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Council hears detailed briefing on longstanding nitrate, uranium contamination and treatment options
Summary
A utilities speaker outlined a long-running nitrate and uranium contamination problem affecting Hastings' groundwater, described testing and short-term and long-term responses including aquifer storage and restoration, and urged continued research and behavioral change; several council members asked about rebates, meters and timelines.
Marty, a utility department staff member, told the council the city has identified a long-running "nitrate legacy" in its groundwater and outlined sampling results, treatment steps and costs, saying the issue requires both technical remediation and behavioral change. "We spent about $15,000,000 to get [ASR] done," Marty said, referring to the city's aquifer storage and restoration work as a short-term measure to protect potable supplies.
Marty summarized why the community faces the problem: about half of the city's water comes from Platte River recharge (he said the travel time is about 50 years), with the other half from rainfall and irrigation return. He said isotope testing and other studies point to commercial fertilizer (anhydrous ammonia) as the primary source at several monitoring sites and that the…
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