FIRMS ASK FOR HIGHER S.C. RIVER SALT LEVELS; WATER BOARD WILL HOLD PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

As a three-year reprieve on tougher chloride levels for the Santa Clara River draws to a close, the Regional Water Quality Control Board must decide whether to boost limits by nearly 50 percent, or keep the present standards.

The board is considering a request from two Los Angeles County sanitation districts serving Santa Clarita to increase the maximum allowable salt content for discharge into the river, from 100 milligrams per liter to 143 milligrams per liter.

The change in limits would require a formal amendment to the Los Angeles Basin Plan by the Regional Quality Control Board, and then must undergo review for final approvals at the state level.

That process begins tonight, with a public hearing before the county Regional Water Quality Control Board at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers.

``This is an issue that would have widespread effects and we're trying to get as much public input as possible,'' said Elizabeth Erickson, engineering geologist for the board.

The two sanitation districts, which discharge treated wastewater into the natural, 85-mile Santa Clara River spanning Los Angeles and Ventura counties, contend that current standards are outdated and have no scientific basis. They say their proposed increase for chloride limits would remain under suitable limits for surrounding agricultural purposes, Margaret Nellor, division engineer for the sanitation districts, said in an earlier interview.

When chloride levels reached current limits three years ago, the water quality board temporarily allowed sanitation districts to continue operating under less stringent standards set at 190 milligrams per liter, without constructing new treatment facilities to reduce chloride levels. Those temporary limits are set to expire in January, spokeswoman Karen Caesar said.

Similarly, along a stretch of the Santa Clara River that runs through Santa Paula in Ventura County, the temporary limits would revert back to 80 milligrams if a proposal fails to increase limits there to 100 milligrams per liter, she said.

Los Angeles county sanitation officials estimate it would cost $80 million in technological upgrades and millions more in future operations to reduce the salt content in their discharge at the county-owned wastewater treatment plants in Saugus and Valencia.

Special desalination technology, known as reverse osmosis, would be needed at the two plants to reduce the salt levels, Nellor said. That is because the treated wastewater flowing into the Santa Clara lingers around the maximum allowable limit and spikes during droughts. The new process would create a highly concentrated salty byproduct and require separate pipelines to carry that waste to the ocean, according to county sanitation officials.

Nellor also has argued that desalination upgrades would be unnecessary, because current limits set in 1975 were chosen arbitrarily. No scientific documentation has been found to support those limits, she said.

The legal limit for chloride in drinking water is 250 milligrams per liter, and 230 to preserve aquatic life, according to Jon Bishop, Chief of Regional Programs for the water quality control board.

While supporters also claim there would be no unhealthy effects on the groundwater or area agricultural crops from the proposed chloride limits, environmental watchdogs are expected to closely follow the public hearings on the proposal over the next few months.

One debate is whether the proposed standards would protect sensitive crops grown in Ventura County, such as strawberries and avocados, Erickson said.

``We've heard both sides of that argument. Some people say we're being too protective of those crops, while others say we're not being protective enough,'' she said.

Staff for the Regional Water Quality Control Board are scheduled to make their recommendation for proposed chloride limits on Dec. 9 and the board is expected to vote on the issue shortly thereafter.