Bass Lake to remove uranium from water

BASS LAKE
June 25, 2007 10:10am

Water Remediation Technology LLC of Wheat Ridge, Colo., says approval has been given by the California Department of Health Services for it to use its equipment to strain uranium out of the water found in one well used by Bass Lake Water Co., the firm that serves the Central Valley resort community of Bass Lake.

State officials limited the use of the well about a decade ago, only allowing the company to use it for a total of 15 days a year for emergencies.

"This is a topic of awareness to the community. For health reasons, we wanted to remove the uranium for the sake of our customers," says Bass Lake Water Co. President Stephen Welch. "The new treatment system will give everyone a comfort level and will provide us with another source of water that we previously weren't able to use on a steady basis."

Water Remediation Technology says its system will treat the well water to remove the uranium to an amount that is below the federal Environmental Protection Agency maximum allowable limit.

The current uranium concentration in the well at Bass Lake is roughly 165 parts per billion. The EPA's guidelines allow for a maximum uranium presence of only 30 ppb. According to the EPA, uranium is naturally present in water, but drinking high amounts of it over a long period of time can cause toxic effects to the kidneys and increase the risk of getting cancer.

The treated water will increase Bass Lake's water supply during the summer months, when tourists come into town to spend their vacations. Mr. Welch says the company plans to pump 90,000 gallons of water a day from the well when needed during that time.

As part of the 20-year contract between WRT and the water company, WRT will also be responsible for the environmentally safe handling and removal of the uranium from the area to a remote location. R.M.D. Operations LLC, a sister company, will handle the filter media once it has been spent and exchange it with new media. The company, licensed by the California Radiologic Health Branch, will also package and ship the spent media for processing, in which the extracted uranium will be recycled for industrial uses.