Opinion: Close to Home – Avoiding Mississippi-sized saltwater problems
Recent headlines warned the nation that drinking water for almost a million people was at risk of saltwater contamination, as seawater migrated up the Mississippi River toward New Orleans. Fortunately, nature and humans (through the construction of an underwater dam and other extraordinary measures) intervened and — for now — the risks have been reduced. But with a changing climate increasing both sea level and chances of drought, saltwater will continue to threaten drinking water supplies in the future. Susan Gorin The potential for seawater intrusion isn’t limited to the lower Mississippi River. In southern Sonoma County, where the San Pablo Baylands form the boundaries of the Sonoma Valley groundwater sub basin, the potential has long existed for seawater to migrate inland to replace fresher groundwater pumped from aquifers in areas of long-term groundwater depletion.
Written by Susan Gorin, a Sonoma County supervisor and chair of the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency.Related article:
- San Francisco Chronicle: There’s a big new sea wall along the S.F. Bay. Is this what our future will look like?