Nitrate Contamination in California Groundwater: An Integrated Approach to Basin Assessment and Resource Protection Page: 5 of 62
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Esser et al. (2002) Nitrate Contamination in California Groundwater
Executive Summary
BACKGROUND
Nitrate contamination of California drinking water supplies is pervasive- about 10% of
California public drinking water supply wells produce water that exceeds the regulatory drinking
water limit, and a much larger fraction produce water which approaches the limit. As the
population of California increases by 50% over the next 20 years, water resources will be in
critically short supply. If the State can develop acceptable methods to prevent nitrate
contamination of susceptible groundwaters and to remediate contaminated groundwaters, then
the volume of available "new" water will be a critical benefit to California's continuing growth
and prosperity.
Nitrate is commonly viewed as an intractable problem for three reasons.
" First, nitrate contamination is ubiquitous in both surface and groundwater - a substantial
number of California public and especially private groundwater wells have nitrate levels
that exceed or approach regulatory limits for drinking water, and a significant fraction of
surface water supplies have nitrate concentrations that would preclude their use for
groundwater recharge if draft DHS regulations were adopted.
" Second, the activities that contribute anthropogenic nitrate to groundwater - animal
operations, crop fertilization, wastewater treatment discharge, septic systems - are
ongoing and essential to the industry and commerce of the State of California.
" Finally, nitrate is expensive to remove from drinking water supplies, especially in public
and private systems that rely on untreated groundwater and do not have the necessary
water treatment infrastructure.
These factors combine to make nitrate the number-one contaminant threat to California's
drinking water supply and at the same time may represent an opportunity to make important
strides in providing sufficient water to meet California's future growth. A working group at
LLNL has surveyed the current approach to characterizing and managing groundwater nitrate
contamination in California, and has identified specific opportunities for developing better
characterization methods.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GROUNDWATER NITRATE MANAGEMENT
1. Conduct a Groundwater Basin Assessment of Nitrate Inventories and
Impacts
The ultimate goal of the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 (AB599) is the
implementation of a comprehensive monitoring program to allow groundwater basin assessment.
Assessment is a broad term still being defined by the AB599 Interagency Task Force and
Advisory Board, but encompasses assessing susceptibility of groundwater to contamination,
characterizing current water quality in a basin, and predicting future water quality under different
conditions. To meet these goals, basin assessment must consider the current inventory of nitrate
in basin soils and waters, current and past source loading, groundwater recharge and transport,Page 5 of 62
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Esser, B. K.; Hudson, G. B.; Moran, J. E.; Beller, H.; Carlsen, T.; Dooher, B. et al. Nitrate Contamination in California Groundwater: An Integrated Approach to Basin Assessment and Resource Protection, report, January 10, 2011; Livermore, California. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc844915/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.