State water board questions city's groundwater data

BARSTOW • The state water quality board is questioning the validity of data collected by Barstow’s groundwater monitoring program through its wastewater treatment facility.

The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board sent a notice of violation to City Manager Richard Rowe on June 16 informing him that the city was in violation of the water board’s General Provisions for Monitoring and Reporting, which governs how groundwater monitoring data is collected. The notice of violation was brought to the Barstow City Council’s attention at a closed session meeting Tuesday.

According to the notice of violation, the city did not have an approved sampling and analysis plan in place and weren’t following chain-of-custody procedures for their groundwater monitoring program. This makes the validity of the monitoring results since at least 2003 questionable, the note said. The Lahontan Water Board is authorized to impose civil liability up to $1,000 per day per violation. Barstow has until July 17 to deliver its sampling and analysis plan and chain of custody procedures.

The recent violation comes after the water board ordered the city to come up with a plan to clean up nitrate-laden groundwater in the Soapmine Road area. Barstow has until the end of this month to get the nitrate level in the discharge content of the treatment plant below 10 milligrams per liter, and until Nov. 30 to come up with a groundwater remediation plan.

Scott Ferguson, senior water resource control engineer for Lahontan, said the recent notice of violation was submitted to the city in response to an investigation that covered a time period between 2003 and 2007. The investigation was completed earlier this year.

A sampling and analysis plan for a wastewater facility identifies procedures that ensures quality data, Ferguson said. A sampling and analysis plan identifies where sampling is done and whether groundwater is being sampled or if water coming from a pipe into a river or water in an infiltration pond is being sampled. Chain-of-custody procedures tracks who handled the samples and when.

Ferguson said Barstow doesn’t have a sampling and analysis plan in place and they do not have chain of custody procedures that are being followed. This affects the integrity of the data that’s collected. The board upon the city to provide valid data so it can evaluate if there are any impacts on ground or surface water, Ferguson said.

Although he couldn’t comment on the issue because of the impending legal action, City Spokesman John Rader said this particular notice of violation is new, but is related to wastewater issues that have been ongoing since 2003.

No reportable action was taken by the City Council regarding this issue on Tuesday, said City Attorney Yvette Abich-Garcia. Because potential legal action could be taken against the city, Abich-Garcia couldn’t comment further, but said the attorney who will be handling the case for the city is Greg Newmark of the Meyers Nave Professional Law Corporation.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com