Officials downplay risk of dairy sludge

Tuesday, March 3, 1998 | 10:42 a.m.

Nevada and California officials sampled surface and well waters today after millions of gallons of sludge from an Amargosa Valley dairy farm flowed 20 miles through a wash last week.

State and local officials said there was no immediate health risks to residents of the agricultural community, about 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The greenish dairy sludge drained about seven miles across the California border through the Amargosa River.

Because many homeowners drink water from area wells, the sludge from the Ponderosa Dairy could cause contamination as the sludge settles into the ground, reaching water supplies.

Nevada's water quality enforcement Superintendent Joe Livak said officials will investigate why so much of the cattle manure escaped from the dairy.

Allen Biaggi, deputy administrator of the Nevada Environmental Protection Division, said the farm sewage could pose an environmental threat.

Although threatened and endangered pup fish in nearby Ash Meadows did not appear affected by the sludge a few miles east of Amargosa Valley, the groundwater system connects to the National Wildlife Refuge and Death Valley National Park in California.

Rains sweeping Southern Nevada and Southern California last week soaked the normally dry desert washes, causing waters to flood rural roads and turn gullys into brown rivers.

California and Nevada officials will meet with the dairy farm's owners to determine how the sludge spewed from an 8- to 10-inch pipe that can deliver up to 800 gallons of sludge a minute.

The dairy's owners had started to clean up the sludge as it flowed past several homes and two casinos along State Route 373. They built berms and catch basins over the weekend.

The main concern from the cow manure is its threat to rob surface water in the valley of oxygen, killing biological organisms in nearby streams or ponds. The sludge also delivers parasites and bacteria that could pose a health threat to animals and people through contact.