COEUR d'ALENE - The Department of Environmental Quality said it received additional funding earlier this month to continue testing for possible contamination in 10 wells around Chilco Road in Athol.

Several neighbors had complained last year that their water supplies had turned yellow and smelled foul, possibly tainted by wood byproducts.

Gary Stevens, DEQ hydrologist, said the local office received $10,600 from the state office to test at the wells and at Chilco Lake to determine if it can pinpoint a source of contamination.

"Hopefully we can identify the mechanism or source of these water quality issues, if they do exist," he said. "That's the intent."

The testing began this month and will continue to June. The local office requested funding several months ago after hearing from around a dozen concerned neighbors who felt their water supplies were tainted.

Some neighbors were concerned that the nearby lumber mill, Idaho Forest Group, was the source for the wood byproducts, but previous testing didn't indicate as much around the heavily wooded area.

The issue was featured in The Press, Sunday, Jan. 22.

IFG plant manager Mike Henley, who oversees the Chilco and Laclede sites, said Wednesday two of the wells the DEQ is testing are located on IFG's property.

"It's good that they agreed to do some more testing on the wells," he said, to determine what the possible source could be.

Judy Brooks, one of the neighbors who hooked her home up to a water filtration system after the problem arose, said she was surprised about news of the additional testing, especially since she considered the matter dead in the water.

"I was pretty shocked," she said. "I was led to believe they were done (testing)."

Wood byproducts in water are generally not considered health risks to drink, though they make the water yellow and foul smelling.

Contaminants being tested for include coliform, E. coli bacteria tannins, lignin and Manganese, according to the DEQ.

"At the end of June we'll compile all the information and see what we have," Stevens said.