POLLUTION: Inland groundwater among the most contaminated

REPORT: Groundwater contamination widespread


BY JANET ZIMMERMAN STAFF WRITER March 15, 2013; 04:50 PM

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Chemicals from California’s long history of industrial and agricultural development have made their way into groundwater, particularly in the Inland region, which logs some of the worst contamination in the state, according to a recent government report.

Toxic substances such as nitrate from fertilizer and perchlorate from military and manufacturing operations have polluted the region’s drinking water sources, a problem that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars to remedy, water industry officials said.

San Bernardino County ranked third worst in the state for the number of community water systems dealing with contaminated groundwater; Riverside County was fifth, according to a January report to the Legislature by the State Water Resources Control Board. The one-time report was required by AB222, a state law that establishes a publicly accessible database of groundwater contamination.

“Just because we can’t see it or smell it, doesn’t mean it’s not there,” said Celeste Cantu, general manager at the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, which protects the water quality of the drainage basin that starts in the San Bernardino Mountains. “Whatever we have out there will find its way into the groundwater. Nothing is exempt.”

The report by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program found 680 community water systems in the state relied on contaminated groundwater sources from 2002 to 2010. Most agencies treated or blended the raw water with cleaner sources to meet health standards before serving it to customers, said John Borkovich, the program manager.

However, 265 systems statewide delivered unsafe water to taps during the eight-year period, according to the report. Ten of those were in San Bernardino County, including East Valley Water District in Highland; nine were in Riverside County, including the cities of Corona and Norco and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water Department. Operators of the affected systems have secured funding to remedy the problems, the report says.



INDUSTRIAL LEGACY

The Inland region’s groundwater had some of the highest levels in the state for all but two of the 10 chemicals tested. The two biggest culprits were:
Nitrate, from fertilizer, livestock waste and septic systems, which can interfere with oxygen uptake in infants and can cause “blue baby syndrome.”

Perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel and fireworks that can impair thyroid function.
Also detected were the solvents trichloroethylene, or TCE, and tetrachloroethylene, or PCE; naturally occurring uranium, fluoride and gross alpha particles, a group of radioactive elements; and the pesticide DBCP.
The report did not address private wells.

The contaminants are removed with expensive treatment systems that can include filters, ultraviolet radiation, chemicals and harmless bacteria that feed on the toxins. But the technology doesn’t come without a price.
The region’s water contamination legacy includes the 160-acre Goodrich industrial site in Rialto, where high levels of perchlorate and TCE were found in the aquifer after decades of operations beginning in the 1940s.
Residents have been paying a cleanup surcharge on their monthly water bill. Recent settlements with the responsible parties are expected to total $100 million when they are finalized, and city officials have said they will use part of the money to refund the surcharge to customers.

Another well-known pollution case is Lockheed Martin Corp.’s cleanup of perchlorate and TCE from its former plants around Mentone and Beaumont, where 14 years of rocket making in the 1960s and ’70s tainted groundwater serving Riverside, Redlands and Loma Linda.
Company officials have said cleanup will cost $185 million over 30 years.

EXPENSE TO CONSUMERS

The state water board’s report identifies solutions ranging from establishing pollution control measures to cleanup and treatment to alternative water supplies. The report also explores help for affected communities such as grants, loans, bond measures and increased government funding
One of the earliest examples of the challenge and expense communities face is a $69 million cleanup of solvent contamination in San Bernardino.

The city spends about $2 million per year – or 10 percent – of its $22 million annual budget on treatment of the Bunker Hill Basin, the city’s primary source of water, said Stacey Aldstadt, general manager at the San Bernardino Municipal Water Department.



The source of the pollution was a U.S. Army supply and repair depot on 1,662 acres in northwest San Bernardino, near Shandin Hills, during World War II. Known as Camp Ono, the land was used for degreasing tanks and rail cars and cleaning tents used in the Pacific Theater.
Over the years, the solvents TCE and PCE leached into the aquifer, Aldstadt said. Two plumes of pollution cover eight square miles.

The contamination was discovered in 1980, when tests were developed that could detect the chemicals at low concentrations. By then, the levels were more than 10 times the state safety standard, she said. The department immediately shut down 13 wells.
In 1989, the area was listed as the Newmark Superfund site for priority cleanup by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city sued the federal government for the pollution in 2004. They settled for $69 million, which has been invested to pay for 50 years of treatment, Aldstadt said.
“We wanted to make sure we would have enough money to pay for long-term treatment costs,” she said.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20130315-report-groundwater-contamination-widespread.ece

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wolfman wrote:how come a regular size bottle of water from costco kirkland brand or nasty arrowhead brand, or any brand for that matter, costs so damn much retail? from one to two and a half dollars, depending where you're buying it and who's selling it to you, but, inquiring mind wants to know, and i'm wondering what the conspiracy theorists think about all this?

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