Study finds south-side Tucson residents still deal with toll of water contamination decades later

One in three Tucson residents who experienced water contamination issues in their communities are still dealing with mental health impacts, four decades after the contamination was addressed. That’s according to a new study out from the University of Arizona.

Communities in Tucson’s south side were contaminated when a cleaning solvent called TCE used at nearby military installations in the 1950s seeped into groundwater. Exposure has been linked to different types of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other issues.

The area was declared a Superfund site by the EPA in the 1980s because of the toxin, and groundwater wells in the area were shut down.

University of Arizona researchers surveyed more than 350 people who lived, worked and went to school in the area and drank the contaminated water. One in three reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress and 34% had clinically significant symptoms.

More than one-fifth of the U.S. population was living within three miles of a Superfund site nationwide by 2020, according to the study.

South side Tucson communities have been drinking Colorado River water since the Superfund designation, but groundwater cleanup continues.

Earlier this month, a water treatment facility originally built to address TCE was upgraded to enhance treatment efficacy for PFAS — another contaminant that originated at the military sites in Tucson's south side.