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RED BLUFF A state study completed this month determined dense development that is heavily reliant on septic tank sewage systems is the primary reason tap water in some Tehama County homes is high in nitrate. The state Department of Water Resources is jointly hosting a public informational meeting Thursday night to discuss the findings of its 2003 report on groundwater contaminates in the Antelope Boulevard area. The department's study found nitrate levels exceeded federal and state safety standards in a populated, unincorporated area north of Antelope Boulevard and west of Trinity Avenue, a draft of the department's report reads. "Nearly all samples in which nitrate levels exceeded the drinking water criterion were in this area," it reads. Although livestock or orchard fertilizer may have contributed to high nitrate levels, their impact seem much less significant than the increasing contamination from septic tank leach fields, the report reads. "Previous studies found similar results. However, a greater number of wells were found with elevated concentrations of nitrates during the present study," it reads. Nitrate, a naturally occurring substance in water, can be harmful in concentrated amounts. Some infants are particularly susceptible and can die from drinking water high in nitrate. Jerry Boles, chief of the department's Water Quality and Biology Section, co-wrote the report. He said the thrust of Thursday's meeting is to educate the public about the nitrate problem. Residents should ask their doctors for advice on whether to drink their tap water. "For that type of information, residents need to talk to a medical professional, such as their family physician," he said Monday. Boles estimates 100 to 150 people will attend the meeting, based partly on the 170 well-water samples that residents brought to his office for free testing from March to May. "We finally had to cease doing that, otherwise it would just go on and on forever. When the information first became known to the people in the Antelope area, we had dozens of people coming in each week," he said. Nitrate in 24 of residents' 170 samples, or 14 percent, exceeded the state and federal standard of 45 milligrams per liter. Samples from 68 wells, or 40 percent, had moderately high levels between 22.7 and 45 milligrams per liter. Similarly, in 2002, the 45-milligram-per-liter standard was exceeded in samples from 18 of the 88 wells tested, or slightly more than 20 percent, the draft report reads. Nearly 32 percent of the wells showed moderately elevated nitrate levels; 18 percent exhibited low levels, the report reads. Studies over the past two decades have found elevated levels of nitrate in the Antelope area east of Red Bluff. Two large dairies had previously operated on that land, and much of the area is still used for orchards or livestock. Most homes and businesses in the Antelope area draw water from groundwater wells, each of which serves between one and four homes or businesses. Tehama County and city of Red Bluff officials agreed in March to build sewage pipes connecting the Antelope region to the city sewage treatment plant. However, the agencies must find money for the $26 million project and win support from landowners who will vote on it. About 245 homes and businesses sit within the tested area, although not all have tap water high in nitrate. A ballot will be ready sometime next year, while grants are being sought to offset the cost to landowners. Water Resource Control Engineer Jim Rohrbach of the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board said he will be at Thursday's meeting to help explain proposed solutions and answer questions. "They may be required to hook up to the sewer system, and that's going to cost money, so naturally people are concerned," he said. If owners vote against the sewage project, officials from the state's water quality control board have warned they may ban the use of septic tanks where groundwater is most severely contaminated with nitrate. Digging deeper wells is not an acceptable solution, Rohrbach said. Eventually, nitrate will seep to greater depths, he said. "It's simple science. Eventually, that water filters down to the deeper aquifers," Rohrbach said. Tehama County Director of Environmental Health Lee Mercer will help field questions about what individual well owners can do, Boles said. Those who attend the meeting will receive a summary of the water quality control board's report and at least one of the maps, Boles said. But state water officials in Sacramento must review his office's report before it is made available to the public, probably in a month, Boles said. Once it is approved, the approximately 30-page report will be available on the Regional Water Quality Control Board's Web site and at its Red Bluff office, Boles said. # |
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