Animal waste and fertilizers prevent Calif. residents from using water

June 7, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, Calif. — The groundwater is way above the maximum contaminant level for nitrates in drinking water.

SPRINGFIELD, Calif. — A water well in Springfield, Calif. serving 165 residents is mostly unusable because of fertilizers and animal wastes seeping into the groundwater, according to KPBS News.

This well, which is surrounded by strawberry fields, serves the town’s groundwater system.

Don Rosa, who is with the Pajaro Sunny Mesa Community Services District, which operates the groundwater system, said when they took it over in 2004 “the cement housing around the protection for the well was so degraded that the irrigation water, and the rainwater and everything else was just going right down the sides of the column."

This well was meant to provide drinking water to Springfield residents, but right now it is not safe to drink or cook with because of the nitrates in the water.

"The latest result is 253 parts per million and the maximum contaminate level for nitrates is 45," Rosa said.

Read the entire article here.

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