– Doug Kern
Tags:
contamination,
drinking water supply,
landfill,
lead,
Lobos Creek,
Mountain Lake,
PHSH,
remedy selection
Tags: Remediation by Doug
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