In a typical scenario that is being echoed in small towns across the nation, Fernley, Nev., officials recently told the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District Board that Fernley's primary source of drinking water by mid-2006 would be the Truckee Canal rather than the wells from which all of Fernley's water currently is drawn. The Water Quality Association (WQA) notes that this local issue is one that may affect your own community soon - if it's not already.
This shift in Fernley's primary resource has come about because an arsenic-removing water treatment plant for the city's ground water would cost about $7 million while a plant to treat canal irrigation water for consumption would be closer to $5 million. It's simple economics. As with many other western towns, Fernley's ground water just meets the old federal arsenic standard for drinking water of 50 ppb - but is not close to the new 10 ppb maximum contaminant level (MCL), set to become effective by late January, 2006. (Fernley received an extension from Nevada and won't have to meet the new standard until 2009.)