Agua Dulce Well Pollution Feared : Water Board Weighs Septic Tank Ban

State water-quality officials, concerned that septic tanks are polluting well water in Agua Dulce, will consider a ban on the tanks this month that would effectively freeze development in the unincorporated community.

The ban is one of several possible actions that the California Regional Water Quality Control Board will discuss at a public hearing May 22. The board will also hear staff reports and public testimony on proposals for a sewer system or water treatment plant.

Agua Dulce, a rural community of about 1,500 residents 40 miles north of Los Angeles in the eastern Santa Clarita Valley, has no sewer system and obtains all of its water from wells. Los Angeles County health officials first discovered high concentrations of nitrates in Agua Dulce ground water in 1982.

The board’s action will be important because it will set a precedent for handling nitrate contamination throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said Anne Saffell, an environmental specialist with the control board. Septic tanks are also suspected sources of high nitrate levels found in the water of Acton, Green Valley and Elizabeth Lake, she said.

Drinking water containing more than 45 parts per million of nitrates may cause the “blue-baby syndrome” in infants, which impairs the ability of blood to carry oxygen, Saffell said. The syndrome can be fatal.

Nitrate levels as high as 190 p.p.m. have been recorded in some Agua Dulce wells, she said. Somewhat lower levels exist in Acton, Green Valley and Elizabeth Lake water, Saffell said.

Alternatives Welcomed

At this point, the water board’s staff is not prepared to choose among possible solutions to the problem, Saffell said. “If residents of Agua Dulce want to present alternatives, we’ll welcome that,” she said.

Saffell also said the board will have to consider placing the entire community on a sewer system, despite the considerable expense. “We’re not looking to burden people with heavy costs of sewering, but it’s our job to protect water quality,” she said.

Historically, many Agua Dulce residents have opposed sewers, saying they will promote development in the rural area.

Saffell will attend an Agua Dulce Civic Assn. meeting May 18 to explain the upcoming hearing.

Septic tanks were banned in Agua Dulce once before, in February, 1987, by the County Board of Supervisors. The ban brought development to a halt. Supervisors let the ban expire later that year on the advice of county attorneys, who said there was insufficient scientific data to justify the ban.

Jack Petralia, director of environmental protection in the county Department of Health Services, said the department had recommended that the ban be extended.