About 40 tenants living at the farm, including many children, were being exposed to a high level of toxic nitrates, a chemical known to deplete oxygen in blood, which can be fatal in high doses, according to county investigators.
A routine check revealed water at the farm’s employee housing had a nitrate concentration six times higher than the legal limit for potable water.
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No tenants at the farm reported health problems from exposure to the water, according to county officials. Farm laborers and other tenants living in the domiciles reportedly noticed the tap water in their building tasted funny, and they primarily drank bottled water.
Farm co-owner Natalino Marchi said he was baffled when he learned his water supply was contaminated.
“I never dreamed the nitrate levels were that high,” the 75-year-old farmer said. “If I had ever known there were nitrates in the water, I would’ve brought in water from Santa Cruz.”
A farmer on the Coastside since 1952, Marchi purchased the Pescadero farm in 2000 and has grown Brussels sprouts, fava beans, leeks and peas. When he acquired the land, Marchi said he took over many of the tenants living on site, including about 10 farm laborers and dozens of others who subsisted on other local employment.
All employee housing at Marchi Central Farms, including two trailer homes, a “barracks” style dormitory, four family apartments and two houses, has now been officially deemed uninhabitable.
State health guidelines allow drinking water to have a nitrate content no higher than 45 milligrams per liter. When county health officials first inspected the farm on April 29, they tested a water sample from a faucet in one of the employee homes. The test showed a nitrate content of 205 milligrams.
County health inspectors returned one week later to do a second test, and they went to the farm’s well, the only permitted water source on the site. But the second test came back with a nitrate content of only 55 milligrams — still a violation, but not nearly as severe of a health concern.
“That didn’t make sense,” Peterson said. “How could the nitrate levels go up fourfold?”
More tests showed again that the water in the workers’ homes had a nitrate content as high as 290 milligrams while the water from the well had significantly lower traces of the toxin.
The answer, county officials learned, was that the tap water in the workers’ homes wasn’t coming from the well at all. It was instead being piped directly from a spring on the farm — an illegal source not permitted by the county.
Nitrates are a common byproduct from synthetic fertilizers that are known to frequently run off into surface water. It is unknown exactly why the farm creek had such high nitrate levels or how long tenants living at the farm had been exposed to the water.
Marchi said the spring water was supposed to only be used in emergencies, when the regular supply of well water was low. He said he was not aware the water was being piped into the employee housing on a regular basis.
Nitrates are known to be especially hazardous for young children and pregnant women, and it is believed to also increase the risk of cancer.
Environmental health officials issued a cease and desist order last week to the South Coast farm, and also cited the farm for having soiled mattresses, dirty living conditions, smashed windows and numerous broken heaters, stoves and smoke detectors. The farm faces no penalties except that it is forbidden from housing workers on-site until all the problems have been addressed.
County health officials have also notified local law enforcement of the violation. The county district attorney’s office intends to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against the Marchi Central Farm owners, according to a spokeswoman.
Marchi said the farm is making “every effort” possible to remedy the situation.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen here,” Marchi said. “I’m just trying to make a living.”
For the tenants living at Marchi farms, most of whom are reported to be Spanish-speaking migrants, the news that they can’t live at their homes came as a shock. Many are reportedly still living at the condemned homes and have no idea where to go now.
Kerry Lobel, executive director of the Puente de la Costa Sur, described the situation as a “tragedy” for the Pescadero area. Her group is trying to help the families find temporary housing and health care, but those are resources the South Coast has always had in short supply, she said.
Lobel said most farms in the South Coast area provided good living areas for their helpers. But the new violations found at Marchi farms, she said, are egregious.
“Farmers are required to keep minimal standards for their tenants,” she said. “To not meet these standards, even minimal standards, says a lot. This water situation really goes beyond the pale.”
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