Septic Tanks Blamed for Groundwater Pollution
Septic tanks are being blamed for fouling local waters.
From the Santa Ynez Valley to Hope Ranch and Rincon, hundreds of homes using septic tanks are probably contributing to the pollution in local creeks and the ocean, county officials said. Some septic tanks are half a century old.
A consulting engineering firm’s survey of 24 clusters representing 4,300 septic tanks showed that malfunctioning systems in Los Olivos and Janin Acres, a subdivision of 100 homes between Solvang and Santa Ynez, have contributed to unsafe levels of nitrates in local groundwater.
There is also a high rate of system failures in Hope Ranch, which has 800 septic systems.
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