Burlington cited for high levels of nitrate

The state has fined the city $988,416 for violations of water regulations.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has cited Burlington with 2,109 violations of state drinking water regulations and warned residents that the city’s drinking water is unsafe because of high nitrate standards. The city was also fined $988,416.

The citation, announced Wednesday, covers July.

It is the second citation issued to Burlington — a city in Kit Carson County with about 4, 400 residents — within the past two years, according to a CDPHE news release.

In 2014, the Water Quality Control Division of the CDPHE issued an enforcement order to Burlington officials to address a nitrate problem in the water, the release said.

Burlington has since been required to maintain active public notice that the city’s drinking water has exceeded the safe drinking water standard for nitrate.

“Nitrate in drinking water is a serious health concern for infants younger than 6 months, and a potential risk for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding and other individuals who are taking medications that would make them sensitive to nitrate,” the department said.

Most of the violations are for the city’s failure to the notify the public and the department about exceedances of drinking-water standards and failure to complete required follow-up activities such as water sampling, the department said.

The Water Quality Control Division is working with Burlington to resolve the violations and penalty.

City spokesman Steve Rabe said Burlington recently found out that city employees have not been testing the water and reporting on it in the “correct manner” according to state regulations.

Rabe said the mistake was unintentional and was being fixed immediately.

He stressed that the city is now in compliance with regulations and that the main concern is notifying residents about the situation.

“Those high nitrates have been present for many, many years. And unless we do something, they’ll be here forever,” he said.

A $4.4 million project is in the works to reduce the nitrates, Rabe said.

He said residents regularly drink bottled water and are aware of the warnings. which are also posted on the city’s website.