Bad water being blamed on cheese company
By Jane Kay, Environmental Health News
HILMAR -– A century ago, a band of Swedish families settled in California’s Central Valley, attracted by land that cost $25 an acre and life-sustaining water from the gushing San Joaquin and Merced rivers.
The Mords, the Ahlems, the Nymans and the Wickstroms started dairy farms, milking cows and growing oats and corn for feed. The settlers, joined by Portuguese immigrants, relied on one another to tend irrigation canals and survive choking dust storms and crop-stripping plagues of jackrabbits and grasshoppers. In 1984, to add value to their milk, descendants created an enterprise that grew into Hilmar Cheese Co., one of the world’s largest cheese producers.
Now, much of the well water around the cheese plant, located in the agricultural heart of California, isn’t fit to drink.
New documents show that the cheese is the likely culprit in spoiling at least 18 water wells – probably more – in and around Hilmar. High in nitrates, arsenic, barium and salts, the well water tastes bad and violates federal health standards, increasing the risk of cancer and other health problems.
IN RESPONSE: Cheese firm defends its water treatment
We were greatly disappointed that The Chronicle printed a story, “Cheesemaker’s waste polluted neighbors’ wells, reports show” (Sept. 26), about the Hilmar Cheese Co. without independently checking the facts with us or state regulators.
The article contains many misleading and biased statements, many of which are simply false, to depict our company in an inaccurate and negative light. More notably, it failed to even mention our successful efforts to responsibly address our earlier issues and achieve full compliance with all water quality regulations since March 2006. While we encountered a number of obstacles with our water treatment system in the past, we have worked diligently and responsibly to overcome those obstacles to ensure the ongoing quality of life in our rural farming community.
Hilmar Cheese Co. operates a state-of-the art, on-site water treatment and reclamation facility that has performed significantly better than permit requirements. It is one of the most advanced water recycling systems of its kind. Our recycled water is in high demand by local farmers to offset drought impacts and water supply cutbacks necessary to protect endangered species.
At no time has our facility discharged arsenic or barium (as is implied by the news story). These are naturally occurring constituents found throughout the San Joaquin Valley. While small amounts of nitrates can be found in our treated water, they are well within water quality requirements necessary to meet federal drinking water standards.
Hilmar Cheese Co. takes corporate responsibility very seriously. We are continuing our efforts to address any well impacts that might have been caused by our past operations and taking all appropriate short-term actions, including providing bottled drinking water for any of our impacted neighbors. We will not rest in our commitment to be good neighbors in this community where we work and live.
Visit our website, http://www.hilmarcheese.com, to get an accurate view of our efforts.
John Jeter, president and CEO Hilmar Cheese Co.
This article appeared on page A – 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/02/EDNN1FN18M.DTL
Here is the crux of the biscuit:
“that might have been caused by our past operations”
The decisions you make now, can have consequences later. That is why we need regulation.
Good to read that the current operators treat their water.