Letter to the Editor
Fairbury Journal News: To all residents of Fairbury and the Little Blue NRD. I am writing this letter to express my opposition to the Fairbury/NRD water sourcing project. I believe that this is a short term solution to a long term problem.
Fairbury has a water problem in that the nitrate levels in their water source is rising. They do not have a water supply problem. They wish to find another source of water to solve that problem. Nitrates in ground water are an ongoing problem that will affect the ground water in Nebraska for generations to come. The new source of water is currently low in nitrates but that can change rapidly.
In 2008 I drilled a new domestic well on my property. At the time of drilling the water was tested for nitrates and the results came back 14.6 PPM (parts per million). I had the water retested about 2 weeks ago. The results came back with a nitrate content of 28.5 PPM. As can be seen my water source was over the accepted limit in 2008 but the important point I want to make is how quickly the figure changed, doubling in 13 years. The new water source might be okay now but that could change in a few short years.
I believe that Fairbury and the rural water customers would be better served by building a water treatment facility. The treatment facility will be much more expensive than the new source. However, I believe that in the long term the opposite will be true. It is likely that after spending the money to access this new source of water, the community and NRD will be spending the money to erect a treatment plant anyway.
The treatment plant offers another advantage in that the level of treatment can be controlled. The nitrate level doesn’t need to be zero but reducing it to a comfortable level is something that could not be done with a new water source alone, especially if the nitrate levels in the new source start to rise.
Another concern is for the residents in the vicinity of the proposed well field. What happens when their wells run dry? Will they be allowed to drill new wells? What about the irrigators in the area that have invested large sums of money in equipment and wells to water their crops?
Lastly, why is the proposed well field on the property of one individual who is also a member of the NRD board? I have been told that this individual was the only one to respond to the deal offered by the NRD. The lack of response from the public should have been a signal to all involved that this proposal was not a good one.
Sincerely: Donald G. Fox, Fairbury
