Oxnard to Ship Water to El Rio Users : Health: The plan would allow 360 residents to abandon wells that are contaminated with dangerously high levels of nitrates.

In an effort to resolve a water-contamination problem in a small unincorporated area, the Oxnard City Council on Tuesday authorized staff to work out details of a plan that would provide municipal water to 360 residents served by the El Rio Mutual Water Co.

The plan was proposed by El Rio because the water drawn from the company’s shallow wells has been found by health officials to contain large amounts of nitrates, which can pose a serious health hazard to infants.

The plan calls for the El Rio water system to connect with the Calleguas Municipal Water District system, which provides water for Oxnard. City officials said the hookup could be completed within 10 months.

“We’d really like our water connected up to the city because of our concerns for our health,” Alfred Gonzalez, a 30-year El Rio resident, told the council.

El Rio provides water service to an area west of Vineyard Avenue, between the Ventura Freeway and Stroube Street. The service area encompasses 28 acres and provides 92 service connections to a population of 360. The area is bounded by the city on three sides.

Health officials say nitrates have been seeping into the wells from septic tanks and fertilizers used on nearby fields. Nitrates can endanger the health of babies, who do not have stomach acids to break down the minerals. Consequently, the transporting of oxygen in their blood is impeded.

According to health officials, nitrates have contaminated the wells of 20 small water companies that serve about 15,000 customers in the unincorporated El Rio and Nyeland Acres area. Most of those customers are senior citizens and field workers.

Many residents in that area have turned to bottled water for much of their cooking and drinking needs.

Tests conducted four months ago in area wells showed nitrate levels as high as 123 parts per million, according to health officials. The maximum acceptable contamination level set by the state Department of Health Services is 45 p.p.m.

The plan that was tentatively approved Tuesday came out of negotiations over the past few months between water officials, city representatives, Ventura County Supervisor Susan K. Lacey and officials from the Local Area Formation Commission.

“They need you at this point and time,” Steven Chase, an aide to Lacey, said, referring to the El Rio residents.

There are still several details to be addressed before the El Rio customers can hook up to the system that supplies Oxnard’s water, Public Works Director James Frandsen said.

The El Rio system must first be dissolved and all water rights and assets transferred to Oxnard at a negotiated price, Frandsen said. The water system also must be annexed by the Calleguas Municipal Water District, he said.

Also, Oxnard would have to establish a surcharge to repay its investment to connect the El Rio water system.

Annexation into Calleguas would eventually lead to annexation of the area served by El Rio into the city of Oxnard, Frandsen said. Terms and a timetable for such an annexation would have to be worked out between city officials and residents, he said.

Mayor Nao Takasugi said at the council meeting that he supports the plan but wonders how much of a strain the additional customers would place on the city’s water system. In response, Frandsen said city staff will study whether adding new customers to the water system will affect the city’s water service.

El Rio, Frandsen said, has two options for obtaining a clean water supply that complies with state drinking water standards: drill new, 800-foot wells or obtain domestic water service from Oxnard.

The first option would be problematic because the new wells would be drilled into the same water source as the current wells and probably would be vulnerable to nitrate contamination, Frandsen said.

In a $25,000 study commissioned by the County Board of Supervisors, it was determined that the most feasible solution to the water-contamination problem would be for the small water companies in the El Rio and Nyeland Acres area to hook up with larger agencies for their water, Chase said. Lacey’s office is continuing to meet with water officials to resolve the problem, he said.