Polluted Water Supply Threatens Development in Agua Dulce

The potential health risk posed by sewage seeping into Agua Dulce’s underground water supply has prompted Los Angeles County officials to delay one housing project and to consider calling for a moratorium on development in the area.

Routine testing by county geologists of 15 private wells in the unincorporated community has found rising levels of nitrates, sulfates and some solid materials in the water, said Norman Groom of the county Health Services Department’s mountain and rural sanitation division. The pollution has not reached dangerous levels, but will if seepage continues, he said.

Geological formations in the area, which consist mostly of fractured rock, have failed to adequately filter pollutants seeping into ground water from septic tanks, Groom said. The underground water table is receding, adding to the problem, he said.

Health officers were alerted to the problem by county geologists studying plans for a 49-home development by Larwin Development on 148 acres on the north side of Darling Road west of Agua Dulce Road. The project was approved in 1982, but concerns that the new homes would add to the water pollution prompted county officials to call a temporary halt to the development two weeks ago, Groom said.

3 Wells Suggested

The developer had proposed digging three wells to supply water to the development, he said.

Health officials are considering asking the Board of Supervisors to impose a moratorium on development until a solution can be found, Groom said.

The best remedy would be to form a water district that could build a water delivery system and run sewer lines into the area. Agua Dulce residences now get water from individual wells and dispose of sewage through septic tanks.

“If the water quality is at risk, someone has to organize a district and secure a source of new water,” said Henry Rodiger, former president of the Agua Dulce Civic Assn. The closest water system is in Acton.

A meeting of county and state health, geological and public works officials was held Wednesday to discuss a building moratorium, but no decision was reached, according to Health Services Department spokesman Cal Miller. County attorneys are reviewing the situation with officials of the state Water Quality Control Board to decide “the best avenue of approach,” he said.

No decision has been made about when the Larwin project will be allowed to proceed, Groom said.