Nitrate in drinking water raises health concerns for rural Californians

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10164

[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif][font size=5]Nitrate in drinking water raises health concerns for rural Californians[/font]

March 13, 2012

[font size=3]One in 10 people living in California’s most productive agricultural areas is at risk of exposure to harmful levels of nitrate contamination in their drinking water, according to a report released today by the University of California, Davis. The report was commissioned by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

The report, “Addressing Nitrate in California’s Drinking Water,” is the first comprehensive scientific investigation of nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake Basin, which includes Fresno and Bakersfield, and the Salinas Valley, which includes Salinas and areas near Monterey. It defines the extent of the problem, suggests promising solutions and outlines possible funding mechanisms.

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In their new report, UC Davis scientists examine data from wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, parks, lawns, golf courses and farms. The report concludes that more than 90 percent of human-generated nitrate contamination of groundwater in these basins is from agricultural activity.

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Since the 1940s, synthetic fertilizer use, increased manure applications to cropland, and a shift from pasture-raised dairy cattle to confined animal facilities have resulted in the accumulation of excess nitrate in groundwater, the report says.

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http://groundwaternitrate.ucdavis.edu/

[tblue]

1. The air is bad there too.

I worked in & around Sacramento for a few months and learned it is pretty unhealthful there in the heart of the state. Tends to vote Repub too.