This News Article was copied from the following:
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THE EASTERN DOOR Newspaper
KANIEN'KEHA:KA NA'KON:KE RONTEHNHOHANONHNHA
Kahnawake Mohawk Territory
Volume 8 Number 2 - February 5, 1999 Edition
SALT WATER DETECTED IN AKWESASNE HOMES
BY: GREG HORN
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As of February 1, salt water in above normal levels has been discovered in about 40 homes in Akwesasne. The forty homes that are affected are in the area of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino that is currently under construction in Hogansburg, New York.

It is believed that salt water has been seeping into the water supply since late November or early December, when the Ken Brown Well Drilling Company was drilling for the casino's water supply, accidentally struck salt water.

President R.C. St. Regis Management, which is the Casino Management company, has announced that they are working with the Anderson Blake Construction Company, the firm contracted to build the casino and the Ken Brown Well Drilling Company to remedy this situation.

During the last two weeks Akwesasne residents began noticing a peculiar odour and taste to their tap water. This prompted the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division to conduct tests. The results of these tests showed above normal levels of salinity, or salt water, in residential wells.

The affected households are being provided with $20 per week for laundry costs by the casino management company. The Anderson Blake Construction Company is also providing these residents with bottled drinking water. An arrangement has been made between the casino management company and the Heart to Hart Fitness Center to use their facilities for showering and
recreational needs.

According to Ken Jock, the Director of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division, a U.S. Geological Survey Geologist is investigating the movement of the salt water.

There are concerns that the salt water contamination could reach the Canadian border at Snye and even the St. Lawrence River.

It is not known how long the wells will be affected by the salt water, but it has been reported that some of the first homes to be tested are now showing lower levels of salt water in their wells, according to Alison Calkins of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino.

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