Let’s Play Contamination Whack-a-Mole with Opponents of Village Farms Davis

By Alan Pryor

INTRODUCTION

A recent article was published in the Davis Enterprise (3/22/26) entitled “Village Farms Contaminant Risks” which purportedly discussed the alleged “risks” of environmental harm due to concentrations of a class of chemicals found in the groundwater beneath the Old Davis Landfill. These chemicals, known as PFASs, are likely found in the groundwater as a result of seepage from the long-since closed Old Davis Landfill. This article was later reprinted in a slightly altered form in the Davisite and Davis Vanguard on March 29,

Unfortunately, however, the authors of the article really only repeated information already known about the concentrations of this only remaining organic contaminant currently found in  the groundwater.

Further, the authors completely failed to actually quantify any real environmental “risk”of any type that this reported contamination might actually cause. Instead, the authors essentially  just say,”It’s there and it’s really bad”! – albeit saying that in a very ponderous and sonorous but seemingly credible manner. 

But the authors did not even attempt to quantify the real likelihood of any environmental risk in their article. Why?…Because the risk of contamination is so infinitesimally low that to properly quantify that risk and disclose that information to the public would completely undermine their attempts to scare and frighten the public. This is not a thoughtful, deliberate scientific report. This is yellow journalism pure and simple.

Let me explain.

This article is just another part of an ongoing series of false claims by Village Farms Davis opponents alleging huge risks of harm from groundwater contamination while simultaneously attempting to dissuade voters from approving the Village Farms Davis project. Repeatedly responding to each of the series of untrue or misleading statements is somewhat akin to the old popular carnival midway game, “Whack-a-Mole”.

REPEATED PAST WRONGFUL CLAIMS OF CONTAMINATION ARE LIKE MOLES THAT KEEP POPPING UP

Firstly, go back to 2023 when Eileen Samitz was before the City Council repeatedly alleging the groundwater beneath the project had all sorts of hazardous chemicals in it, “…including vinyl chloride, a carcinogen that never goes away“. And so, of course, Ms. Samitz insisted the Council must reject putting Village Farms Davis on the ballot or there will unspecified catastrophic environmental consequences.

Subsequently, however, actual groundwater testing in 2024 showed that all of the volatile organic hydrocarbons in the groundwater under both the old landfill and the Village Farms Davis site previously identified in the 1980s and 1990s had, in fact, COMPLETELY dissipated – including vinyl chloride. In other words, all of the chemicals in the groundwater that the naysayers have sworn “WILL NEVER GO AWAY!“, actually ALL DID COMPLETELY GO AWAY!

Those previously identified organic groundwater contaminants likely naturally decomposed and/or migrated towards the northeast in the direction of the underlying aquifer flow and directly away from the Village Farm Davis – exactly as was predicted.

So Mole No. 1 was whacked!…But wait, the game is not over!

Ms. Samitz has since admitted sending a letter to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) claiming the groundwater contamination under the site was so extensive and pervasive that it could result in imminent harm to the future inhabitants of Village Farms Davis.

Responding to this complaint, the acknowledged expert scientists at the RWQCB reviewed all available records for the Old Davis Landfill site and subsequently sent a letter to the City of Davis stating, “...Staff does not believe a risk is posed to the residential and commercial properties proposed for development if the development is connected to the existing City municipal water system and the City water system is the sole means of water used by the development.“.

Because Village Farms Davis 1) will rely entirely on Davis municipal water supply and 2) all existing water wells on site will be permanently capped before home construction and occupation ensuring no groundwater from the project site can ever be pumped in the future, there is thus no risk of exposure to future residents according to the RWQCB.

So Mole No. 2 was whacked! But let’s keep playing because another Mole just popped up!

Now the pundits are back claiming in the recent Enterprise article that there is an unquantified, but apparently huge and dangerous risk to the Wildhorse Ranch residents and the Yolo Bypass environment due to contamination in the groundwater from the Old Davis Landfill. The only organic chemical contaminants remaining in the groundwater are the PFASs because all of the other contaminants are gone. Unfortunately, the groundwater was never tested for PFASs before 2024 so we have no idea what previous concentrations of the contaminants existed.

But now, the authors of the Enterprise article are like Chicken Little running around shouting “THE SKY IS FALLING…THE SKY IS FALLING” claiming the presence of PFAS in the groundwater is an imminent environmental threat to the Yolo Bypass and more study is needed to prevent an environmental catastrophe – and so, of course, everybody should vote No on Measure V. But the naysayers never actually tell us what is the likelihood of PFASs in the groundwater ever contaminating the Yolo Bypass just like Chicken Little never said what is the likelihood of the sky actually falling.

Notice that functionally all the article authors say in their article is that there are PFASs in the groundwater beneath the Village Farms Davis project site and this groundwater COULD (possibly…maybe…might) migrate up to the bottom of the new lined Channel A drainage channel running through the project that convey flood water from west and north Davis. Then that water COULD (possibly…maybe…might) get into the Channel A through a membrane barrier and then it’s off to the Yolo Bypass where presumably something horrific COULD (possibly…maybe…might) happen to the wildlife there.

But these scientists never actually predict WHAT QUANTITY of the contaminant COULD get into the water and what harm this quantity and concentration of PFASs COULD cause to wildlife in the Yolo Bypass. Now according to their resumes, these authors all have the requisite skill set to easily do these calculations. But they simply chose not to but instead paint a vague picture of impending PFAS Armageddon resulting if the Village Farms Davis project is approved by voters in June.

In fact, the certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the Project did specifically and extensively look at the potential for groundwater seepage into the Channel A and the resultant downstream impacts should that occur. That EIR concluded, “…substantial evidence exists to conclude that potentially contaminated groundwater from the Old Davis Landfill would not come into contact with the Proposed Project/BRPA storm water system. As a result, substantial evidence exists to support the conclusion that the project’s runoff would not transport contaminated water into the downstream system.” – DEIR (4.8 – 23). Also see the  “Channel Evaluation Report “. This finding was conveniently ignored in the recent report claiming otherwise by the paper’s authors.

And so a 3rd contamination Mole has been whacked…Can I get my prize now?

THE REAL CULPRIT IN PFAS CONTAMINATION IN YOLO BYPASS

PFASs are a class of fluoridated hydrocarbon chemicals widely found in waterproof and grease-proof apparel and food packaging through which it finds its way into the environment and the human body. The EPA estimates that 99% of US residents have some levels of PFASs in their bloodstream and 155 million people in the US have some levels of PFASs in their drinking water supplies. Fortunately, PFASs have NOT been detected in Davis municipal drinking water supplies.

However, large amounts of PFASs are actually being continuously released into the environment and reaching the Yolo Bypass as feared by project opponents. But these contaminants are NOT FROM GROUNDWATER BENEATH THE OLD DAVIS LANDFILL. Rather they are released from the City of Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) into the wetlands adjacent to the WWTP where they then flow into Willow Slough and on into the Yolo Bypass.

The vast majority of PFASs in effluent from the Davis WWTP are due to human waste – primarily in urine – which contaminants are poorly removed during normal waste water treatment plant operations. In fact, the Davis WWTP sampled its effluent on multiple dates in 2021 and found an average total PFAS concentration of 111 ppb (parts per billion) in its effluent of 6 million gallons per day. This is about twice the concentration of total PFASs found underneath the Village Farms Davis site which otherwise have never been shown to contribute to ANY increase in PFASs released into Channel A. So one could fairly ask where is the real source of PFAS contamination “risk” of the Yolo Bypass?

Project opponents who are SO concerned with PFASs entering the Yolo Bypass would do well to instead focus on this massive plume of PFASs otherwise flowing into Yolo Bypass from our own municipal WWTP and from the other WWTPs discharging into the Yolo Bypass and Delta – including from the Woodland WWTP and the massive Sacramento Regional WWTP near Elk Grove. Focusing on reducing these KNOWN sources of PFASs entering the Yolo Bypass would be far more protective of the environment rather than speculating on some infinitesimal risk that PFASs will somehow enter Channel A from groundwater beneath the now-closed Old Davis Landfill in the future.

Indeed, if Project opponents are really that concerned with PFASs entering Yolo Bypass and endangering wildlife, perhaps they could all collectively eliminate their own personal contributions to PFASs discharged into those wetlands by simply stopping peeing in their toilets…But I’m guessing that ain’t gonna happen, eh?