What is the Concern Regarding MTBE?
While MTBE may be good for air quality, it now appears to be very bad for other parts of the environment; especially ground water. Over the past few years, monitoring has detected MTBE in lakes, streams, and ground water. During the summer of 1997, the US Geological Survey found detectable levels of MTBE in Lake Tahoe to a depth of 90 ft. If MTBE gets into a drinking water supply, it creates a bad smell and may pose health concerns. As an example, the City of Santa Monica had to close down almost all their supply wells due to MTBE contamination and now have to buy drinking water from other sources.
