Rancho owner exploring arsenic options

In a recent meeting of the Sonoma City Council, members of the public asked whether Rancho de Sonoma owner Preston Cook was making progress on reducing the arsenic levels in the park’s well water, which currently exceeds the Environment Protection Agency safety levels for arsenic.
Park owner Preston Cook has said that he is currently in compliance, since he has until June 2010 to meet EPA regulations, and that he is currently exploring several options for minimizing the arsenic.
Getting hooked up to the city’s water is one – very expensive – option, he said. “It will cost $450,000 for the hook-up fee. Just the fee. That’s $4,500 per home. Then there’s the plumbing cost.” Cook said the park uses relatively little water. “We use almost 2.5 million gallons per year,” said Cook. “We have very little landscaping. There’s not a lot of water being used.” He said the other option would be to install a well-head arsenic reduction system, at a cost of approximately $675,000, including new water piping.
Some residents, resisting Cook’s on-going attempts to convert the park to condominium ownership, cite the arsenic levels as part of a lawsuit they hope to file. Other residents look forward to the conversion, as Cook has promised to upgrade the facility. Earl Ahern, a supporter of the conversion, said in a recent interview, “Preston has been busy having our well tested to see if it can be salvaged. So far, the answer is no! I know he spent more than $20,000 just to get that answer. I know he has been negotiating with the city. But there is the question of whether the city even has enough water to sell.”
Sonoma City Manager Linda Kelly, asked if the City could accommodate his request, said in an email that if Cook meets the requirements, the City would need to work with him on implementing the connection. “With the recent Sonoma County Water Agency announcements [regarding drought], a hook-up proposal of this size (100 residential units) all at once would need to be considered by the City Council, and if approved, may need to be phased in.”
Kelly said she had spoken with the EPA coordinator on November 5, 2008, who stated that Cook “is currently complying fully with the administrative order and has provided EPA with a compliance plan.” Kelly confirmed that Cook has until June 30, 2010 to reduce arsenic levels down to safe drinking water levels.
The conversion process and ensuing debate have been a case in frustration for both Cook and park residents. “It’s a horrendous process,” he said. “It shouldn’t be so. State law allows for conversion, and I’ve spent one and a half years working on this, with hundreds of meetings and a lot of anxiety. It’s been difficult for residents, and I feel bad for that. It’s become more complicated than it should be.”