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Summary of the water contamination situation at Camp Lejeune

Eight water-distribution systems have supplied or currently are supplying finished water to family housing and other facilities at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

  • Hadnot Point
  • Tarawa Terrace
  • Holcomb Boulevard
  • Courthouse Bay
  • Rifle Range
  • Onslow Beach
  • Montford Point/Camp Johnson
  • New River

Three water-distribution plants — "Hadnot Point, Tarawa Terrace, and Holcomb Boulevard — "have historically supplied finished water to the majority of family housing units at the Base and were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Information about these three water treatment plants is provided below. Other on-base treatment plants were not contaminated.

  • Hadnot Point (HP)
    • Began operation in 1942
    • Areas served:
      • Mainside barracks
      • Hospital Point family housing
      • Family housing at Midway Park, Paradise Point, and Berkeley Manor until June 1972
    • TCE (trichloroethylene) was the main contaminant
      • Maximum TCE level detected in drinking water was 1,400 parts per billion (ppb) in May 1982
      • The current limit for TCE in drinking water is 5 ppb
    • Other contaminants detected included PCE (perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene), DCE (trans-1,2-dichloroethylene), vinyl chloride, and benzene
    • Multiple sources of contamination:
      • Leaking underground storage tanks
      • Waste disposal sites
    • The most contaminated wells were shut down by February 1985
    • ATSDR used water modeling to estimate past exposure levels
      • At least one VOC exceeded its current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level in drinking water during August 1953 and January 1985
  • Tarawa Terrace (TT)
    • Began operation in 1952
    • Shut down in March 1987
    • Areas served:
      • Tarawa Terrace family housing
      • Knox trailer park
    • PCE was the main contaminant
      • Maximum PCE level detected in drinking water was 215 ppb in February 1985
      • The current limit for PCE in drinking water is 5 ppb
    • Source of contamination was ABC One-Hour Cleaners, an off-base dry cleaning firm
    • The most contaminated wells were shut down in February 1985
    • ATSDR used water modeling to estimate past exposure levels
      • PCE concentrations exceeded the current EPA maximum contaminant level of 5 ppb in drinking water for 346 months during November 1957-February 1987
  • Holcomb Boulevard (HB)
    • Began operation in June 1972
    • Areas served:
      • Family housing at Midway Park, Paradise Point, Berkeley Manor, and Watkins Village
      • Tarawa Terrace family housing after March 1987
    • HB wells were generally not contaminated
    • Contaminated water from the HP water treatment plant supplied the HB drinking-water system when the HB plant was shut down during January 27-Febraury 7, 1985
    • Contaminated water from HP water treatment plant was used intermittently to supplement the HB drinking-water supply during dry spring and summer months when demand was high (1972-1985)

Additional information about can be found at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/docs/chapter_A_hadnotpoint.pdf.

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