Approximately 70 concerned Fords Prairie neighborhood residents attended a town hall at the Centralia High School library on Thursday, Dec. 19, to learn more about the recent announcement that their drinking water might not be safe after multiple private wells tested positive for high levels of nitrate contamination.

The town hall was organized by staff from the City of Centralia, Lewis County Public Health and Social Services and the Environmental Health department, who publicly announced there was a nitrate contamination problem last week at the Dec. 10 Centralia City Council meeting.

Centralia High School, while being located in Fords Prairie, is on the city’s water system and drinking water for students there is still safe, according to city staff.

The neighborhood is in Centralia’s urban growth area, meaning the city is in an interlocal agreement with Lewis County for jurisdiction in the area. The county is ultimately responsible under the current agreement.

At Thursday’s town hall, staff stated that a temporary solution for the residents — Washington state Department of Health grant funding for under-sink reverse-osmosis water filters — is currently awaiting approval, which they anticipate will come at the beginning of 2025.

“It’s a short term solution until something more permanent can be put in place. The undersink filtration, the point-of-use filtration, requires continuous monitoring. What you’re going to have to do is replace the filter on it about every year. It’s not a permanent solution,” Lewis County Environmental Health Services Manager Kirsten Wecker said.

As for the long term solution to the nitrate contamination, more testing is needed in order to determine the exact source. Once the source has been identified, then long term solutions and cleanup efforts can begin.

In order to get there, though, Lewis County Public Health & Social Services Director Meja Handlen told residents they need to test as many of the neighborhood’s private wells as possible — if not all of them.

The city has multiple monitoring wells in the area, too, and it was a spike in nitrate levels observed starting in 2023 that prompted city and county staff to begin testing private wells.

Testing efforts have been ongoing for months already.

“We knew immediately we needed better quality data. That means if you have five houses on a street, and you’re missing two of those houses’ data, we need all of that data,” Handlen said.

Seventy residents in the neighborhood are not on the city’s water system and still have private wells. Of those residents, 28 of them agreed to test their private well water as of Oct. 30.

Lewis County Environmental Health Specialist Jeff Landrum stated that even if there was no ongoing known nitrate contamination, private well owners should regularly test the water they drink.

“If you have a private well, you should know what the nitrate levels are. You should sample it every year, every six months if the levels are higher, or maybe every quarter. It’s your responsibility as a well owner to know the water your drinking is safe,” Landrum said. 

Handlen added this advice extended to residents throughout Lewis County who have private wells. She said should also be vigilant and regularly test their water for nitrates and other contaminants.

High nitrate levels in water can be triggered by a range of factors, including industrial waste, fertilizers, animal waste, wastewater and more. 

The maximum allowable limit of nitrate levels in water is 10 milligrams per liter, according to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, while state law mandates increased monitoring be conducted if the level rises above five milligrams per liter.

Of the 28 residents who have agreed to have their private wells tested so far, 11 have tested at levels above 10 milligrams per liter, four tested between 10 and 5 milligrams per liter and the remaining 13 have levels below 5 milligrams per liter.

High nitrate levels in water are dangerous, especially to infants and adults with pre-existing health conditions, as the nitrates can cause methemoglobinemia, also known as blue baby syndrome, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Blue baby syndrome causes nitrates to be converted to nitrite in the stomach, which prevents red blood cells from carrying oxygen, leading to bluish skin discoloration due to low blood oxygen levels.

This can cause a number of symptoms ranging from neurological development issues for infants to pale skin, fatigue, headaches, nausea, vomiting and more for adults. It can also be fatal for infants if not treated quickly.

Chronic nitrate exposure can also lead to increased cancer risk and possible birth defects.

Though many of the residents in the neighborhood still have septic tanks — which could be leaking and a possible contamination source — many believe there is another source of nitrate contamination in the area.

That possible source is the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Bob Oke Game Farm, near Centralia High School along Mt. Vista Road in the neighborhood.

The game farm breeds and raises between 40,000 and 45,000 pheasants for hunters annually. It is named after the late Washington state Sen. Bob Oke.

Originally opened in the 1950s as the Lewis County Game Farm, it was renamed the Bob Oke Game Farm in 2006 and is almost completely funded by WDFW pheasant hunting license fees, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.

One of the city’s monitoring wells on Mt. Vista Road directly next to the Bob Oke Game Farm showed much higher nitrate levels starting in 2023.

First, testing showed 8 milligrams per liter. Later, testing found 9.18 milligrams per liter. WDFW officials present at the town hall attributed it to a possible leak in the farm’s own nearby septic tank.

Additionally, the farm has recently changed its farming practices and removed some bird manure to reduce nitrate loading, according to materials handed out at the Thursday meeting.

However, soil sampling tests for nitrates on the farm have yet to be done. Tests are expected to be completed in early 2025.

Fords Prairie residents who may have missed Thursday’s town hall are still invited to test their water at the Lewis County Water Lab, located at 360 NW North St. in Chehalis, though it will be closed from Dec. 23 to 27 for Christmas and Dec. 29 to Jan. 3 for New Years.

For more information, visit the county’s website at https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/environmental-health/water-laboratory/. 

Other laboratories in the area capable of testing water for nitrates include the ALS Environmental Lab in Kelso, BSK Associates in Vancouver, Centric Analytical Labs in Port Orchard, Clallam County Environmental Lab in Port Angeles, Vanguard Laboratory in Olympia, Thurston County Health Department Lab in Olympia, Grays Harbor County Water Lab in Montesano, Pacific County DCD Water Lab in South Bend, Pyxis Laboratories in Portland, Seattle Public Health Utilities Lab in Seattle and Water Management Laboratories in Tacoma.