A new grant program is available to residences located in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin whose drinking water well exceeds the State standard for nitrates in domestic wells.

Nitrate is a common contaminant found in groundwater that can have serious health effects if consumed at high levels. Common sources of nitrate in groundwater are fertilizers, livestock waste and septic systems. Some agricultural areas of the Central Coast region have high concentrations of nitrate in groundwater and drinking water wells may be affected.

The Coalition for Urban Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) is managing this pilot program and is contracting with Culligan of Monterey County to supply bottled water to qualified applicants in Salinas Valley.

If a verified water sample shows high nitrates in a domestic well in Salinas Valley, the users of that well water may qualify for this program.

CURES is providing a free water analysis of the domestic supply well to verify the water quality of each well. Should results be above the drinking water standard for nitrates, all residences that use water from that supply well can apply for this grant program.

If you are interested in participating in this pilot program, please email us and request an application. Include your name, address, location of the well and nitrate level found in the well. The application is also available in Spanish.