California’s rich agricultural productivity comes with a price.
The dry climate that provides the almost year-round growing
season also can require heavily irrigated soils. But such
irrigation can also degrade the local water quality.
Two of the state’s most productive farming areas in particular,
the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and parts of the Imperial
Valley in southern California, have poorly drained and naturally
saline soils.
With California enduring record-breaking rain and snow and Gov.
Gavin Newsom recently easing restrictions on
groundwater recharge, interest in “managed aquifer recharge”
has never been higher. This process – by which floodwater is
routed to sites such as farm fields so that it percolates into
the aquifer – holds great promise as a tool to replenish
depleted groundwater stores across the state. But one concern,
in the agricultural context, is how recharge might push
nitrates from fertilizer into the groundwater supply.
Consumption of well water contaminated with nitrates has been
linked to increased risk of cancers, birth defects and other
health impacts.
Most of the country’s lettuce and other leafy greens come from
California’s Salinas Valley, where 13 atmospheric rivers this
winter have obliterated local drought conditions. Farmers have
welcomed the water and also sometimes struggled with the
deluge. Reporter Amy Mayer has this look at what it all means
for spring salads. AMY MAYER, BYLINE: Andrew Regalado and his
father trudge through sticky mud on the edge of a field at
World’s Finest Farm in Hollister, Calif. They’ve owned the
organic vegetable and herb farm for about 17 years. In a creek
bed just beyond the field, cloudy brown water leaps at the
banks, and that’s days after floodwaters have mostly receded.
Another storm is coming. ANDREW REGALADO: If this water’s still
here, there’s a good chance we might get flooded again. Yeah,
so it’ll be a tough year.
A California appeals court has upheld waste discharge
requirements within the eastern San Joaquin River watershed
that growers say are reasonable, rebuffing challenges from
environmentalists. In its March 17 decision, the Third District
Court of Appeal rejected all arguments brought by environmental
groups and sided with the California State Water Resources
Control Board, the California Farm Bureau and others related to
the Central Valley’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. The
court addressed three cases brought by environmental plaintiffs
against the water board.
New research experimentally confirms that nitrate can help
transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to
groundwater, according to a press release from the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The new research backs a
2015 study led by Karrie Weber of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. The 2015 showed that aquifers contaminated
with high levels of nitrate — including the High Plains Aquifer
residing beneath Nebraska — also contain uranium concentrations
far exceeding a threshold set by the U.S. EPA. Uranium
concentrations above that EPA threshold have been shown to
cause kidney damage in humans, especially when regularly
consumed via drinking water.
A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now
looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to
capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to
replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to
water his crops. Taking some tomatoes out of production for a
year is an easy choice if it means boosting future water
supplies for his farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest
of Fresno. He’s pumping 300 acre-feet a day — enough to supply
hundreds of households for a year — from the gushing North Fork
of the Kings River onto former vegetable fields and others
dotted with pistachio trees, which can withstand heavy
flooding.
While environmentally-conscious wine producers like Shannon are
making a difference in California, so is the state which
recently announced its long-range commitment to promoting
ecosystem resilience. The sustainable pest management roadmap
for California was released by the Department of Pesticide
Regulation, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and
the California Department of Food and Agriculture. It charts a
course for California’s elimination of high-risk pesticides by
2050. Yet, wine producers like Sam Coturri of Enterprise
Vineyards in Sonoma County, whose family oversees 35 estate
vineyards, and produces their own label, Winery Sixteen 600,
have been farming organically since 1979.
On a recent morning on a snow-covered farm in Western Nevada,
Lucy Rechel had a spring in her step. Rechel, who manages the
cattle operation at Snyder Livestock Company, said the cows in
the feedlot were feeling good, too, because it was clear-skied
and sunny. … Nice weather has been in short supply in Mason
Valley this winter. Many days have been filled with wind, rain
or snowstorms. And when that happens here? In fact, Snyder
Livestock has spent about $75,000 – and counting – just dealing
with mud. That includes renting large mining equipment to haul
it out and paying for the labor and fuel to run it. In a normal
winter, the company will spend maybe $10,000 on mud removal,
Rechel said.
First it was the eerie images of barrels leaking on the
seafloor not far from Catalina Island. Then the shocking
realization that the nation’s largest manufacturer of DDT had
once used the ocean as a huge dumping ground — and that as many
as half a million barrels of its acid waste had been poured
straight into the water. Now, scientists have discovered that
much of the DDT — which had been dumped largely in the 1940s
and ’50s — never broke down. The chemical remains in its most
potent form in startlingly high concentrations, spread across a
wide swath of seafloor larger than the city of San Francisco.
… With a $5.6-million research boost from Congress, at
the urging of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), numerous
federal, state and local agencies have since joined with
scientists and environmental nonprofits to figure out the
extent of the contamination lurking 3,000 feet
underwater.
With California enduring record-breaking rain and snow and Gov.
Gavin Newsom recently easing restrictions on groundwater
recharge, interest in “managed aquifer recharge” has never been
higher. This process – by which floodwater is routed to sites
such as farm fields so that it percolates into the aquifer –
holds great promise as a tool to replenish depleted groundwater
stores across the state. But one concern, in the agricultural
context, is how recharge might push nitrates from fertilizer
into the groundwater supply. Consumption of well water
contaminated with nitrates has been linked to increased risk of
cancers, birth defects and other health impacts.
Federal researchers have found that two widely used pesticides
significantly harms endangered Northwest salmon and steelhead
species. The opinion could lead to a change in where and how
the pesticides can be used. The National Marine Fisheries
Service issued a draft of its biological opinion Thursday
concluding that continued use of insect-killing chemicals
containing carbaryl or methomyl likely jeopardizes dozens of
endangered fish species — including Chinook salmon, coho
salmon, sockeye, and steelhead in the Columbia, Willamette, and
Snake rivers. Carbaryl and methomyl are insecticides commonly
used on field vegetables and orchard crops. Both are used on
agricultural land across the Willamette Valley, the Columbia
River Gorge, and southeastern Washington, according to federal
data.
Not long ago, California dairy producer Ryan Junio prayed for
rain. The ongoing water scarcity challenges that faced the
Golden State was the No. 1 concern for this Tulare County dairy
farmer. “As a dairy producer, water scarcity is an
ever-growing challenge and is my top concern,” Junio said last
summer. Junio wouldn’t have thought that nine months later he
would be dealing with a different water crisis, as massive
flooding has wreaked havoc on California’s largest dairy hub,
Tulare County, home to 330,000-plus dairy cows. Recently
Junio’s farm, Four J Jerseys, which consists of two dairies
located in Pixley and home to 4,200 cows, had to evacuate one
dairy that sits south of the Tule River.
The drama was high on the Tulare Lake bed Saturday as flood
waters pushed some landowners to resort to heavy handed and, in
one instance, illegal tactics, to try and keep their farm
ground dry — even at the expense of other farmers and some
small communities. Someone illegally cut the banks of Deer
Creek in the middle of the night causing water to rush toward
the tiny town of Allensworth. The levee protecting Corcoran had
its own protection as an armed guard patrolled the structure to
keep it safe. At the south end of the old lake bed, the
J.G. Boswell Company had workers drag a piece of heavy
equipment onto the banks of its Homeland Canal to prevent any
cuts that would drain Poso Creek water onto Boswell land.
For Brenda Eskenazi, what once seemed merely a rich vein of
epidemiological knowledge has turned out to be a mother lode.
Eskenazi, who runs the Center for the Health Assessment of
Mothers and Children of Salinas study (known as CHAMACOS,
Mexican Spanish slang for “little kids”), has tracked pairs of
mothers and their children for more than 20 years. She’s
collected hundreds of thousands of samples of blood, urine and
saliva, along with exposure and health records. … So
when Charles Limbach, a doctor at a Salinas health clinic, saw
an explosion of fatty liver disease in his young patients and
found a study linking the condition in adults to the
weed killer glyphosate, he contacted Eskenazi.
Huge blooms of phytoplankton — microscopic algae floating on
the ocean’s surface — have become larger and more frequent
along the world’s coastlines, according to new research,
bringing benefits to fisheries but also potentially causing
harm. Between 2003 and 2020, coastal phytoplankton blooms
increased by about 13% in extent, covering an additional 4
million square kilometres of the global ocean, the Nature study
found. And the blooms occurred more often, up by 59% during
that period. … [Phytoplankton can starve] the ocean of
oxygen and leading to “dead zones” that wreak chaos on the food
chain and fisheries. … While some regions saw weaker
blooms over the past two decades, including the California
Current, blooms strengthened in the northern Gulf of Mexico and
the East and South China Seas. … Fertilizer runoff from
agriculture can spike nutrient loads in the ocean, leading to
blooms.
The drought crisis on the Colorado River looms large in
California’s Imperial Valley, which produces much of the
nation’s lettuce, broccoli and other crops, and now faces water
cuts. But those cuts will also be bad news for the
environmental and ecological disaster unfolding just to the
north, at the shallow, shimmering and long-suffering Salton
Sea. “There’s going to be collateral damage everywhere,” said
Frank Ruiz, a program director with California Audubon. To
irrigate their fields, the valley’s farmers rely completely on
Colorado River water, which arrives by an 80-mile-long canal.
And the Salton Sea, the state’s largest lake, relies on water
draining from those fields to stay full. But it’s been
shrinking for decades, killing off fish species that attract
migratory birds and exposing lake bed that generates dust that
is harmful to human health.
To feed the world’s growing population, farmers need to grow a
lot of crops. Crops need water to grow and thrive, and the
water used to irrigate crops makes up an estimated 70% of
global freshwater use. But many areas across the world are
plagued by water shortages. That can make it challenging for
farmers to get enough water to grow crops. Researchers are
exploring alternative water sources that can sustainably meet
current and future irrigation needs. … [A] new study …
shows local plant material or food waste could be used to
remove antibiotics from municipal wastewater. The researchers
used biochar, a charcoal-like substance, which is created
by heating organic materials at high temperatures in the
absence of oxygen.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
With irrigation projects that import water, farmers have
transformed millions of acres of land into highly productive
fields and orchards. But the dry climate that provides an almost
year-round farming season can hasten salt build up in soils. The
build-up of salts in poorly drained soils can decrease crop
productivity, and there are links between drainage water from
irrigated fields and harmful impacts on fish and wildlife.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
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 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.
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 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.
Southern California’s Imperial Valley is home to California’s
earliest agricultural
drainage success story, one that converted a desert landscape
to an agricultural one, but at the same time created far reaching
consequences.
Evaporation ponds contain agricultural drainage water and are
used when agricultural growers do not have access to rivers for
drainage disposal.
Drainage water is the only source of water in many of these
ponds, resulting in extremely high concentrations of salts.
Concentrations of other trace elements such as selenium are also
elevated in evaporation basins, with a wide degree of variability
among basins.
Such ponds resemble wetland areas that birds use for nesting and
feeding grounds and may pose risks to waterfowl and shorebirds.
Agriculture drainage issues date back to the earliest farming. In
ancient times, farmers let fields stay fallow hoping rain would
flush out salt.
Today, salt and other contaminants continue to cause agricultural
drainage problems, particularly in California. Whether a field is
adequately drained, or saturated with water, the water still has
to be removed.
The disposal of this often-contaminated water continues to be a
challenge in California, with the environmental effects of
selenium and other drainage-related elements changing the course
of drainage planning.
Few regions are as important to California water as the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers converge
to discharge into San Francisco Bay.
California’s rich agricultural productivity comes with a price.
The dry climate that provides the almost year-round growing
season also can require heavily irrigated soils. But such
irrigation can degrade the local water quality.
Two of the state’s most productive farming areas in particular,
the west side of the San
Joaquin Valley and parts of the Imperial Valley in Southern
California, have poorly drained and naturally saline soils.
