SALINA, Kan. -- A new report accuses the Kansas City Army Corps of Engineers of botching an investigation into a pollution cleanup project in Salina -- and jeopardizing the city's water supply, KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported.

The report, from soil experts with Dragun Corporation, said the Corps badly misjudged how fast toxic chemicals in Salina's ground water are advancing toward the city's water wells. The Corps had estimated that the danger to the Salina water supply is 75 years away, but the Dragun report stated the water supply could be contaminated in eight years.

"They clearly missed it scientifically," said Dr. James Dragun, who is challenging Corps officials.

"You know, we've been working on this for 10 years ... He's been looking at it for two months. We'd like to see what he's thinking," said Col. Michael Rossi, the head of the local Army Corps of Engineers.

Part of the job of the Corps is to clean up old military bases, such as Salina's Schilling Air Force Base, part of which is now a municipal airport.

"We do cleanups nationwide. So, we're not rubes at this cleanup business," Rossi said.

Mahoney reported that for 20 years, starting in 1942, base workers used to dump a chemical cleaning solvent -- that many called "gunk" -- into the ditches around the base. That toxic chemical, trichloroethylene, is now threatening the city's water supply.

Rossi said the Corps is looking for the best way to clean up the mess. However, Mahoney reported that some Salina residents think the Corps is trying to cover up the problem.

"Absolutely, positively wrong. We're in the business of cleaning up -- we're not in the business of avoiding cleaning up," Rossi said.

The Corps said they're drawing up a plan to clean up the pollution plume that's threatening the water supply. The supervisor of the project said that plan could be ready in about two years.