Water quality in California is regulated by several state
agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board
(State Water Board) and its nine regional boards, which
enforce clean water laws and the Department of Public Health.
Water quality concerns are also often involved in disputes
over water rights, particularly in situations involving
endangered species or habitat.
The State Water Board administers the Clean Water Grant Program
that funds construction of wastewater treatment facilities. The
State Water Board also issues general permits for municipalities
and construction sites that try to prevent contaminants from
those sources from entering municipal storm sewers.
Drinking water standards and regulations are developed by federal
and state agencies to protect public health. In California, the
Department of Public Health administers the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, which regulates drinking water quality in the
United States.
…. Wastewater from oil and gas activities (or “produced
water”) contains compounds that are known to be hazardous to
human health. The volume of produced water has been increasing
in California for decades. Much of this water is disposed via
dangerous unlined ponds that impact groundwater that is
currently or could be used for drinking or agricultural
irrigation in California. While the report notes that
drinking water wells close to oil and gas activities generally
pose greater health risks, the state lacks publicly available
data on which chemicals are found in produced water and
comprehensive reporting on where produced water has been
stored, disposed of, or spilled. The report recommends not only
stronger regulations prohibiting the disposal of this toxic
sludge in unlined produced-water ponds that are prone to
contaminating fresh water, but also better access to
information about where the oil and gas industry has been
disposing of this mess.
San Diego’s congressional delegation announced Tuesday it had
secured the remaining funding needed to upgrade the
long-neglected federal wastewater treatment plant at the
U.S.-Mexico border that has allowed sewage from Tijuana to
pollute South County shorelines. But the stopgap spending bill
that would provide the $250 million to complete the critical
repairs was scrapped late Wednesday after President-elect
Donald Trump and others urged the House of Representatives to
reject the deal, putting the fate of the plant funding in
limbo. … The South Bay facility has long been
underfunded and undermaintained. It repeatedly takes in more
sewage from Tijuana than it was designed to treat, which has
left the agency with multiple Clean Water Act violations for
releasing wastewater into the Pacific Ocean beyond what it is
permitted.
Two local environmental groups have initiated a potential
lawsuit against SeaWorld San Diego alleging ongoing Clean Water
Act violations in and around Mission Bay connected with the
marine park’s fireworks displays and wastewater discharges. The
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation and San Diego
Coastkeeper have sent a notice of intent letter to SeaWorld
addressing numerous alleged violations of both its fireworks
and waste discharge permits. … The letter describes “shocking
amounts” of evidence collected from the waters surrounding
SeaWorld’s fireworks launch barge. SeaWorld routinely
discharges plastic caps, wires, trash, and other chemical-laden
debris into Mission Bay in violation of multiple requirements
of the regional Fireworks Permit, and fails to follow its
post-event cleanup protocols, claims CERF and San Diego
Coastkeeper in their notice letter. SeaWorld has defended its
continuing seasonal fireworks displays as a major attraction of
its annual schedule. “SeaWorld’s fireworks displays are
monitored and regulated by multiple government agencies …
The EPA revealed its draft surface water quality standards for
PFAS, which would allow states to consider forever chemicals
when permitting wastewater discharges. The draft announced
Thursday focuses on the Environmental Protection Agency’s
proposed recommended ambient water quality criteria for three
types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
(PFOS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). The draft
criteria, which would not be legally binding when finalized,
are open for public comment for 60 days.
A recent study found elevated levels of radiation at a former
dump turned busy community space, but experts say the public
has little to worry about. Similar to other public parks, the
Albany Bulb was formed on top of what was previously a landfill
created along the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bayfront,
just north of Berkeley. The main portion of the park, about 40
acres, is owned by Albany while the East Bay Regional Parks
District owns the northern stretch of land leading up to the
bulb and the state owns the southern portion. … Albany
was ordered to survey the Albany Bulb for radiation by the
San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control
Board after staff found a letter dated March 28, 1980,
from Stauffer Chemical Company to the Department of
Health Services that indicated the company had been disposing
of toxic waste in the old landfill between 1960 and 1971.
… In 2020, watchdog groups first discovered PFAS in certain
pesticides, which directed national attention to whether farm
chemicals might be another source of contamination. How
significant of a PFAS source pesticides might be remains
unresolved, especially because different highly accredited labs
have produced conflicting tests. One initial study found high
levels of PFAS in common pesticides, but when the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did its own testing on
the same products, it reported none. Environmental groups are
currently contesting the agency’s report. Regardless of
those results, a few things have become clear: Based on the
most commonly used global definition of PFAS, more than 60
pesticides registered by the EPA contain an active ingredient
defined as PFAS. Other pesticides may contain PFAS as
undisclosed additives or from chemicals leaching from the
plastic containers in which they’re stored.
Valley Water’s mission is to provide Silicon Valley with safe,
clean water for a healthy life, environment and economy. To
help achieve this mission, we are committed to protecting water
quality and the environment from harmful activities. In recent
years, there has been an increase in encampments along creeks,
waterways and lands owned or managed by our agency. These
encampments can lead to significant amounts of trash and
harmful pollutants, which diminish water quality, block stream
flows and fish passage and harm wildlife habitats. … For
these reasons, my fellow board members and I adopted an
ordinance on Nov. 26, which establishes rules that prohibit
camping and related activities on Valley Water land. The Water
Resources Protection Ordinance will help us better manage the
impacts of encampments and protect our field employees, who are
essential for maintaining flood protection and water supply
infrastructure. —Written by Richard Santos, vice chair of the Valley
Water board of directors.
A group of mayors is launching a new call for an overarching
legal framework for the Mississippi River. The mayors are
collecting signatures from their colleagues along the river on
a document calling for a water compact, which would be an
agreement between states and tribes that would control the use
of the Mississippi. … The Mississippi River Cities and Towns
Initiative is an association of more than 100 mayors from the
10 states along the main stem of the waterway and is the
organizing force behind this call for a compact. The group’s
executive committee approved an agreement in early December
that is now circulating among mayors and tribal leaders for
signatures. The document calls on Congress to adopt a binding
river-wide agreement, while also advocating for steps to reduce
pollution and improve water quality on the river.
A new trash boom system is intercepting trash, plastics, tires
and other debris flowing from Mexico into San Diego’s Tijuana
River Valley, part of a state-funded pilot project to address
longstanding pollution along the border. The 450-foot-long boom
was installed in mid-November. And on Tuesday, federal, state
and local officials gathered along the U.S. side of the Tijuana
River canal to mark the next phase of the project, the capture
of objects that clog untreated water entering a treatment
plant, officials said. … The project, which will run for
two years, was financed with $4.7 million from the State Water
Resources Control Board and is overseen by the nonprofit Rural
Community Assistance Corporation, officials said.
Efforts are underway to combat the persistent sewage odor
plaguing South Bay communities. The city of San Diego placed
large rocks in the Tijuana River Valley. They’re supposed to
help prevent the water from splashing and mitigate the smell of
sewage. “When I go outside I can smell it yeah in the backyard
we can smell it,” said Nancy who lives in Imperial Beach.
Millions of gallons of sewage-contaminated water flows from the
Tijuana river toward Imperial Beach each day. Residents say the
nauseating odor is only getting worse. “Even if you try closing
the windows or the doors the smell still gets into the house so
that’s just an example of how bad it was,” said George
Campillo, an Imperial Beach resident. A new project is meant to
help cutdown on the strong smell. The city of San Diego placed
boulders along the river at Saturn Boulevard, a place known as
a hot spot area for the foul smells.
… Beneath the streets of America’s Finest City, are nearly
2,000 miles of asbestos concrete pipes carrying drinking water
to thousands of homes. The pipes, composed of concrete and
asbestos, once known as a “miracle mineral” for its durability,
were installed after World War II until the mid-1980s, when the
health hazards of asbestos became known. Decades later, the
pipes are starting to crack and reach the end of their
lifespan. Documents obtained by Team 10 show over the past
decade, 440 water main breaks have occurred in the city’s
asbestos pipes. That has some concerned asbestos fibers may now
be leaching into the water supply.
There’s new evidence that your environment can play a
significant role in how much you’re exposed to “forever
chemicals,” a nickname for a group of harmful human-made
substances that end up in your blood and are nearly impossible
to get rid of. University of Southern California researchers
found in a study that some Angelenos, who lived near or too far
from certain neighborhood factors, had a higher presence of
chemicals in their bloodstream. … Talk of “forever
chemicals,” officially known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS), is usually focused on our tap water supply.
But these globally-used chemicals are in tons of consumer
products, including grease-resistant food packaging, nonstick
cookware, and waterproof clothing.
More than a hundred industrial trade groups and chambers of
commerce are urging President-elect Donald Trump to weaken or
eliminate numerous Biden administration regulations on energy,
air pollution, recycling, worker heat protections, consumer
safeguards and corporate financing, claiming that the rules are
“strangling” the nation’s economy. … On
clean water protections, the manufacturers
urged Trump to ensure that the EPA’s regulatory decision-making
complies with a landmark 2023 Supreme Court
decision scaling back federal protections for many
wetlands and streams. … TheSupreme Court’s decision has drawn
criticism from scientists and environmental advocates, who say
the gutting of safeguards will jeopardize water quality
throughout the arid West.
Escondido’s city manager on Sunday declared a local emergency
and announced plans to clear homeless encampments from a
section of Escondido Creek after recent water quality tests
showed elevated bacteria levels. After receiving months of
complaints from neighbors, the city of Escondido plans to clear
and fence a section of Escondido Creek that is the site of a
growing homeless encampment that some call “the
jungle.”
In response to community concerns, Sweetwater Authority
recently announced the detection of a small amount of PFAS
(per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in treated water from the
Sweetwater Reservoir. The detected concentration was below
levels that would necessitate mitigation measures, meaning
additional water treatment is not required. However, regulatory
guidelines mandate notification to customers about such
findings. PFAS are complex chemical compounds widely found
in everyday products, including non-stick cookware,
water-resistant clothing, and food packaging. Their pervasive
presence has posed challenges for water providers worldwide,
prompting efforts to monitor and reduce these substances in
distribution systems. Sweetwater Authority assured the public
that its water is entirely safe for consumption and meets all
current federal and state regulations. To maintain transparency
and ensure continued safety, the agency plans to conduct
quarterly tests over the next year to monitor PFAS levels in
treated water.
San Luis Obispo sits atop a large groundwater basin — but
chemicals swirling in the water prevent the city from using it
for drinking. The city won a $6.6 million grant to install
wells that remove tetrachloroethylene, a colorless chemical
also known as PCE, from the groundwater, according to city
water resources program manager Nick Teague. The wells should
be operational by 2026 and will allow the city to fulfill 10%
to 12% of its drinking water needs, he said. The city presented
the project at a meeting Tuesday evening at the San Luis Obispo
City-County Library.
The Sweetwater Authority, which supplies drinking water to more
than 200,000 households in southern San Diego County, alerted
city officials in its service area on Friday that it had
discovered toxic industrial chemicals in its main reservoir at
levels that exceed state and federal standards. The PFAS
chemicals, also known as “forever” chemicals because of their
longevity in the environment, were discovered during newly
mandated testing in late October. The chemicals, known by the
technical names PFHxS and PFOA, have been shown to interfere
with thyroid function and cause cancer in laboratory
animals.
At the start of 2020, California Resources Corporation (CRC),
one of the state’s largest oil and gas producers, was in
financial trouble. The firm’s stock price had plunged, and its
credit rating was in “junk bond” territory. Then the pandemic
struck, roiling international oil markets. A few months later,
in July 2020, CRC and nearly two dozen of its subsidiaries
filed for bankruptcy, citing the “unprecedented market
conditions.” The company was nearly $5 billion in debt. The day
after the filing, two environmental groups, the Sierra Club and
the Center for Biological Diversity, sent a letter to Gov.
Gavin Newsom, raising concerns that CRC might use its
bankruptcy proceedings to avoid cleaning up the thousands of
oil wells it owned or operated. Oil and gas wells can leak
pollutants into the air and groundwater,
including planet-warming methane. The letter warned that
California taxpayers could be on the hook for CRC’s cleanup
costs if the company went out of business or was able to avoid
its environmental obligations.
The Martinez Refining Company has agreed to pay $4.48 million
to settle allegations of federal Clean Water Act violations
tied to its Contra Costa County refinery, and the money will go
to environmental projects, according to the San Francisco Bay
Regional Water Quality Control Board. Owned by PBF Energy Inc.,
the refinery produces a variety of petroleum products. Between
2022 and 2023, the company allegedly discharged millions of
gallons of wastewater from its oil refinery operations, causing
harm to water quality and aquatic life in the large undeveloped
marshes connected to the Carquinez Strait.
The San Joaquin Valley has reached a dead end in its fight to
clean up a toxic contaminant from its drinking water, with
residents now facing the prospect of footing the bill for a
mess created by Shell and Dow products. Fresnoland reviewed
internal Shell and Dow memos, court records, and state
documents and interviewed key officials to uncover a
decades-long environmental crisis enabled by both corporate
greed and bureaucratic neglect. The documents show how the
companies’ products contaminated nearly 20% of San
Joaquin Valley drinking water with a substance the
EPA rates as toxic as Agent Orange’s deadliest
dioxin. The companies sold pesticides laced with
1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP), a manufacturing waste from
gunpowder and plastics production. Shell marketed the farming
products as pure – a scheme that saved them millions in
disposal costs. Over 25 years since discovering the
contamination, state water officials have failed to even map
how far and deep the cancer-causing chemical had spread into
the Valley’s aquifers.
… According to the data obtained through a public records
request, the highest fluoride reading in more than five years
was taken in San Carlos in August 2024. The reading
registered 1.1 milligrams of fluoride per liter, just .01
milligrams less than the state threshold allows. Meanwhile, the
lowest reading also occurred in 2024 but less than 10 miles
away in Kensington, where in April 2024, city water testers
found just .22 milligrams of fluoride per liter. Despite
the U.S. Health Department’s recommendation to lower fluoride
levels to a uniform .7 milligrams per liter, California has
stuck with the acceptable range of .7 to 1.2 milligrams per
liter. When looking strictly at drinking water in San Diego,
the city has barely managed to stay within that range. In fact,
the data shows that fluoride levels have increased on average
since 2019.
There are new documented claims that the popular fireworks
shows over SeaWorld are polluting Mission Bay and the
surrounding beaches. San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal
Environmental Rights Foundation have sent a letter of notice of
intent to sue SeaWorld. The environmental advocates say the
company routinely discharges plastic caps, wires, trash and
other chemical covered debris into Mission Bay in violation of
its fireworks permit. “Our view is they are not allowed to use
this bay as a dumping ground for their fireworks shows, and as
basically a garbage dump for their poorly treated wastewater,
which they’re suppose to treat,” said Phillip Musegaas,
executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper. SeaWorld
produces approximately 150 firework displays during the year.
The shows originate with explosives being ignited from
a barge in the middle of the Mission Bay waters surrounding
Fiesta Island. It’s a popular area for beachgoers and
visitors looking to ski and paddle boat. There is also numerous
wildlife.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe has filed a lawsuit against
Placer County’s approval of the Village at Palisades Tahoe
specific plan, a large-scale development project. The League,
known for its “Keep Tahoe Blue” initiative, argues that the
project will exacerbate traffic congestion, air pollution, and
water quality issues in the Lake Tahoe Basin. … The
proposed development, backed by Alterra Mountain Company,
includes nearly 300,000 square feet of commercial space, almost
1,500 bedrooms, and over 2,000 parking spaces. Environmental
reports from the Village at Palisades Tahoe indicate the
project would generate 3,300 new daily car trips on peak days,
with 1,353 of those entering the Tahoe Basin, significantly
contributing to pollution.
The world views California as a leader in environmentalism and
good living, but reports on the safety and availability of
clean drinking water in the Golden State contradict that
view. State health and water regulators
recently announced that nearly a quarter of a
million California residents lack safe drinking water in
their homes. It is unacceptable that any residents of the
sixth largest economy in the world can’t drink the water
from their kitchen faucets, and even more so for low-income and
less fortunate Californians who don’t have a choice in where or
how they get their drinking water —Written by Raoul Lowery Contreras, Marine Corps veteran,
political consultant, author and host of Contreras Report on
YouTube and Facebook.
A new legal petition filed by more than 170 top environmental
groups demands that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
begin monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, an
essential first step to reining in pollution viewed as one of
the nation’s most pressing public health threats. The scale of
microplastic water pollution, the extent to which the substance
is lodged throughout human bodies, and the many health
implications have come into sharp focus in recent years, but
the EPA still has not taken meaningful action, public health
advocates say. The petition pushes the agency to begin
monitoring microplastics as an emerging contaminant under the
Safe Drinking Water Act in 2026.
New research aimed at identifying which US neighborhoods face
increased exposure to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” found
those living near “superfund” sites and other major industrial
polluters, or in areas with limited access to fresh food,
generally have higher levels of the dangerous compounds in
their blood. The study looked at hundreds of people living in
southern California and found those who do not live within a
half mile of a grocery store have 14% higher levels of PFOA and
PFOS – two common PFAS compounds – in their blood than those
who do. … The study also found people who live in
neighborhoods with water contaminated with PFAS have 70% higher
blood levels of PFOS and PFOA, though there was no correlation
among some other compounds.
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to slash federal
climate, clean air and clean water regulations during his
second term — an agenda that could target rules governing
everything from auto emissions to power plant pollution to
drinking water standards. … Business groups and many
Republican leaders are cheering Trump’s plan to weaken
environmental protections, arguing they are too strict and harm
the economy. But in states that have focused on tackling
climate change and pollution, attorneys general and lawmakers
are preparing to fight back by filing lawsuits, enacting their
own regulations or staffing up state environmental agencies.
Trying to limit widespread pollution and violent threats to
their employees, board members of Silicon Valley’s largest
water agency [on Nov. 26] approved a new ordinance to ban
camping along 295 miles of creeks in San Jose and other parts
of Santa Clara County. … The water district, based in San
Jose, is a government agency that provides flood control and
drinking water to 2 million county residents. Under the new
ordinance, the district will set up “water protection zones”
along all 295 miles of waterways where it owns property or
easements or has maintenance obligations. Those areas include
the Guadalupe River, Coyote Creek, Los Gatos Creek and others.
In those areas, it will be illegal to build encampments, shoot
fireworks, possess firearms or ammunition, or create other
disturbances, like cutting trees or playing loud music.
Just weeks after unveiling a new odor alert system, the San
Diego County Air Pollution Control District on Monday issued an
advisory warning that levels of sewer gases above state
thresholds were detected near the Tijuana River Valley. The
district’s air monitoring equipment in Nestor recorded
concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that smells
like rotten eggs, above the state standard of 30 parts per
billion (ppb). The limit, which is intended to protect against
headaches and nausea, is also designed to protect sensitive
groups, such as children, older adults and people with certain
health conditions. Communities including Nestor, Imperial
Beach, San Ysidro and surrounding areas have reported feeling
ill after smelling sewer gas odors due to untreated wastewater
that spills over the border from Tijuana.
… Yet despite Kennedy’s looming advisement, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration says the decision to fluoridate a water
supply is made by state or local municipalities, and is not
mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency or any other
federal body. Fluoridation is common in California and
throughout the country, while studies have shown it can help
populations improve oral health, particularly in lower income
areas. A CDC study suggested fluoridation saved an estimated
$6.5 billion a year in dental treatment costs.
A storm of heavy rain, snow, and strong winds brought dangerous
conditions to the Pacific Northwest this week. By Friday, up to
16 inches of rain could inundate Northern California. The storm
is what’s known as an atmospheric river, a long narrow strip
heavy with moisture that slam into the mountains of the West
Coast and dumps out prodigious amounts of rain. While
scientists haven’t concluded whether atmospheric rivers are
increasing because of climate change, a warmer atmosphere,
driven by the burning of fossil fuels, can hold more moisture,
which can lead to increased extreme rain events. That increase
in extreme rain events has likely caused more landslides,
according to experts. … Fast-moving landslides
called debris flows, which are mud and rock-laden
torrents, are more common on land that has recently, and
severely, burned, like wildfire-scarred regions. … After
Hurricane Helene, more than 2,000 landslides were
triggered by the storm and at least half of those
landslides caused damage to rivers, roads and
structures like homes and businesses.
Phillips 66, which last month announced plans to close its
Los Angeles-area refineries by the end of 2025, was indicted
Wednesday for allegedly discharging hundreds of thousands of
gallons of industrial waste from its Carson oil refinery into
the Los Angeles County sewer system during the pandemic, the
U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday. The oil refiner, which
federal attorneys claim failed to report violations to
authorities, is charged with two counts of negligently
violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly
violating the 52-year-old federal law designed to regulate
pollution in US waterways, according to documents filed in
federal court in Los Angeles.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is examining the
carcasses of several Canada geese and one duck found dead
around Truxtun Lakes to determine what killed them and about a
dozen other geese earlier this month. But it will take several
weeks to get the necropsy results back from the state’s
Wildlife Health Laboratory, according to Abby Gwinn, a
biologist with CDFW who bagged several dead birds from Truxtun
Lakes on Nov. 7. She wrote in an email that another live, but
sick, goose was found last week and taken to a wildlife
rehabilitation facility. It also died. “This one will be
particularly valuable as we know it was sick prior to passing
and we have a report of the symptoms,” Gwinn wrote in an email.
“It is not uncommon to have an increase in bird diseases
observed during migration when birds flock together, especially
when habitat is limited like it is locally this year with the
dry Kern River through town.”
A California state judge tentatively upheld most of the local
requirements for stormwater testing that drew a legal challenge
from Boeing Co. in a write-up issued before a Wednesday
hearing. The Regional Water Quality Control Board in Los
Angeles largely has authority to implement the new tests for
toxic chemicals, Judge Stephen Goorvitch of California Superior
Court, Los Angeles County said in a tentative ruling. But he
may narrowly grant part of Boeing’s request by asking the board
to reconsider a couple portions of the test.
A new federal rule will require water utilities across the
country to pull millions of lead drinking water pipes out of
the ground and replace them, at a cost of billions of dollars.
States, cities and water utilities agree that the lead pipes
need to go to ensure safe water for residents. But they say
they may struggle to do so in the 10-year window required under
the rule, and they fear some ratepayers will be hit with
massive cost increases to pay for the work. State officials are
urging Congress to provide ongoing funding for the lead
replacement effort. Local leaders say they’ll need lots of help
to meet the deadline. And environmental advocates are calling
on states to issue bonds or provide other financial support to
water utilities.
These chemicals are in the tap water of the majority of
Americans, and the Trump administration could decide their
fate. No, not fluoride, the cavity-fighter that Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J. Trump’s health secretary
pick, wants out of public drinking water. Rather, they’re
harmful “forever chemicals,” also known as per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. For all of Mr. Kennedy’s
talk, and his contentious views on fluoride, larger
battles loom over chemicals in the water we drink. Public
health advocates worry that federal efforts to protect the
public against PFAS and replace lead pipes could unravel under
a Trump presidency.
San Diego’s congressional delegation Tuesday praised President
Joe Biden for including $310 million for the South Bay
International Wastewater Treatment Plant in proposed disaster
relief funding. If passed, the money would add to a previously
awarded $400 million in federal funding to get the plant
running at full capacity and even double its capabilities.
… In May, the local Congressional delegation, including
Vargas and Reps. Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs, both D-San
Diego, and Rep. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, called on the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin an
investigation into pollutants from the ongoing sewage crisis at
the border.
The city of Oceanside has agreed to pay $1.5 million for
illegally discharging almost 2 million gallons of sewage during
what water regulators called a record-breaking storm in 2020
that overwhelmed a sewage lift station and a water reclamation
facility. The city released the sewage into several
creeks, one of which flows into the Buena Vista Lagoon, a
wildlife refuge home to a number of endangered species,
eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean. The spill affected
waters also used for recreational and fishing purposes. The
fine is part of a settlement with the San Diego Regional Water
Quality Control Board. The spill is one of several sewage
system failures brought on by the increasing intensity of
weather events affecting the region more broadly.
EPA is not sufficiently regulating wastewater from plastic
production plants, a new report says. The Environmental
Integrity Project, a nonprofit founded by two former EPA
attorneys, found that many petrochemical plants do not have any
limits in their permits for discharging nitrogen and
phosphorous into waterways. Of the 70 plants
studied, none had limits on total nitrogen in their pollution
control permits. One had a limit on phosphorous pollution.
The public has until Dec. 16 to comment on a proposed
settlement that requires Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions
LLC of Russellville to pay a $610,000 civil penalty due to
alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. According to a press
release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
organic residuals recycling company has agreed to pay the sum
to settle with the federal government over violations that
allegedly occurred in Arizona and California. Among its work,
Denali provides land application services of sewage sludge,
also known as biosolids, derived from wastewater treatment
facilities, according to the EPA.
On Thursday, California’s main coastal protection agency
approved a $175 million climate-related project that will
transform the southern portion of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach
despite fierce opposition from some members of the public. A
sticking point is a massive seawall that some surfers fear
could make the beach disappear. The California Coastal
Commission unanimously approved the city’s Ocean Beach Climate
Change Adaptation Project, which will be funded by the city.
Created by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and
other agencies, the plan includes a 3,200-foot-long buried
seawall designed to protect a sewage tunnel located along the
coast south of Sloat Boulevard. A wastewater treatment plant is
right nearby.
PFAS may be contaminating drinking water for up to 70% of about
140 million people in the US who draw water from the nation’s
aquifers via private or public wells, a new federal government
study estimates. The findings show a potential impact on about
95 million people, or 27% of the nation’s population. The US
Geological Survey sampling and modeling of groundwater
contamination found readings up to 37,000 times higher than the
EPA’s new drinking water limits. In some regions virtually all
of those using public systems that draw from groundwater may be
drinking contaminated water. This is especially a problem for
those who draw from private wells, or small public wells,
because neither is covered by strong new PFAS limits
implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency – those
people represent about 13% of the US population.
Tuolumne Utilities Districts (TUD) receives one of the largest
state grant awards for water system consolidation and will
bring cost savings to the district and customers. A $45.6
million State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) grant/loan
has been awarded to the district to construct a
state-of-the-art 3 million gallons per day (mgd) regional water
treatment facility at Sierra Pines in Twain Harte. The Sierra
Pines Regional Water Treatment Facility (WTF) Consolidation
Project aims to consolidate up to six aging surface water
treatment plants, replacing them with advanced technology to
ensure enhanced reliability and superior water quality for TUD
customers.
Leaders of San Diego County’s second-largest city unanimously
voted Tuesday to declare a local state of emergency due to the
impacts of the Tijuana River sewage crisis reaching Chula
Vista. The resolution is largely symbolic, calling on the White
House, especially with a forthcoming change in administration,
and other top government officials to fast-track more spending
for solutions. Chula Vista officials are directed to “explore
any and all options to improve conditions in the Tijuana
River,” the proclamation reads. The council’s vote marked the
first, official acknowledgment that the rampant pollution was
no longer just affecting the communities closest to the river.
Its effects, such as noxious sewer gas odors, are impacting
people several miles away in Chula Vista.
… Nearly 63% of the US population has fluoridated water
flowing through their taps, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). US health experts
describe fluoridated water — a voluntary practice for local
water districts — as one of modern medicine’s greatest public
health achievements, up there with the recognition that smoking
is bad for you. … An important debate over fluoride is
gaining fresh steam among scientists and legal experts. Some
recent studies suggest more research is still needed on safe
fluoride levels for kids. Plus, a federal ruling in California
this year questioned the US government’s recommended dose.
While many medical professionals — chiefly dentists — support
some level of fluoridation, there is growing agreement
that we still aren’t sure how much fluoride is too much.
Extreme weather spurred by climate change, including droughts
and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from
fertilizers ending up in groundwater, according to a recent
study from researchers at the University of California, Davis.
The study found heavy rains after a drought caused nitrates to
seep 33 feet under farm fields in as little as 10 days. The
study was published in Water Resources Research.
Related groundwater contamination and water pollution articles:
Chula Vista now joins a growing list of cities in the South Bay
and San Diego County to declare a state of emergency over the
Tijuana River sewage crisis. A resolution brought forward
by Mayor John McCann was unanimously approved by city council.
It comes after McCann joined other mayors from the region to
lobby for more funds in Washington D.C. While millions of
dollars have been secured for improvements and upgrades to a
wastewater treatment plant north of the border, McCann
acknowledged more funding is still needed. “We know the
estimate is probably a billion dollars,” McCann said.
A California food by-product recycler was accused in a new
Clean Water Act lawsuit of discharging polluted stormwater into
the San Joaquin River in violation of its stormwater permit.
Pacific Environmental Advocates LLC’s lawsuit, filed Monday in
the US District Court for the Eastern District of California,
alleges that ReConserve of California – Stockton Inc. has been
dumping the polluted water since March 10, 2019, from the
company’s facility in Stockton, Calif.
The city’s drinking water now meets the trihalomethane levels
set forth by regulatory agencies. The levels for the past four
quarters were below the maximum concentration level of 80 parts
per billion. “This progress follows a series of significant
updates and process improvements at the water treatment
facilities aimed at reducing THM levels and ensuring water
quality for Suisun City residents,” wrote City Manager Bret
Prebula. Trihalomethanes, a byproduct of chlorine disinfection,
can be produced during the pre-chlorination step of the water
treatment process. It’s critical for removing organic materials
and heavy metals.
… Passed as a ballot initiative, the Safe Drinking Water and
Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 has resulted in warnings being
affixed to everything from vinyl-covered Bibles to
gas station pumps, advising that exposure to some 900 chemicals
can cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. Ever
since the passage of Proposition 65, policymakers and
business groups have argued over whether the law is
effective in preventing people from ingesting and inhaling
toxic chemicals, or just providing a payday to plaintiffs
attorneys. Now, a new study published in
Environmental Health Perspectives has concluded that
Proposition 65 has curbed exposure to toxic substances in
California — and nationally. … The researchers analyzed
concentrations of 11 chemicals placed on the Proposition 65
warning list and monitored by the CDC between 1999 and 2016.
They included several types of phthalates, chemicals used to
make plastics flexible; chloroform, a toxic byproduct from
disinfecting water with chlorine; and toluene, a hazardous
substance found in vehicle exhaust.
New groundbreaking research involving the University of Hawaiʻi
at Mānoa is aimed at evaluating potential human health risks
from bacteria in surface water systems in four states. Courtesy
of the University of Hawaiʻi The 3-year study, which recently
received a $2.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection
Agency, will assess the environmental spread of
antimicrobial-resistant pathogens — disease-causing
microorganisms that evolved to withstand the effects of
antibiotics and other medicines designed to kill them — through
wastewater discharge and agricultural runoff. UH-Mānoa
researchers will focus on Kauaʻi’s Hanalei River, where they
will examine how cesspools and animal agriculture contribute to
the spread of antimicrobial resistance. … Waterways in
Nebraska, New Jersey and California join the Hawaiʻi river
system were selected for the study to represent diverse
environmental conditions and pollution sources.
… The estuary at the southern edge of California, which
borders Mexico, has been too polluted with untreated wastewater
and sedimentation spilling over from Tijuana. … But
then, something unexpected happened. They found an opaleye
inside one of the traps. That was an exciting moment for
researchers at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research
Reserve who have been monitoring the estuary’s health for years
and are part of multi-agency efforts to restore the coastal
wetland. “Opaleyes are more marine fish,” said [Researcher Jeff
Crooks]. “So, this is showing that the species is coming in and
using it as a nursery. ”There’s a connection, he added, between
the small fish’s presence and the Reserve’s new preliminary
findings about alarming dissolved oxygen levels in the water.
Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen present in water. The
higher it is, the better the water quality and the more oxygen
available for fish and other aquatic organisms.
Explore the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks
or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw
enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix
broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that
don’t work. … Across the U.S., trillions of gallons of
drinking water are lost every year, especially from decrepit
systems in communities struggling with significant population
loss and industrial decline that leave behind poorer residents,
vacant neighborhoods and too-large water systems that are
difficult to maintain.
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.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.
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.”
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
On average, more than 60 percent of
California’s developed water supply originates in the Sierra
Nevada and the southern spur of the Cascade Range. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This tour ventured into the Sierra to examine water issues
that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and
throughout the state.
Radically transformed from its ancient origin as a vast tidal-influenced freshwater marsh, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem is in constant flux, influenced by factors within the estuary itself and the massive watersheds that drain though it into the Pacific Ocean.
Lately, however, scientists say the rate of change has kicked into overdrive, fueled in part by climate change, and is limiting the ability of science and Delta water managers to keep up. The rapid pace of upheaval demands a new way of conducting science and managing water in the troubled estuary.
Out of sight and out of mind to most
people, the Salton Sea in California’s far southeast corner has
challenged policymakers and local agencies alike to save the
desert lake from becoming a fetid, hyper-saline water body
inhospitable to wildlife and surrounded by clouds of choking
dust.
The sea’s problems stretch beyond its boundaries in Imperial and
Riverside counties and threaten to undermine multistate
management of the Colorado River. A 2019 Drought Contingency Plan for the
Lower Colorado River Basin was briefly stalled when the Imperial
Irrigation District, holding the river’s largest water
allocation, balked at participating in the plan because, the
district said, it ignored the problems of the Salton Sea.
Voluntary agreements in California
have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve
environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows
and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be
diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state
regulators.
This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
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.
The majestic beauty of the Sierra
Nevada forest is awe-inspiring, but beneath the dazzling blue
sky, there is a problem: A century of fire suppression and
logging practices have left trees too close together. Millions of
trees have died, stricken by drought and beetle infestation.
Combined with a forest floor cluttered with dry brush and debris,
it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.
Fires devastate the Sierra watersheds upon which millions of
Californians depend — scorching the ground, unleashing a
battering ram of debris and turning hillsides into gelatinous,
stream-choking mudflows.
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.
Californians have been doing an
exceptional job
reducing their indoor water use, helping the state survive
the most recent drought when water districts were required to
meet conservation targets. With more droughts inevitable,
Californians are likely to face even greater calls to save water
in the future.
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.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
We headed into the foothills and the mountains to examine
water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts
downstream and throughout the state.
GEI (Tour Starting Point)
2868 Prospect Park Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
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.
We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop
of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad
sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and
climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs was the focus of this tour.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.
Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.
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.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River
where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand
is growing from myriad sources — increasing population,
declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs is the focus of this tour.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Algal blooms are sudden overgrowths
of algae. Their occurrence is increasing in California’s
rivers, creeks and lakes and along the coast, threatening the
lives of people, pets and fisheries.
Only a few types of algae can produce poisons, but even nontoxic
blooms hurt the environment and local economies. When masses
of algae die, the decaying can deplete oxygen in the water to the
point of causing devastating fish kills.
Potable water, also known as
drinking water, comes from surface and ground sources and is
treated to levels that that meet state and federal standards for
consumption.
Water from natural sources is treated for microorganisms,
bacteria, toxic chemicals, viruses and fecal matter. Drinking
raw, untreated water can cause gastrointestinal problems such as
diarrhea, vomiting or fever.
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.
This 28-page report describes the watersheds of the Sierra Nevada
region and details their importance to California’s overall water
picture. It describes the region’s issues and challenges,
including healthy forests, catastrophic fire, recreational
impacts, climate change, development and land use.
The report also discusses the importance of protecting and
restoring watersheds in order to retain water quality and enhance
quantity. Examples and case studies are included.
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.
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.
California’s little-known New River has been called one of North
America’s most polluted. A closer look reveals the New River is
full of ironic twists: its pollution has long defied cleanup, yet
even in its degraded condition, the river is important to the
border economies of Mexicali and the Imperial Valley and a
lifeline that helps sustain the fragile Salton Sea ecosystem.
Now, after decades of inertia on its pollution problems, the New
River has emerged as an important test of binational cooperation
on border water issues. These issues were profiled in the 2004
PBS documentary Two Sides of a River.
A watershed is the land area that drains snowmelt and rain into a
network of lakes, streams, rivers and other waterways. It
typically is identified by the largest draining watercourse
within the system. In California, for example, the Sacramento River Basin is the
state’s largest watershed.
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.
Lake Tahoe is one of the world’s most beautiful yet vulnerable
lakes. Renowned for its remarkable clarity, Tahoe straddles the
Nevada-California border, stretching 22 miles long and 12 miles
wide in a granitic bowl high in the Sierra Nevada.
Tahoe sits 6,225 feet above sea level. Its deepest point is 1,645
feet, making it the second-deepest lake in the nation, after
Oregon’s Crater Lake, and the tenth deepest in the world.
The continued effort to improve water quality and reduce nonpoint
source pollution will hinge largely on a little-known pollution
control strategy known as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs),
which describe the amount of a particular pollutant that a water
body can absorb on a daily basis while remaining safe for
wildlife and people. While by no means a comprehensive
explanation of all the factors surrounding this complex subject,
this issue of Western Water provides a snapshot of TMDLs and what
they mean for water quality, supply and reliability.
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.
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.
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 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 challenges facing state,
federal and tribal officials and other stakeholders as they work
to manage terminal lakes. It includes background information on
the formation of these lakes, and overviews of the water quality,
habitat and political issues surrounding these distinctive bodies
of water. Much of the information in this article originated at
the September 2004 StateManagement Issues at Terminal Water
Bodies/Closed Basins conference.
This issue of Western Water examines that process. Much
of the information is drawn from discussions that occurred at the
November 2005 Selenium Summit sponsored by the Foundation and the
California Department of Water Resources. At that summit, a
variety of experts presented findings and the latest activities
from areas where selenium is of primary interest.
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 Western Water looks at proposed new measures to deal with
the century-old problem of salinity with a special focus on San
Joaquin Valley farms and cities.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the Russian and
Santa Ana rivers – areas with ongoing issues not dissimilar to
the rest of the state – managing supplies within a lingering
drought, improving water quality and revitalizing and restoring
the vestiges of the native past.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and
controversy – and the expected role it might play as an
alternative water supply strategy.
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 printed issue of Western Water examines
groundwater management and the extent to which stakeholders
believe more efforts are needed to preserve and restore the
resource.
This printed issue of Western Water discusses low
impact development and stormwater capture – two areas of emerging
interest that are viewed as important components of California’s
future water supply and management scenario.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
Drawn from a special stakeholder symposium held in September 1999
in Keystone, Colorado, this issue explores how we got to where we
are today on the Colorado River; an era in which the traditional
water development of the past has given way to a more
collaborative approach that tries to protect the environment
while stretching available water supplies.
This 30-minute documentary, produced in 2011, explores the past,
present and future of flood management in California’s Central
Valley. It features stories from residents who have experienced
the devastating effects of a California flood firsthand.
Interviews with long-time Central Valley water experts from
California Department of Water Resources (FloodSAFE), U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood
Management Program and environmental groups are featured as they
discuss current efforts to improve the state’s 150-year old flood
protection system and develop a sustainable, integrated, holistic
flood management plan for the Central Valley.
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 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
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.
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.
Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is
today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the
fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically
important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system,
there have been some critical events that had a profound impact
on California’s water history. These turning points not only
forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives
of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a
historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped
the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with
background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.
This 7-minute DVD is designed to teach children in grades 5-12
about where storm water goes – and why it is so important to
clean up trash, use pesticides and fertilizers wisely, and
prevent other chemicals from going down the storm drain. The
video’s teenage actors explain the water cycle and the difference
between sewer drains and storm drains, how storm drain water is
not treated prior to running into a river or other waterway. The
teens also offer a list of BMPs – best management practices that
homeowners can do to prevent storm water pollution.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features
a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San
Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows
and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam
to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the
history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with
implementation.
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.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this
24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson
River, and its link to the Truckee River. The map includes the
Lahontan Dam and reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming
areas in the basin. Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and
geography, the Newlands Project, land and water use within the
basin and wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant
from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan
Basin Area Office.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors”
features photos and information on four such species – including
the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic
threats posed by these species.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as
the most thorough explanation of California water rights law
available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing
in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation
ditch through the complex web of California water rights.
As the state’s population continues to grow and traditional water
supplies grow tighter, there is increased interest in reusing
treated wastewater for a variety of activities, including
irrigation of crops, parks and golf courses, groundwater recharge
and industrial uses.
The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
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.
Finding and maintaining a clean
water supply for drinking and other uses has been a constant
challenge throughout human history.
Today, significant technological developments in water treatment,
including monitoring and assessment, help ensure a drinking water
supply of high quality in California and the West.
The source of water and its initial condition prior to being
treated usually determines the water treatment process. [See also
Water Recycling.]
California’s nearly 40 million residents all depend on clean
water to thrive, as do the fish and wildlife and industries such
as agriculture, food processing and electronics that help power
the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Rivers and other surface
waters, however, can carry a host of pollutants, both natural
and manufactured, that can contaminate drinking water, harm
wildlife and livestock and damage crops.
Wastewater management in California centers on the collection,
conveyance,
treatment, reuse and disposal of wastewater. This process is
conducted largely by public agencies, though there are also
private systems in places where a publicly owned treatment plant
is not feasible.
In California, wastewater treatment takes place through 100,000
miles of sanitary sewer lines and at more than 900 wastewater
treatment plants that manage the roughly 4 billion gallons of
wastewater generated in the state each day.
There are nine regional water quality control boards statewide.
The nine Regional Boards are semi-autonomous and are comprised of
seven part-time Board members appointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the Senate. Regional boundaries are based on
watersheds and water quality requirements are based on the unique
differences in climate, topography, geology and hydrology for
each watershed. Each Regional Board makes critical water quality
decisions for its region, including setting standards, issuing
waste discharge requirements, determining compliance with those
requirements, and taking appropriate enforcement actions.
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking
water quality in the United States.
Launched in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Safe Drinking Water Act oversees states,
communities, and water suppliers who implement the drinking water
standards at the local level.
The act’s regulations apply to every public water system in the
United States but do not include private wells serving less than
25 people.
According to the EPA, there are more than 160,000 public water
systems in the United States.
California boasts some of the finest quality drinking water on
the planet. Every day, people turn on their tap and receive
clean, safe water with nary a thought. But the water people take
for granted isn’t so reliable for residents of small water
systems and many disadvantaged communities (DACs) in rural
agricultural areas.
It may surprise some people to know that California is the fourth
largest producer of crude oil in the United States and has a long
history of oil exploration. Since the 1860s, wells in Kern County
and Southern California have been tapped for more than 500,000
barrels of oil each day.
For something so largely hidden from view, groundwater is an
important and controversial part of California’s water supply
picture. How it should be managed and whether it becomes part of
overarching state regulation is a topic of strong debate.
Is the water consumed by people everyday safe to drink or should
there be concern about unregulated contaminants, many of which
are the remnants of commonly used pharmaceutical and personal
care products?
For most people in the United States, clean, safe drinking water
is a given – a part of daily life that is assumed to be a
constant, readily accessible commodity. Underpinning that fact
are the vast, mostly unheralded efforts of the many people
throughout the country who work everyday to take the raw source
water from the environment and turn it into the safe drinking
water that makes life possible.
There may be no other substance in nature as vexing as selenium.
The naturally occurring trace element gained notoriety more than
20 years ago as it wreaked havoc among birds at the Kesterson
Reservoir in California’s Central Valley. The discovery of dead
and deformed birds sparked a widespread investigation that
revealed the pervasiveness of selenium throughout much of the
West; woven into the soil and rock of the landscape.
Most people take for granted the quality of their drinking water
and for good reason. Coinciding with America’s rapid urbanization
last century was the development of an extensive infrastructure
for the storage, treatment and delivery of water for generations
to come. The improvement in the quality of water provided by
water agencies has been so phenomenal that some of the best
tasting water in the world comes not from a plastic bottle, but
from the tap.
There’s danger lurking underground. The threat cannot be seen,
heard or felt immediately, but there it resides – in shallow
pockets of groundwater and deep, cold subterranean aquifers
situated hundreds of feet below the surface. The danger manifests
itself through the most vital human activity next to breathing,
the consumption of water. Experts know there is no such thing as
pure water. Microscopic bits of a host of elements that surround
us are present in the water we drink. They exist at levels that
are harmless, and in fact some of the constituents found in tap
water are beneficial to human health.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most
significant environmental laws in American history, the Clean
Water Act (CWA). The law that emerged from the consensus and
compromise that characterizes the legislative process has had
remarkable success, reversing years of neglect and outright abuse
of the nation’s waters.
The arrival of each storm brings more than rain and snow to
thirsty California. From the coastal redwoods to the streets of
Los Angeles, water flowing from hillsides and paved surfaces
carries with it a host of pollutants that befoul tributaries,
streams and rivers. The toll on the environment is measured in
closed beaches, reduced fish populations and, in some cases, a
lower quality of available water for human use. The sources of
pollution are sometimes easy to control with existing technology.
But in other cases, the ubiquitous nature of contaminants has
left regulators in a quandary over how to solve the problem.
Drinking water is the ultimate recycled resource. It is recycled
over years, centuries and millenniums. The water we use today is
the same supply with which civilization began. The water that
once coursed down the Ganges River or splashed into Julius
Caesar’s bathing pool may end up running from the tap in your
home.
Clean air vs. clean water sums up the controversy surrounding the
gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an
oxygenate designed to help fuel burn cleaner, reducing tailpipe
emissions. Since 1996, the year it was first used statewide on a
year-round basis, MTBE has reduced smog from motor vehicles by 15
percent, according to air quality officials. It’s as if 3.5
million cars have disappeared from the roads – no small feat in
the automobile – dependent Golden State.
