A California winery was served with a cease-and-desist letter after inspectors found that “excessive rates” of wastewater produced by the winery threatened Fresno drinking water due to high levels of toxic chemicals, records show. Early this month, the Central Valley Water Regional Quality Control Board issued E. & J. Gallo Winery a cease-and-desist after the winery violated groundwater limitations set by water regulators, the Fresno Bee reported Thursday. The letter, which was reviewed by SFGATE, capped wastewater discharges at Gallo’s Fresno winery at 5610 East Olive Ave. at no more than 54.2 million gallons per year. But records show that the winery disposed 400 million gallons of treated and untreated wastewater on its property annually.

Other agricultural water quality news:

• The San Joaquin Valley Sun (Fresno, Calif.): Report: Gallo faces scrutiny over wastewater disposal at Fresno winery
• Wine Industry Advisor: DPR proposes regulations to update its groundwater protection list, identifying the pesticides with potential to pollute groundwater
• California Rice News: Blog: Pesticide use and water quality monitoring: May is a critical month for water quality results​