WOOD RIVER JCT. - Details of ongoing tests at the Charbert textile plant in Alton reveal that groundwater contamination may exist at deeper levels than village residents previously thought.

The source of the impurity, however, may not be the result of recent operations at the Church Street mill.

During a water quality meeting between state agencies, town officials and local residents Thursday at the Chariho Middle School, a recent analysis of groundwater samples taken from several hundred feet below the plant containing perchloroethylene (PCE) and tetrachloroethylene (TCE) was discussed. The study indicated contaminants above the agency's groundwater advisory level of 5 parts per billion.