Recently the Humboldt County Public Works Department implemented a watering schedule for users of Grass Valley's Star City and Gold Country watering systems with the intent of lowering creeping nitrate levels that tend to surge during the summer.
“It’s a tool. It’s not a fix, and it’s something that we can do away with if we get another solution in place and operating in the near future,” explained Public Works Director Dan Ferraro during the most recent meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners on May 6 (Commissioner Mark Evatz absent from the meeting).
Ferraro said that the idea is to reduce the overall nitrates going into the water supply and eventually back into the system itself throughout the heavy water usage months.
The county’s domestic well near the airport area can handle the volumes and pressures during the winter season independently, but as water usage ramps up in the summer months to water lawns, fill pools, and other activities, the secondary well becomes active, which is higher in nitrates, according to Ferarro.
“We don’t have a lot of enforcement, but it is just for overall water quality and users of the water system to protect them and keep their interests in mind and we can reduce the volume [of nitrates] through the summer,” said Ferarro.
Humboldt County Code pertaining to water resource planning and Nevada revised Statute does allow the Public Works Department to implement water schedules in order to conserve water and/or protect users from things like dangerous levels of nitrates (NRS 540). The schedule has some users watering on certain days based on their address to keep it simple and users were notified via pamphlets, letters and on their water bills.
However, Ferarro said there is no real way that the schedule can be enforced, so it is voluntary for users and the schedule only applies to those on the Star City and Gold Country watering systems.
“Anybody that’s on a well or has their own system we have no say and they can do as they please,” said Ferarro.
Commissioner Tom Hoss questioned the validity of the water schedule and its enforceability.
Regulatory laws at the state level require that nitrate levels be measured and not exceed a level 10. During winter, according to Ferarro, the levels measure at a two or three with water coming primarily from the primary domestic well, but during the summer when the secondary is active, they are measuring between 12 and 15. With the blending of the domestic well and the secondary well though, the levels are currently between seven and nine.
“We’re right on the cusp of playing with some state involvement,” said Ferarro.
Commissioner Jesse Hill questioned whether the implementation of a water schedule should be brought before the board before application.
“We should probably have a conversation as a board or an agenda item, whether this sort of thing goes out—is it a commission decision or is it a public works decision? And if it is going to be mandatory on the letter that is sent out then we make it mandatory, we figure out how to enforce it or we just call it a voluntary thing and when we change our wording so that everybody’s on the same page,” said Hill.