COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Road salt for melting ice is contaminating drinking water, forcing one Ohio town to abandon its wells, state regulators said.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has found runoff from road-salt piles polluting public and private wells in five towns, The Columbus Dispatch reported.


In the village of Camden in Preble County, the water became so salty that wells had to be abandoned. A business had installed illegal storm drains that let rainwater soak into the ground.

"After you get to a certain level, you can certainly tell there is a change in the taste," said Melissa Williams, the Preble County health commissioner. "It will corrode your plumbing fixtures, also."

This sort of pollution is not specifically covered by environmental law. There are no legal limits on how much salt drinking water may have beyond a federal guideline for safeguarding taste. And no rules control how road salt is stored.

The Ohio EPA also is investigating groundwater pollution from salt piles in Athens, Chardon Township, near Springfield and in Vandalia, near Dayton.