Sacramento — New and stronger warnings about increased nitrates in drinking water caused mostly by fertilizers in three of the largest agriculture areas in California state have prompted reminders from industry officials that these concerns are being taken seriously and that ongoing research is pointing the way to mitigate the problems. A report commissioned by the commissioned by the California State Water Resources Control Board and prepared by University of California Davis asserts that 1 in 10 people living in the state’s most productive agricultural areas is at risk for harmful levels of nitrate contamination in their drinking water. "Cleaning up nitrate in groundwater is a complex problem with no single solution," states Jay Lund, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and a report co-author. "This report should help inform discussions among people involved with drinking water, waste discharge, and agricultural issues, including various local and state government agencies." The report Addressing Nitrate in California’s Drinking Water is the first comprehensive scientific investigation of nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake Basin, which includes Fresno and Bakersfield, and the Salinas Valley. It suggests fixes for drinking water systems in these basins could run $20 million to $35 million per year for decades and points to the most promising revenue source as a few on nitrogen fertilizer use in these basins. A nitrogen fertilizer use fee could compensate affected small communities for mitigation expenses and effects of nitrate pollution, the report stated. The industry responds that these concerns have been taken seriously for well over 30 years by self-funding research through the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s fertilizer research and education program or FREP concentrating on developing extensive best management practices or BMPs to mitigate the role of fertilizers. According to Western Plant Health Assn., the ongoing development and identification of BMPs will go a long way in improving the nitrate situation. The mitigation focus will involve more effective BMPs, and a greater expansion and training program via the California Certified Crop Adviser program so that more advisers will be available to growers to help develop nutrient planning. The association’s agronomy committees are working with the state to identify even more BMPs outside of those identified through FREP as well as helping to develop nutrient reports and nutrient adviser training, and will continue to cooperate with state agencies in any way to mitigate the amount of nitrates in California’s groundwater supplies. In their new report, UC Davis scientists examine data from wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, parks, lawns, golf courses and farms. The report concludes that more than 90 percent of human-generated nitrate contamination of groundwater in these basins is from agricultural activity. The nitrate study area includes four of the nation’s five counties with the largest agricultural production, representing 40 percent of California’s irrigated cropland and more than half of the state’s confined animal farming industry. In the report, UC Davis scientists examine data from wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, parks, lawns, golf courses and farms showing that more than 90 percent of human-generated nitrate contamination of groundwater in these basins is from agricultural activity. The nitrate study area includes four of the nation’s five counties with the largest agricultural production, representing 40 percent of California’s irrigated cropland and more than half of the state’s confined animal farming industry.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain