Polluted Wells Block Growth in Agua Dulce

Acting on evidence that sewage from septic tanks is contaminating drinking water in rural Agua Dulce, county health officials have decided not to approve any new septic systems for the area, effectively freezing development.

Concentrations of nitrates--a component of sewage and fertilizer that can pose a risk to infants--exceeded state standards in 5 of 17 wells tested in the last two months, said Jack Petralia, rural director of environmental protection for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

The moratorium on new septic tank permits was decided at a meeting last Friday of officials from Los Angeles county’s health, public works and legal departments, and representatives of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, he said.

Lawyers from the county counsel’s office said that, in light of the test results, the county could issue no new permits without risking a lawsuit if someone’s health was subsequently affected, he said.

“We’re not going to approve any more private sewage disposal systems in Agua Dulce until a more comprehensive ground-water study is done,” Petralia said.

Building Plans on Hold

The moratorium has immediately put on hold 38 property owners’ plans to build homes or businesses and has delayed approval of a proposed 49-home development in the unincorporated rural community east of Magic Mountain, said Joanne Darcy, the Santa Clarita Valley field representative for Antonovich.

“I’ve got people literally screaming at me,” Darcy said. “Some of these people have all of their life savings wrapped up into these houses they’re trying to build.”

Reed Miner, whose plans for a retirement home on a five-acre lot have passed every hurdle except the septic tank permit, said he has already dug a well on the property, and it tested far below the state limit for nitrates. Even so, he has been refused a septic tank permit.

Other homeowners have indicated to the health department that private tests of wells showed no contamination, Petralia said. But the department cannot allow any exceptions to the septic-system freeze, he said.

“The health department is in a quandary,” Darcy said. “If they . . . knowingly allowed more pollution into the water supply, then they would be liable in the future,” she said.

Danger to Infants

The one clearly established health risk posed by nitrates in drinking water is to babies up to the age of about 6 months, said Dr. Richard Jackson, a pediatrician in the Hazards Evaluation Section of the state Department of Health Services.

Studies in humans and animals have shown a link between high nitrate levels in water and the incidence of the “blue baby” syndrome, Jackson said. The ability of blood to carry oxygen has been shown to be reduced in some infants who were fed formula that is made with contaminated water, he said.

There is also preliminary evidence that pregnant and nursing mothers should avoid nitrate-contaminated water, Jackson said. But adults and older children do not seem to be at risk from levels found in water.

Nitrate contamination of Agua Dulce water was first noted in 1982, when a county study of the ground-water basin in the area showed that three wells had excessive levels of nitrates, Petralia said. Although the study’s authors recommended at the time that a more comprehensive study be undertaken, nothing was done until now, he said.

Agency Lacks Authority

Since January, the county health department has tested 17 wells that supply water to public facilities. The department lacks the authority to test water from the estimated 400 residences in the community that get their water from private wells.

Of the wells that were tested, “five are over our standard for nitrates,” Petralia said. Two others are on the verge of going over the state-set limit, which is 45 parts of nitrate per million parts water, he said.

One of the highest readings--105 parts per million, more than twice the state limit--came from two wells that supply the Los Angeles County Fire Department station on Sierra Highway, Petralia said.

But more disturbing than any one test result is the strong indication that nitrate levels in all the wells are rising, he said. Tests show an average increase of 34% in the past three years. “Some are going up much faster than others,” he said.

Expensive Study Needed

Until a large-scale study of the water basin is done, the county cannot be sure if the contamination of water is restricted to individual wells or is regional, Petralia said. Such a study could cost several hundred thousand dollars, he said.

Further water testing could have a large impact on the community, which has strongly opposed a water system or sewers on the grounds that such systems would be very costly and encourage development, Darcy said. “If it points in the direction many people think it will, then we’re going to need a water system in that area,” she said.

The Board of Supervisors plans to hold public hearings in Agua Dulce on the contamination problem, but no meetings have been scheduled, Darcy said.

In large communities, it is easier to deal with a nitrate problem than it will be in an area like Agua Dulce, said Petralia. For example, although the San Gabriel Valley also has high concentrations of nitrates in some municipal wells, clean water from its large water system can be blended with the contaminated water, reducing nitrate concentrations, he said.

Agua Dulce has a problem with no simple solution, Petralia said. And in the meantime, property owners are stuck. “I feel really sorry for some of these people,” Petralia said. “Some of them are right in the middle of the process, with a lot of money invested. Some have sold homes. Some are living in trailers. . . . But county counsel said that if we’re going to do this legally, we’d have to cut off everybody.”