Families Warned About Water High Nitrate Levels Found In Two Water Systems South Of Post Falls

Nearly 100 families south of Post Falls were warned not to drink their water this week when high levels of nitrates were discovered in wells.

The Division of Environmental Quality warned pregnant women and families with children under six months of age to find another source of drinking water.

Two water systems, the South River Water Association and the Parkview Water Association, had high nitrate levels, as well as a handful of private wells, according to the DEQ.

Nitrogen levels above 10 parts per million may cause an illness in babies called methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome.” The nitrogen interferes with the ability of blood to carry oxygen, turning the infant’s skin blue.

The effects on pregnant women are unknown.

The same wells had high nitrate levels last May. The suspected sources of the nitrogen are leaky septic systems and Hughes Greenhouse.

A DEQ study last summer found about an equal loss of nitrogen from the greenhouse and septic systems, said Brian Painter, a DEQ hydrologist.

“It’s just a total overload of nitrate to this small aquifer that’s aggravated by the lowering of the river at the flood gates,” Painter explained.

The affected wells are south of the Spokane River near the Washington Water Power dam. The dam’s spillway gates are wide open to accommodate spring run-off, and the river level drops before the dam as a result.

“When the river comes up, we see a reversal of that trend, because of the dilution from the river in this aquifer,” he said. “It’s something that’s predictable, and it’s chronic.”

Painter said he doesn’t know why high levels of nitrate were not found in the wells prior to last year.

, DataTimes