More wells. More tests. The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Superfund site will see both in 2018. Environmental Protection Agency project manager Mike Cirian said last week that crews will drill about eight more wells and existing wells that are in the southeast end of the site will also be tested this year.

The new water wells are scattered throughout the site, but will include two more near the neighborhood of Aluminum City, which is southwest of the property.

Last year, the company took more than 520 soil, 12 sediment, 87 surface water and 242 groundwater samples from the 900-plus acre site. This year, they’ll do another round of sampling, Cirian said, one at high water — likely in June — and another at low water — probably this fall.

In addition, former water wells in the southeast corner will have the pumps pulled and will also be included in the 2018 phase II sampling. Some former workers have criticized the EPA and the company in the past for not sampling those wells.

The first round of sampling found high concentrations of cyanide and flouride in water wells near landfills on the site just north of the buildings.

But as the groundwater flows toward the Flathead River, the concentrations of both contaminants diminished greatly, early tests have found.

Cyanide has not been found in residential wells near the plant to date.

In addition to tests, crews have also shored up a coffer dam along the Flathead River that protects old settling ponds from washing out. Last year when the river came up in the spring, it washed away about 30 feet of the bank. Cirian said the EPA didn’t want the river to wash out the settling ponds this spring, so the dam was bolstered with rip-rap and rebuilt.

The company, late last week, also released the screening level ecological risk assessment summary report and the final phase 1 site characterization data summary report.

Both documents are available at http://www.cfacproject.com/welcome/