Regional Op-Ed | Kathryn Gray: A Poisonous Development At Donner Summit
Royal Gorge LLC, in their relentless drive to secure adequate water supplies for their proposed development on cross country ski terrain at Serene Lakes and Donner Summit, have pushed the Sierra Lakes County Water District to agree to immediate water capacity and quality tests on district wells number one and two. Four water board members agreed; one voted against the hurried testing.
These two wells are not currently used for water supply at the Summit. Well number one has arsenic levels that exceed the new federal standards, and is allowed to be used only in emergencies. Well number two is not hooked up to the SLCWD system; there is no evidence that is was ever fully operational. Water from this second well has such high concentrations of manganese that it has never been deemed an economically viable source of water, as removal of the manganese would be difficult and costly.
Testing of the wells would take three to ten days; the longer testing period would give a more accurate view of well capacities. These two well heads, which are quite near to each other, don't draw from a substantial aquifer, but rather from water found in deep fissures in the Sierra granite. Wells of this type can play out fast, and recharge can be uncertain, as the water in the fissures may have taken years to accumulate.
The water drawn from these wells will have to be disposed of somewhere. Royal Gorge is in a hurry to get results before winter sets in, and thus is not willing to wait for a surface water discharge permit, which would be required before dumping the water into Serene Lakes, or a land based discharge permit, for flooding it onto the ground. Further, some SLCWD board members showed reluctance to dump water known to have high levels of arsenic and manganese into Serene Lakes, the sole source of the area's drinking water.
So, this water will instead be sluiced down the pipes in Serene Lakes, and sent to Donner Summit Public Utility District, who handles sewage disposal for the two districts, finally ending up as effluent in the South Yuba River. This gives rise to some concerns. First, a large dump of "fresh" water into the sewage treatment process can possibly interfere with the multi-step breakdown process sewage undergoes prior to eventual release of effluent downstream. Second, the process used by DSPUD will not remove the arsenic and manganese from the well water, so it will flow down the South Yuba River, and eventually come out of someone's tap.
It is well known that arsenic is a poison, and despite the active opposition of George Bush's administration to stricter standards for drinking water, the old standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) has been replaced by a tougher 10 ppb. Long term exposure to arsenic in drinking-water can cause both acute and chronic toxicity, damage to and cancer of the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and bladder, decrease in blood hemoglobin, and hyperkeratosis, among other things. Studies have pointed out a possible link to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, reproductive difficulties, and peripheral vascular disease. The list of risks from drinking arsenic laden water is long; the only real debate revolves around how much arsenic is too much, and how long do you have to drink it to raise your chances of feeling the ill effects--call it arsenic roulette, if you will.
Using water laden with manganese can be a real nuisance. High levels of manganese can build up and clog pipes, and weaken water pressure. Manganese also causes non-removable stains to porcelain fixtures, washing machines, and dishwashers. Attempts to remove the stains with detergent or bleach may actually make the stain worse.
Beyond the "ring around the collar" problem with excess manganese lie real health risks. The EPA has only established secondary standards on manganese in drinking water, but scientists are now questioning whether stricter rules should be promulgated. Manganese is a toxic essential trace element; a miniscule amount is required for survival, but too high a concentration in the body can cause neurological problems akin to Parkinsons, and have other detrimental effects. A recent study in Bangladesh has shown that water contaminated with manganese can limit the intellectual development of children drinking it. Madison, Wisconsin, water authorities had to caution residents whose water came from a manganese contaminated well to not use the water if they had liver problems, and to not use the water for ready-mix infant formula. Manganese is not excreted well by those with impaired bile ducts, which could lead to manganese toxicity. The soy protein in baby formula increases the absorption of manganese, and toxicity thus may occur at unusually low levels of intake. Further, a recent study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine indicates that showering in manganese laden water for 10 years or more may have permanent effects on the nervous system, even at levels of manganese currently considered safe by the EPA. It seem showers pulverize the little magnesium bits, and they're then inhaled, causing subsequent damage over the long term.
So Hello South Yuba River, here comes a heavy dose of Arsenic, a known baddie, and Manganese, a substance whose toxicity is becoming better known. The South Yuba River already has some concentration of these chemicals, as it flows over the same type of rocks that SLCWD's wells number one and two draw from. The hope is that this additional hit of known contaminants will be just a drop in the bucket, as it flows down to somebody's tap in Nevada City.
I guess we'd all better get used to the thought of a bit more arsenic and manganese in our drinking water. If Royal Gorge LLC convinces SLCWD to bring these wells into our water supply, and if the very expensive and impractical removal of the contaminants isn't done properly, we'll be showering in and drinking arsenic and manganese enhanced water up at Donner Summit, and after a brief trip through DSPUD, and maybe a small hiatus in a reservoir down stream, it will be filling your coffee cup in the morning. Bon Appetit- brought to you by a poisonous development at Donner Summit.
Kathryn Gray, a Serene Lakes homeowner, likes her water plain.
|
