FIELD DOCUMENTS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

RAYMOND COLDANI NORTH RAY ROAD LODI, CA 95242 NITRATE CONTAMINATION IN LOCAL GROUNDWATER FACT SHEET—July 2009 Local farmer and property owner, Ray Coldani, maintains that local groundwater has been contamin ated with nitrates as the result of improper and unlawful dairy operations at the Lima Ranch Dairy, located on Thornton Road south of Kingdon Road. Mr. Coldani has filed a lawsuit against the Lima Ranch in the United States District Court seeking an order to force the Lima Ranch to cease polluting local groundwater and to cleanup the contamination caused by its past operations. Pursuant to a court order in this lawsuit,Mr. Coldani's environmental experts obtained access to the Lima Ranch this past fall to sample the groundwater and animal waste lagoon. The results of this sampling confirm that the groundwater beneath Lima Ranch is impacted with levels of nitrate well above drinking water standards. The data further demonstrate that the primary source of this nitrate is the dairy cow manure, urine, and other wastes stored in the waste lagoons and ditches at Lima Ranch and applied to croplands at Lima Ranch. The data, which is summarized on Figure 1 attached to this Fact Sheet confirm that: (i) high levels of the reduced forms of nitrogen (ammonia) are present in the waste lagoons and ditches; and (ii) high levels of the oxidized form of nitrogen (nitrate) are present in the groundwater beneath the croplands at levels more than 10 times the California Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) established by the Department of Health Services. The MCL is the amount of nitrate that, if exceeded,may cause adverse health affects. The data indicates that this high level of nitrate contamination is caused by sources other t ban human waste and the application of synthetic fertilizer by local farmers. To the contrary, groundwater analysis shows that the primary sources of that nitrate contamination are the Lima Ranch's manure water holding ponds and lagoons, the ditches through which manure water is moved, and the application of manure water to Lima Ranch's croplands. The data collected also indicates an easterly migration pattern for this contamination. The data was recently presented to the Regional Water Quality Control Bo ard-Central Valley Region, and will shortly be presented to the U.S. District Court. To assist the Water Board and the Court to act quickly in response to the contamination, any information you may have regarding the water quality underlying your property would be extremely helpful For example: • Do you utilize a domestic well for drinking water? • Have you ever had your domestic well tested for nitrates? • Have you been forced to use bottled water or another source of drinking or bathing water due to nitrates in your domestic well? • Do you have any reason to suspect that the Lima Ranch has impacted the groundwater underlying your property? If you are willing to provide answers to these questions, would like information regarding how to have your well water tested, or have any questions about this Fact Sheet, please contact: Thomas deArth of Genesis Engineering&Redevelopment at(209) 599-2004. Should you have any questions regarding this issue, you are also encouraged to contact the following individuals at the California Regional Water Quality Control Board: • Ms. Charlene Herbst,Unit Chief, Confined Animal Facilities (916)464-4724 • Ms. Pamela Creedon,Executive Officer (916)464-4839