PERCHLORATE IN WELL WATER CHEMICAL FIND UNLIKELY TO ALTER WEST CREEK.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Perchlorate has been found in water in one of the supply wells intended to serve a proposed 2,200-home community, county and development officials said this week.

The discovery was made in April during a routine analysis of the water by the Valencia Water Co., in a well that is adjacent to the planned West Creek housing development site. The well is east of Bouquet Creek and the Santa Clara River.

An environmental impact report for the 2,200-home project on 996 acres in unincorporated northern Valencia was certified by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in March. The Newhall Land and Farming Company is the developer.

Neither Newhall Land nor county officials said the detection of perchlorate, a chemical compound used in manufacturing munitions, was a surprise. The discovery is unlikely to deter plans.

Local water officials have testified before the county board saying there is enough water for the planned community.

``We don't expect it to have any impact on the water supplies,'' said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land. ``We were actually preparing ourselves for the possibility for perchlorate. There is a known perchlorate issue in that area.''

``The additional analysis was not unforeseen,'' said Assistant County Counsel Richard Weiss. ``This does not change any conclusions.''

A supplement to the environmental impact report is currently being circulated for public comment. County officials are expected to discuss the supplement in July.

Perchlorate contamination has hampered development in the city's core for more than a decade. For nearly 50 years, the now-defunct Whittaker- Bermite munitions plant tested dynamite, missiles and small rockets on some 996 acres off Soledad Canyon Road. The factory closed in 1987, but the site is contaminated with various chemical compounds, which have migrated into the valley's groundwater system.

In April, another area well near the planned 1,100-home Riverpark project tested positive for perchlorate. But unlike the West Creek well, the one near Riverpark was not meant to supply homes with water.

As a result of the positive detection near the West Creek project, the Valencia Water Co. has removed the well from service until the water has been treated.

The West Creek project has endured through years of legal challenges.

The project has stalled since 2000, when local environmental groups - including the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment - sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court to block it.

A lower court upheld the county supervisors' original approval, but an appellate court ruled the environmental impact report needed to examine West Creek's water supply and use of California Aqueduct water in greater detail.

Also, the rare Western spadefoot toad - termed a species of concern - was found last year at the project site. Newhall Land moved the toads to an appropriate habitat last fall.

Besides 2,200 homes, Newhall Land also plans an elementary school site, a 15-acre park and road and bridge improvements as part of West Creek.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com