The State - News from Sept. 20, 1989

Water providers are looking for ways to ensure demands can be met during peak hours after one of the city of McFarland’s three wells was closed because of unsafe nitrate levels. Nitrate levels in the well measured as high as 88.6 parts per million in tests last week, almost twice the state limit of 45 p.p.m. But officials said the nitrate levels tested within safe levels after the well ran for a period. The immediate concern is the city’s ability to supply McFarland’s water demands and still meet Kern County Fire Department flow requirements. A possible solution would be to build a 1.5-million-gallon water storage tank to dilute nitrates in the well, provide extra water for fighting fires and store drinking supplies, McFarland Mutual Water Co. manager Cliff Ford said.