Lax regulation has led to unhealthy levels of nitrates in the drinking water of more than 2 million Californians, and the problem is getting worse, California Watch reports.
Agricultural fertilizers are a leading cause of nitrate contamination. Infants who drink water with high levels of nitrites can develop “blue baby syndrome,” which cuts off their oxygen supply, and die, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Some studies have also linked the contaminants to cancers, California Watch reports.
In California, the problem has become much worse over the last three decades. In 1980, only nine wells in the state were found to have unsafe levels of nitrates. In 2007, 648 wells did. The drinking water at at least 12 schools is contaminated with nitrites. And, though the nitrates can be filtered from water, it’s an expense few rural communities can afford.
Reporter Julia Scott lays out the problem:
- Nothing is being done to regulate the use of the leading source of nitrate pollution in many regions of the state – nitrogen fertilizer. A lettuce farmer can apply as much fertilizer as he wants, within feet of the nearest water supply well, without having to worry how much of it might contaminate the groundwater with nitrates. Officials aren’t even equipped to determine the sources of contamination, meaning no one is held accountable.
- Sixty-five percent of domestic wells at Central Valley dairies test over the public health limit for nitrates, putting local residents at risk of potential exposure. Yet, according to records obtained from the State Water Resources Control Board, none of the dairies were fined for a nitrate problem identified by the state.
- When polluters are found responsible for nitrate contamination, the state rarely does anything to correct it. Californiahas issued 248 enforcement actions against 44 polluters for nitrate contamination in the past six years. But only once has the state ordered a polluter to clean up contaminated groundwater.
Clean water advocates say the state isn’t doing enough to enforce pollution rules. But state water board staff say they’re limited by scarce resources. The Central Valley board has just six staff members to police hundreds of facilities that discharge waste.
