Board To Consider Forming Committee To Deal With Contaminated Water At Base

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider whether to make Riverside County a partner in formulating a strategy for getting rid of contaminated groundwater at March Air Reserve Base -- a move that could help prevent the facility from becoming a white elephant.

According to county Legislative Affairs Director Brian Nestande, the area underneath and immediately surrounding March is threatened by groundwater that, in some places, is flowing within three feet of the surface and rife with nitrates, perflourinated compounds, perchloroethylene and other substances.

Some of the chemicals come from petroleum products that leaked or were disposed of at the airfield, which was an active Air Force base until the mid- 1990s. It continues to host Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units.

In a statement posted to the board's policy agenda, Nestande wrote that the rising groundwater levels are most worrisome, potentially hampering further construction in and around the base, as well as jeopardizing the stability of existing buildings and platforms.

"Reducing groundwater levels and improving soil stability would reduce the cost of new construction and retrofit of existing infrastructure, both on March Air Reserve Base property and in nearby areas," Nestande said.

"For instance, owing to high groundwater levels, certain types of projects have to incorporate pilings and other special foundation and structural design elements, which can have a significant impact on construction costs and make some types of construction infeasible in extreme cases," he said.

The base is on the list of prospects for placement of the mammoth KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker. However, the weight of the aircraft and its maneuverability needs could overstress the tarmac and runways, causing damage stemming from water levels, Nestande said.

He also noted that the base is a designated Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster response and recovery site, but the possibility of liquefaction, which occurs when saturated soil gives way during shaking, raises questions about its viability.

"March would be a much more reliable and safer staging area for FEMA and other emergency responders once groundwater level reduction goals are reached," Nestande said. "Should a major earthquake strike the region, current groundwater levels could result in damage ... at March and limit FEMA's ability to transport materials and personnel, which would hinder response efforts."

Officials are proposing that the county join the Perris-based Eastern Municipal Water District, the Riverside-based Western Municipal Water District, March ARB Civil Engineering and the March Joint Powers Authority in establishing a committee to explore options and proceed with efforts to correct the problems.

A variety of federal, state and local stakeholders would be invited to join the committee.

According to Nestande, the EMWD has already begun the process of identifying mitigation measures under its MARB Program Refinement, but there are moving parts that have to be sorted out before actual groundwater pumping can begin.

One of the toughest issues, he said, will be figuring out how to store and recycle the aqua drawn out of the soil.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock