TOUGH CHOICES ON WASTEWATER GROWERS, RESIDENTS FACE PRICE OF FAILURE TO MEET SEWER STANDARDS.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, which operate wastewater treatment plants in Saugus and Valencia, are under fire as both farmers and a regional water quality regulator press for a reduction of chemical discharges into the Santa Clara River.

The district that operates the Valencia plant currently faces $246,000 in fines from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, accused of releasing water with excessive amounts of chemicals - including chloride - 84 times 2001-05 from a reclamation plant near Six Flags California.

Meanwhile, Ventura County farmers downstream from Valencia continue a campaign to restrict the amount of chloride released into the river - too much of the compound in the soil is harmful to avocados and citrus - though meeting state standards could mean more than $350 million in facility upgrades, which could mean higher sewage rates for local residents.

The districts, which operate 11 wastewater plants throughout the county, claim the violations often occurred under circumstances beyond their control. The regional water board has scheduled a hearing on the alleged discharge and the chloride issue July 13.

``Our staff firmly believes that these violations did occur, most of them with respect to chloride,'' said David Nahai, chair of the county Regional Water Quality Control Board. ``The obligation for L.A. County is to bring chloride under control.

``Most dischargers feel that the fines that are being levied against them shouldn't be.''

Ben Faber, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser based in Ventura, summed up the conflict: ``The policy is what the community decides is best for the greatest number of people. Who do you want to pay more? Do you want the growers to pay more ... or do you want residents to pay more for sewage?''

Of the 84 violations, a discharge of nitrate-plus-nitrite in May 2003 and 15 cases of exceeding cyanide levels in the water occurred due to quirks in mechanical and testing procedures, which have been fixed, said Vicki Conway, assistant manager of technical services for the county sanitation districts.

As for the 68 chloride violations, Conway said it's more a problem of inconsistent enforcement and high chemical content in local water. In 2001, the regional water quality board lowered acceptable chloride levels to 100 milligrams per liter of water, though it was not applied at the district until October 2003, when permits for both the Valencia and Saugus plants were renewed.

``It boils down to interpretation of our requirements,'' Conway said.

The Valencia plant was discharging water with chloride levels of up to 190 miligrams per liter to about 134 mg/L since 2003. Conway said the treatment plants cannot consistently meet the 100 mg/L requirement, with the chemical found in water piped via the State Water Project water from Northern Californnia. And, despite a crackdown on commercial water softeners, chloride leaves behind a toxic brine.

To hit that magic number, the district will have to invest in desalination equipment, at an estimated $350 million, Conway said.

The district is mulling a rate hike for its 55,000 customers in the Santa Clarita Valley from about $10.17 per month to about $14.92 per month by 2008-09.

``It would be impossible to get to 100 mg/L consistently without desalination equipment,'' she said. ``We would need a very large brine line to the ocean -- a 43-mile brine line and an ocean outfall to go along with it.''

The investment is a necessity, said Rob Roy, co-chairman of the Ventura County Agriculture Water Quality Coalition, which represents growers along the Santa Clara River watershed. The group is trying protect their corner of the county's $1.4 billion agriculture industry.

``They're dumping all these chlorides in L.A. County, and we in Ventura County have to live with it,'' he said. ``They don't want to spend the money to do whatever's necessary to fix it. Meanwhile, people in Santa Clarita have the lowest sewer rates in California.''

Yet Conway believes the situation is not as dire as advocates portrayed.

``We understand the farmers' concerns and the long-term concerns,'' she said, citing a $3.5 million study the agency is conducting on the issue that began in 2003 and could lead to a upgrades in 10 years if deemed necessary.

``We take this very seriously, but we disagree with the farmers. We believe there isn't any harm at this point. In fact, they're having bumper crops of avocados. We just want to do it in a logical manner.

``If we have to make a large capital investment, it has got to be done in a way that's worthwhile and needed.''

Roy disagreed.

``We think 13 years is way too long a period to study this particular issue,'' he said. ``It takes a long time to have this impact. It's not a visible impact in the commodities. You have burnt leaves. When you put a lot of chloride into the water, there's going to be impact.''

UC farm adviser Faber said the science is more complicated. Though constant irrigation with chloride-rich water would cause the chemical to collect around a plant's roots and lead to leaf drop duringblooming, rains can flush it out.

``Agriculture is not engineering,'' he said. ``You set a level you know will have a certain degree of protection. Ventura County could get as much as four inches of rain or 40 -- we rely on rain to leach the salts out.''

The 100 mg/L limit is generally safe, as avocados - among the least chloride-tolerant crop - sees problems at concentrations between 100-117 mg/L. But growers can also cope with bad water by diluting it, Faber said.

``There are lots of ways of handling poor quality water. ... You're always sort of balancing and battling these things.''

Nahai said there needs to be a consensus.

``What you're witnessing is the pull and push of water quality regulation,'' he said. ``It's certainly not unusual for the sanitation district to want to delay, perhaps, any necessary increase in rates... But we won't hesitate to act.

``This is our last remaining pristine waterways, and it merits protection. That's our mandate, and that's our mission.''

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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