Monday, Mar 28 2011 2:37PM

California water quality regulators in the Central Valley and Central Coast regions are weeks away from voting on the first comprehensive requirements for groundwater quality at farms.

A previous investigation from California Watch discovered millions of state residents have been exposed to unsafe levels of nitrates in their drinking water, often the result of fertilizers used by farmers that can seep excess nutrients into groundwater. For cash-strapped rural communities, the website said it's often too expensive to use water system services to treat the contaminated water.

Long-time agricultural communities are most likely to see excess nitrates in water. A recent report from the Pacific Institute found that almost 35 percent of residents in the state's rural San Joaquin Valley are exposed to tainted drinking water.

If the requirements are passed, farmers will have to comply with new rules that will regulate groundwater. The rules have not been fully developed yet, although the source said the plan has already received objections from farmers who say complying with them will be too expensive.

Rural communities across California have been affected by groundwater contamination. A United Nation's representative recently traveled to the town of Seville as part of a project investigating unsafe drinking water across the globe, reported the Fresno Bee.