Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), often called
“forever chemicals”, are highly persistent and widely
distributed contaminants that pose a serious threat to drinking
water quality. In a study published in Water & Ecology, an
international team used bibliometric analysis of 1,281 Web of
Science–indexed publications (2003–2023) to document sustained
growth in research on PFASs in drinking water. For the first
time, the study integrates pollution pathways, monitoring, and
treatment into a single framework that directs researchers and
regulators to the key bottlenecks—namely, the challenges of
monitoring and removing short-chain and ether-based compounds
and safely managing concentrated treatment residuals.
The accurate detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS), often termed “forever chemicals,” presents a critical
and complex challenge for environmental science due to their
structural diversity, the lack of standardized methods, and the
need for highly sensitive equipment to measure trace
environmental levels. A study published in Environmental
Science and Technology reveals an innovative, deep
learning-based approach to overcome these obstacles. The
prevalence of background contamination and the sheer number of
distinct PFAS compounds further complicate the development of
universal detection protocols.
Colorado oil and gas companies used toxic chemicals prohibited
under state law in operations involving dozens of wells on
either side of the Rocky Mountains over at least the last 18
months, a Capital & Main investigation found. Disclosures to
the state’s fossil fuel regulator showed operators combined
banned substances with water, sand and other chemicals as part
of a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”
… Physicians and environmental groups say that
it’s important to disclose such substances because drilling
machinery penetrates aquifers without any concrete casing
around the bit, potentially exposing
groundwater to contamination.
Datacenters’ electricity demands have been accused of delaying
the US’s transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel
plants to stay online, while their high level of water
consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates
fear another environmental problem could be linked to them –
Pfas “forever chemical” pollution. … Advocates are
particularly concerned over the facilities’ use of Pfas gas.
… No testing for Pfas air or water pollution has yet
been done, and companies are not required to report the volume
of chemicals they use or discharge. But some environmental
groups are starting to push for state legislation that would
require more reporting.
For decades pesticide-intensive farming of Easter lily bulbs on
the Smith River Plain has contaminated groundwater and surface
waters of the Smith River estuary, threatening the health of
wildlife and humans along one of California’s healthiest, most
ecologically pristine rivers. Now the North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board is considering new regulations to
address this persistent pollution. Greg King, Executive
Director of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, joins the program to
discuss an important upcoming townhall meeting … and what it
would take to effectively regulation pesticide pollution.
The Trump administration said this week it will lower American
electric bills by delaying an EPA rule requiring coal-burning
power plants to reduce discharges of toxic wastewater. But the
EPA analysis justifying that decision paints a more complicated
picture. It shows the long-term costs of allowing coal plants
to continue with outdated water pollution controls could exceed
potential cost savings. Coal plants draw large volumes of
water to create steam to drive turbines that produce
electricity. But when plants discharge that water, it carries
mercury, lead, cadmium, bromide and nitrogen into rivers, lakes
and streams that are also used as sources of drinking water.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved
a proposal Tuesday to request $1.4 million in state funding for
a comprehensive contamination study of the Tijuana River
Valley. The move is part of a renewed effort to designate the
area as a federal Superfund site, which could unlock billions
in federal funding for cleanup efforts. … If
approved by the state, the funds would be allocated to the San
Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to conduct the
study.
The Riverdale Park Tract Community Service
District (RPTCSD) has notified the Stanislaus County Board
of Supervisors that levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid
(PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in local groundwater
have exceeded state notification levels, according to a letter
submitted for discussion at the next board meeting. … While
these levels surpass the notification standard, they remain
below the response level of 70 ppt, which would require
immediate action to remove the water source from service.
… [T]he state has been working with private companies to put
over 130 dairy digesters — or systems that trap the
methane released from large lagoons of manure — on
farms. … The digesters have been shown to be
effective at cutting methane emissions, but they’re also
increasingly controversial among environmental groups and
Central Valley residents. Now, some of those groups are
suing the state’s air management board over amendments to the
LCSF that went into effect in July. … The environmental and
animal welfare groups … claim that the policy will spur
larger dairy operations to expand in scope, which will cause
more water contamination and air pollution in
the communities near the operations.
A pipeline company with a long history of Bay Area safety
incidents will pay a penalty for spilling 40,000 gallons of
gasoline into a Walnut Creek waterway, the
U.S. EPA announced Tuesday. Kinder Morgan subsidy Santa Fe
Pacific Pipeline, or SFPP, agreed to pay $213,560 in its
settlement with the EPA, which claims that the company violated
the Clean Water Act. … The EPA said that Kinder
Morgan and SFPP also agreed to pay over $5 million for three
fuel spills in 2004 and 2005. … Those fines were over an
April 2004 spill of 123,000 gallons of diesel fuel in Suisun
Marsh … a February 2005 spill of about 76,000 gallons of jet
fuel into the Oakland Estuary; and a smaller
spill into the Donner Lake watershed.
[S]tate lawmakers have passed a bill to ban products made with
PFAS, widely known as “forever chemicals”. The bill now heading
to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. … ”We are now finding
it just about everywhere,” says UCSD Public Health Professor
Jose Suarez. “We’re finding it in water sources. We’re finding
it in food chains and even in humans.” If Governor Newsom
signs the bill, California would begin phasing out PFAS in
consumer products. By 2028, food packaging and plastic foodware
would be banned. By 2030, cookware with PFAS, like some
nonstick pans, would also be off store shelves.
The Environmental Protection Agency will keep polluters on the
hook to clean up “forever chemicals” linked to serious health
risks, upholding a major rule despite chemical industry
opposition. … The Biden administration last year
designated two types of forever chemicals as hazardous
substances under the nation’s Superfund law. … [EPA
administrator Lee] Zeldin was briefed on the issue this month
and ultimately decided to keep the designation in
place. That decision came after he also elected to keep
strict drinking water standards in place for the same two kinds
of forever chemicals, though the agency eliminated standards
for four others.
For almost six years, Dr. Scott Bartell has been investigating
the effects that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
have on the health of Orange County residents after high levels
of PFAS were detected in drinking water supplies.
… Bartell says some of the results from the UCI study
contradict previous findings on PFAS health. “We have some
findings on obesity, which is one of the endpoints people have
been wondering about, PFAS might be an obesogen and then cause
more weight gain if people are exposed,” Bartell said. “But
we’re not actually seeing that.”
Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly
increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as
traditional water supplies grow tighter.
The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a
strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.
Tiny pieces of plastic waste shed
from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts,
tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of
daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made
it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists
about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking
water.
After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a
first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how
prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water
sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public
health threat.
A pilot program in the Salinas Valley run remotely out of Los Angeles is offering a test case for how California could provide clean drinking water for isolated rural communities plagued by contaminated groundwater that lack the financial means or expertise to connect to a larger water system.
Martha Guzman recalls those awful
days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative
secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a
recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks
were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a
troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible
time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across
California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay
for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually
spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely
greatest opportunity.”
Innovative efforts to accelerate
restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the
benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water
agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires.
Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of
California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address
persistent challenges facing the Colorado River.
These were among the issues Western Water explored in
2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed
them.
It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends
of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water
districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the
state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it
can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems
and upend an agency’s finances.
Blasted by sun and beaten by waves,
plastic bottles and bags shed fibers and tiny flecks of
microplastic debris that litter the San Francisco Bay where they
can choke the marine life that inadvertently consumes it.
Summer is a good time to take a
break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and
watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting
a chance to do plenty of that this July.
But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss
some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re
taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned
for later this year, we want to help you catch up on
Western Water stories from the first half of this year
that you might have missed.
Each day, people living on the streets and camping along waterways across California face the same struggle – finding clean drinking water and a place to wash and go to the bathroom.
Some find friendly businesses willing to help, or public restrooms and drinking water fountains. Yet for many homeless people, accessing the water and sanitation that most people take for granted remains a daily struggle.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.
That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
Disadvantaged communities are those carrying the greatest
economic, health and environmental burdens. They include
poverty, high unemployment, higher risk of asthma and heart
disease, and often limited access to clean, affordable drinking
water.
For decades, cannabis has been grown
in California – hidden away in forested groves or surreptitiously
harvested under the glare of high-intensity indoor lamps in
suburban tract homes.
In the past 20 years, however, cannabis — known more widely as
marijuana – has been moving from being a criminal activity to
gaining legitimacy as one of the hundreds of cash crops in the
state’s $46 billion-dollar agriculture industry, first legalized
for medicinal purposes and this year for recreational use.
As we continue forging ahead in 2018
with our online version of Western Water after 40 years
as a print magazine, we turned our attention to a topic that also
got its start this year: recreational marijuana as a legal use.
State regulators, in the last few years, already had been beefing
up their workforce to tackle the glut in marijuana crops and
combat their impacts to water quality and supply for people, fish
and farming downstream. Thus, even if these impacts were perhaps
unbeknownst to the majority of Californians who approved
Proposition 64 in 2016, we thought it important to see if
anything new had evolved from a water perspective now that
marijuana was legal.
Joaquin Esquivel learned that life is
what happens when you make plans. Esquivel, who holds the public
member slot at the State Water Resources Control Board in
Sacramento, had just closed purchase on a house in Washington
D.C. with his partner when he was tapped by Gov. Jerry Brown a
year ago to fill the Board vacancy.
Esquivel, 35, had spent a decade in Washington, first in several
capacities with then Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and then as
assistant secretary for federal water policy at the California
Natural Resources Agency. As a member of the State Water Board,
he shares with four other members the difficult task of
ensuring balance to all the uses of California’s water.
A new study could help water
agencies find solutions to the vexing challenges the homeless
face in gaining access to clean water for drinking and
sanitation.
The Santa Ana Watershed Project
Authority (SAWPA) in Southern California has embarked on a
comprehensive and collaborative effort aimed at assessing
strengths and needs as it relates to water services for people
(including the homeless) within its 2,840 square-mile area that
extends from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Orange County
coast.
Microplastics – plastic debris
measuring less than 5 millimeters – are an
increasing water quality concern. They enter waterways and
oceans as industrial microbeads from various consumer
products or larger plastic litter that degrades into small bits.
Microbeads have been used in exfoliating agents, cosmetic washes
and large-scale cleaning processes. Microplastics are used
pharmaceutically for efficient drug delivery to affected sites in
patients’ bodies and by textile companies to create artificial
fibers.
Microplastics disperse easily and widely throughout surface waters and sediments. UV
light, microbes and erosion degrade the tiny fragments, making
them even smaller and more difficult for wastewater treatment
plants to remove.
The particles, usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene
plastic, take thousands of years to biodegrade
naturally. It takes prohibitively high temperatures to
break microplastics down fully. Consequently, most water treatment plants cannot remove
them.
The health effects of consumption are currently under
investigation.
Responses
Many advocacy groups have published lists of products containing
microbeads to curb their purchase and pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates microbeads in
industrial, but not domestic, wastewater.
Federal
law required microbeads to be phased out of rinse-off
cosmetics beginning in July 2017. Dozens of states also
regulate microbeads in products. California has the strictest
limitation, prohibiting even the use of biodegradable microbeads.
Microplastics in California Water
In 2019, the San Francisco Estuary Institute published a
study estimating that 7 trillion pieces of microplastic
enter San Francisco
Bay annually from stormwater runoff, about 300
times the amount in all wastewater treatment effluent entering
the bay.
California lawmakers in 2018 passed a package of bills to raise
awareness of the risks of microplastics and microfibers in the
marine environment and drinking water. As
directed by the legislation, the State Water Resources Control
Board in 2020 adopted an official
definition of microplastics in drinking water and in 2022
developed the world’s standardized methods for testing drinking
water for microplastics.
The water board was expected by late 2023 to begin testing
for microplastics in untreated drinking water sources tapped by
30 of the state’s largest water utilities. After two years, the
testing was expected to extend to treated tap water served
to consumers. A progress report and recommendations for
policy changes or additional research are required by the end of
2025.
Contaminants exist in water supplies from both natural and
manmade sources. Even those chemicals present without human
intervention can be mobilized from introduction of certain
pollutants from both
point and nonpoint sources.
Directly detecting harmful pathogens in water can be expensive,
unreliable and incredibly complicated. Fortunately, certain
organisms are known to consistently coexist with these harmful
microbes which are substantially easier to detect and culture:
coliform bacteria. These generally non-toxic organisms are
frequently used as “indicator
species,” or organisms whose presence demonstrates a
particular feature of its surrounding environment.
Point sources release pollutants from discrete conveyances, such
as a discharge pipe, and are regulated by federal and state
agencies. The main point source dischargers are factories and
sewage treatment plants, which release treated
wastewater.
Problems with polluted stormwater and steps that can be taken to
prevent such pollution and turn what is often viewed as
“nuisance” runoff into a water resource is the focus of this
publication, Stormwater Management: Turning Runoff into a
Resource. The 16-page booklet, funded by a grant from the State
Water Resources Control Board, includes color photos and
graphics, text explaining common stormwater pollutants and
efforts to prevent stormwater runoff through land use/
planning/development – as well as tips for homeowners to reduce
their impacts on stormwater pollution.
20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A
Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues related to complex water management
disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances
Fisher.
For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and
California border has faced complex water management disputes. As
relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary
narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range
from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp,
farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists
– all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water.
After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon
settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise
of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the
documentary here.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Salt. In a small amount, it’s a gift from nature. But any doctor
will tell you, if you take in too much salt, you’ll start to have
health problems. The same negative effect is happening to land in
the Central Valley. The problem scientists call “salinity” poses
a growing threat to our food supply, our drinking water quality
and our way of life. The problem of salt buildup and potential –
but costly – solutions are highlighted in this 2008 public
television documentary narrated by comedian Paul Rodriguez.
A 20-minute version of the 2008 public television documentary
Salt of the Earth: Salinity in California’s Central Valley. This
DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking
engagements to help the public understand the complex issues
surrounding the problem of salt build up in the Central Valley
potential – but costly – solutions. Narrated by comedian Paul
Rodriquez.
20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater,
and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and
turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource
through various activities.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The
map text explains the many issues facing this vast,
15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration;
agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are
descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement,
and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development
of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to California
Wastewater is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the history of wastewater
treatment and how wastewater is collected, conveyed, treated and
disposed of today. The guide also offers case studies of
different treatment plants and their treatment processes.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when
the Colorado River broke
through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years,
creating California’s largest inland body of water. The
Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130
miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe.
This printed issue of Western Water, based on presentations
at the November 3-4, 2010 Water Quality Conference in Ontario,
Calif., looks at constituents of emerging concerns (CECs) – what
is known, what is yet to be determined and the potential
regulatory impacts on drinking water quality.
This issue of Western Water looks at some of the issues
facing drinking water providers, such as compliance with
increasingly stringent treatment requirements, the need to
improve source water quality and the mission of continually
informing consumers about the quality of water they receive.
This issue of Western Water examines PPCPs – what they are, where
they come from and whether the potential exists for them to
become a water quality problem. With the continued emphasis on
water quality and the fact that many water systems in the West
are characterized by flows dominated by effluent contributions,
PPCPs seem likely to capture interest for the foreseeable future.
This issue of Western Water examines the presence of mercury in
the environment and the challenge of limiting the threat posed to
human health and wildlife. In addition to outlining the extent of
the problem and its resistance to conventional pollution
remedies, the article presents a glimpse of some possible courses
of action for what promises to be a long-term problem.
This issue of Western Water examines the problem of perchlorate
contamination and its ramifications on all facets of water
delivery, from the extensive cleanup costs to the search for
alternative water supplies. In addition to discussing the threat
posed by high levels of perchlorate in drinking water, the
article presents examples of areas hard hit by contamination and
analyzes the potential impacts of forthcoming drinking water
standards for perchlorate.
2002 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most significant
environmental laws in American history, the Clean Water Act
(CWA). The CWA has had remarkable success, reversing years of
neglect and outright abuse of the nation’s waters. But challenges
remain as attention turns to the thorny issue of cleaning up
nonpoint sources of pollution.
