High levels of nitrates found in drinking water wells By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review September 1, 2004 Repeated tests of drinking water wells in the area west of Highway 1 and south of Miramar reveal extremely high levels of potentially deadly nitrates, a county health officer confirmed last week. County officials say infants less than 6 months old, pregnant women and women planning on becoming pregnant should not consume any drinking water from wells in the area. "If this water was being fed to an infant it would more than likely cause a fatality," said Dean Peterson, director of the county's Environmental Health Services Agency. Peterson said the county plans to conduct free testing for nitrates in drinking wells this week, adding that he thinks most residents in the area are already aware of the problem. Methemoglobinemia, also known as Blue Baby Syndrome, causes infants to develop a blue color from oxygen loss and, if not caught early enough, will cause death. Young infants are at the highest risk because their digestive system will convert high levels of nitrates to nitrite, which leads to oxygen loss. Peterson said his office has only contacted four or five of the dozens of households affected. He said officials have been out knocking door-to-door in recent weeks, hoping to alert residents. "We're contacting as many as we can," Peterson said, adding that residents are often not home when county officials come by. "We would rather do a personal one-on-one situation," he added, explaining the delay in contacting many of the residents. The highest concentrations of nitrate levels have been found at two residences on Alameda Avenue and Washington Boulevard, according to the county. "We're fairly satisfied that there are no infants being fed (water from wells) in the area," he said, adding that the county had been in contact with residents but had not systematically warned everyone. When asked how the county can be sure that all residents are aware of the contamination and that no infants are drinking water from wells, Peterson said, "It isn't. We don't really know." He said the county is concerned with a total of 64 wells in the area directly below Nurserymen's Exchange, one of the county's largest producers of flowers and indoor plants. The company owns eight of the wells. Nitrates are a natural occurrence in the environment and are comprised of nitrogen and oxygen. Peterson said officials are witnessing the introduction of higher nitrate levels because of fertilizers used on farmland. Another contributing source of nitrates is human waste. "It may be the result of historic farming use," Peterson said. Don Mendel, general counsel for Nurserymen's Exchange, was surprised by the news. "We just found out about it and of course we have to look into it," he said. "We've been a part of the community for a very long time and we've always been a responsible member of our community. "I'm certain, as we do in every other case, we'll act responsibly," he said. The county first discovered the problem from a resident who has found high nitrate levels in his own well for three years in a row. Peterson declined to name the resident who conducted the tests. Efforts to reach residents who were willing to comment proved futile. Peterson was unable to provide specific nitrate readings in the area but characterized them as "actually quite high. "We definitely have a regional problem and need to get a hold of it," he said. The county plans to test drinking water for nitrates directly from the tap at each of the residences in the area that use wells and then send the resulting samples to a lab. Specific reports will take four days to receive. "It's wise if you have a well to do regular testing," Peterson said. "You can treat for nitrates." Options include installing a reverse osmosis treatment system or purchasing a water connection from the Coastside County Water District. Ed Schmidt, general manager of CCWD, said although there are few water connections available for new developments, there are plenty of priority water connections available for situations like this. "Generally we only do a couple a year. There's hundreds available out there," he said. However less than five of those priority connections are designated for use within city limits, the others are specifically reserved for properties in unincorporated county land. The contaminated wells are in city limits. For residents to qualify for a priority water connection, which costs $6,970, the county first has to deem the well unusable and send a letter to the water district giving it permission to offer the connection. The county usually reserves priority water connections to respond to major contamination and wells running out of water, Peterson said. Also, because of the lack of priority connections available to the city, a transfer of those designated hookups would have to be made from the county to city. "In this situation we probably wouldn't deem this an emergency," Peterson said, adding that the county may reconsider that stance once it does its own testing and confirms that CCWD has hundreds of priority connections available. By comparison, a reverse osmosis treatment system can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. Homeowners can also opt to purchase an under-the-sink treatment system to treat water at the tap for approximately $500. County health officials are currently drafting warning letters that will be sent to each residence that may be contaminated. It says tests are being conducted this week at four or five homes where it has successfully reached residents. The letter informs residents using wells in the area between Roosevelt Ditch and Frenchmans Creek of the health effects associated with high nitrate levels and includes contact information for scheduling a water test. Home