Carson Valley groundwater generally safe to drink

Friday, Dec. 26, 1997 | 7:56 a.m.

It's pretty safe to draw a glass of water out of the tap.

"Using current drinking water standards as a measure of overall water quality, groundwater quality in principal aquifers in the upper basin generally is good," the USGS report said.

But the deeper the well the better, according to Alan Welch, who led the study team.

He said shallow aquifers tend to be recharged from surface watering of lawns and agricultural areas and can pick up anything that percolates down through the surface, the Nevada Appeal reported.

The report said shallower wells contain more pollutants such as arsenic, fluroide, nitrates, herbicides and pesticides. Urbanized areas add petroleum products.

Generally, Welch said concentrations of pollutants remains low, although nitrates are a problem in areas with high concentrations of septic tanks or fertilization runoff.

Naturally produced arsenic and other pollutants build up as the Carson River flows toward Fallon.

"The chemical composition of the Carson River changes from that of a fresh, untamed whitewater river in the headwaters area to that of stagnant, saline soughs and alkali lakes in the Carson Desert," the report said.