Committee devises plan to cut high nitrate levels.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

No single, smoking flume explains dangerously high levels of nitrates in wells from Corvallis to Coburg, so solving the problem will take the cooperation of everyone from farmers and factories to cities and individual homeowners.

That's the basis for a new action plan designed to reduce groundwater pollution through an array of voluntary actions.

"We can't fingerprint where a nitrate is coming from," said Audrey Eldridge, a state Department of Environmental Quality hydrogeologist who led a local 17-member committee made up of Lane, Linn and Benton county commissioners, business and agricultural interests, and others representing public water supply agencies, homebuilders, natural resource concerns and others.

"We've tried to analyze that - whether it's from agriculture runoff, from cows, from humans,' Eldridge said. `But we couldn't distinguish it. It's an area-wide problem that everybody has a piece of."

The DEQ in 2004 declared the region a Groundwater Management Area after samples from 500 area wells showed unacceptably high nitrate levels in about 100 wells.

Water in about 50 wells approached or exceeded the federal safe drinking water standard.

The area, between Highway 99W and Muddy Creek just west of Interstate 5, includes the cities of Coburg, Junction City and Harrisburg, and parts of Monroe.

Most residents within it rely on groundwater for drinking.

High nitrate levels pose a health risk to animals and humans, with infants and nursing women particularly vulnerable.

Nitrates have been linked to "blue baby syndrome," a rare condition that can be fatal in extreme cases.

Formula mixed with contaminated well water can pose an especially high risk to babies. Some research also implicates nitrate in spontaneous miscarriages and some cancers.

A committee of local officials has worked for more than two years to devise a plan to reduce nitrate levels, Eldridge said.

Among the panel's recommendations:

Outreach and education: "We want to get the word out about what all land users can do to reduce contamination risks," Eldridge said. "We're talking about everything from farmers using slow-release fertilizers to pet owners picking up their doggie poop."

Many farmers already have made changes that reduce nitrate discharge, Eldridge said, switching from irrigation and fertilizer-intensive crops - such as mint - to crops such as grass seed.

"They have lower energy costs for irrigation, and less need for fertilizer, so changing made sense for financial reasons, " she said.

Incentives: "We want local and regional governments to explore ways of offsetting potential financial burdens for people doing what they'd like to do to protect groundwater," Eldridge said.

"Maybe we can offer grants for farmers to switch to a different style of irrigation in order to reduce the amount of fertilizer that goes into the ground."

Technical assistance: "We want to link technical experts with residents, farmers, local government leaders and businesses," she said. "Maybe the experts can conduct classes for rural residents in how to test their own water for nitrate on a regular basis. Maybe the experts can help businesses with large, on-site wastewater systems to find new technologies that release less nitrates to the groundwater."

Planning tools: "We'd like to try to put together a toolbox of things local governments can use in land use decisions in order to protect and restore groundwater quality, such as reducing the density of septic systems," she said.

That includes helping Coburg - the last area city still reliant on septic tanks - to move to a centralized wastewater system. Coburg Mayor Judy Volta is a committee member, Eldridge noted.

Research: "We want to monitor the effectiveness of the various methods used out there to protect groundwater," she said. "We have installed a monitoring network of 25 monitoring and 14 residential wells. When we get all those wells down below 7 parts (nitrate) per million, we can go away. The management area will be rescinded."

Details of the plan will be presented in a series of five "open house" style meetings in the Southern Willamette Valley between Oct. 17-30. Each will include a presentation of proposed actions and a chance for audience discussion.

GROUNDWATER OPEN HOUSES

The Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Committee will hold public meetings in five locations to discuss proposed actions to reduce nitrate levels. Free testing of nitrate levels in well water samples will be available at each location.

Oct. 17: 3 p.m., Scandia Hall, 195 W. Fifth St., Junction City

Oct. 19: 5 p.m., Harrisburg City Hall, 354 Smith St.

Oct. 23: 5 p.m., Monroe High School, 365 N. Fifth St.

Oct. 25: 5 p.m., Coburg Municipal Court, 32694 E. Pearl St.

Oct. 30: 5 p.m., Corvallis Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave.

Free Nitrate Testing: Interested residents should bring a half-cup of well water in a clean container.

Information: Audrey Eldridge, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, [phone], Ext. 223; Denise Kalakay, Lane Council of Governments, 682-7415; www.groundwater.oregonstate.edu/willamette/Plan.htm