Two local Tribes, the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, in
partnership with the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians,
have received a $22.8 million federal grant to address
pollution. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant,
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was awarded
as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in
America agenda. The Tribes’ project aims to improve community
air quality, decrease utility and water costs, increase stable
solar energy and increase water conservation, according to an
EPA news release.
Rain and water in ponds and lakes slowly seeps into the soil,
moving through minute cracks to refill underground aquifers.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often described as
forever chemicals, can tag along into groundwater that’s later
removed for drinking. Researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science
& Technology Letters analyzed water from over 100 wells in
Denmark for one particularly persistent PFAS: trifluoroacetate.
They report steadily increasing levels of the forever chemical
in recent decades.
Sen. Alex Padilla joined local elected leaders Thursday to
announce a bill intended to consolidate infrastructure projects
in two border watersheds, including the Tijuana River. The
bill, the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act
of 2024, would place projects along the Tijuana River, as well
as the New River in Imperial County, under the purview of
the Environmental Protection Agency.
… Additionally, the bill proposed Thursday would allow
the EPA to manage the rivers through a water quality management
plan within 180 days of its passing, require creation of a
consensus list of projects and give the International
Boundary and Water Commission more authority to address
stormwater quality.
Tubing is a popular summer activity in Colorado, but one study
found that the seasonal fun is leaving behind more than just a
good time. The study was released last week and found that a
popular tubing river in Golden contained several forms of
human-caused waste in 2022. A group of researchers, including
some from the Colorado School of Mines, looked into the impact
of recreational activities on one Colorado river. The
study looked into a stretch of Clear Creek in Golden, which
researchers said hosts hundreds of tubers on the weekends in
the summer months. To determine the impacts of the recreational
activity, researchers took samples from the creek during a
low-traffic time, as well as a highly trafficked holiday: Labor
Day weekend.
If you stood on the banks of the Cache la Poudre River in
Colorado after the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, the rumbling water
may have appeared black. This slurry of ash and charred soil
cascaded toward the reservoirs that supply drinking water for
the downstream city of Fort Collins, home to around 170,000
people. Although the water looked clear again several weeks
later, Charles Rhoades, a research biogeochemist at the US
Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, says he is
still seeing contaminants from the fire in the watershed.
Recent studies have found that while some watersheds begin
to recover within five years of a fire, others may be
fundamentally altered, never fully returning to their pre-fire
conditions. And with wildfires becoming more common, much
larger, and burning for longer as the world warms,
hydrologists, ecologists, and water-management officials are
scrambling to understand and mitigate the consequences
fire-contaminated water can have on humans and ecosystems.
For decades, farmers across America have been encouraged by the
federal government to spread municipal sewage on millions of
acres of farmland as fertilizer. It was rich in nutrients, and
it helped keep the sludge out of landfills. But a growing body
of research shows that this black sludge, made from the sewage
that flows from homes and factories, can contain heavy
concentrations of chemicals thought to increase the risk of
certain types of cancer and to cause birth defects and
developmental delays in children. Known as “forever chemicals”
because of their longevity, these toxic contaminants are now
being detected, sometimes at high levels, on farmland across
the country, including in Texas, Maine, Michigan, New York and
Tennessee. In some cases the chemicals are suspected of
sickening or killing livestock and are turning up in produce.
Farmers are beginning to fear for their own health.
The California Legislature has passed and sent to Gov. Gavin
Newsom a bill to create the Salton Sea Conservancy to lead
multi-million-dollar efforts to restore the shrinking and
increasingly toxic inland sea. The new conservancy would be the
state’s 11th and the first established in over 15 years. The
goal would be to protect residents’ health, foster ecological
recovery of the area, and empower local stakeholders.
… The Salton Sea formed in 1905 after overflow from the
Colorado River spilled into a basin in the desert, creating the
largest lake in California. Over the past several decades,
evaporation exacerbated by droughts has reduced the sea,
exposing a toxic lake bed.
San Diego Congress members are calling on the U.S. State
Department to press Mexico to address unprecedented levels of
sewage pollution spilling over from Tijuana, causing unbearable
rotten-egg odors for residents in the region. In a letter
Wednesday, officials asked the State Department to explain its
steps to pressure the Mexican government or say why it has not
done more to help stop thousands of tons of sediment and trash
from crossing the border. Reps. Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs, Scott
Peters and Mike Levin and U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler and Alex
Padilla addressed the joint correspondence to Secretary of
State Antony Blinken, Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols and U.S. Ambassador to
Mexico Ken Salazar.
A former rocket testing and development site in Canoga Park is
under increased scrutiny after recent tests showed high levels
of two toxic chemicals in surrounding homes and businesses. The
report, delivered on behalf of RTX Corp. to the California
State Water Resources Control Board in June, detailed soil
vapor and groundwater inspections at seven locations near the
now vacant lot that was once home to the Rocketdyne testing and
development site. It is adjacent to the Westfield Topanga mall.
At each of the seven locations, the tests recorded levels of
toxic cleaning solvents that were above environmental screening
levels that could pose a long-term threat to human health and
the environment.
Sustainable Conservation, in partnership with Netafim USA, is
excited to announce the award of a Conservation Innovation
Grant (CIG) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS). This grant will fund a first-of-its-kind pilot project
at De Jager Dairy, where the award-winning Subsurface Drip
Irrigation for Dairy Effluent (SDI-E) system will be adapted to
irrigate and fertilize almond crops. Dairy farms are integral
to California’s agricultural economy, but the 1.72 million
dairy cows in California generate manure that can be a major
source of nitrate pollution and methane emissions. With over
600,000 residents reliant on contaminated wells for household
water in the San Joaquin Valley alone, we must manage manure in
ways that unlock its nutrient-rich potential and protect our
water quality.
For decades, San Diegans have been trying to hold the federal
government responsible for sewage spilling into the United
States from Tijuana via the International Boundary and Water
Commission or IBWC, the binational federal agency that cleans
some of the sewage as it crosses the border. … And every step
of the way the federal government has said: It’s not our fault.
The most recent example was this week when the IBWC rejected
the notion it could be held accountable for smells emanating
from the Tijuana River, which gets contaminated by raw sewage
and trash as it snakes its way through its namesake metropolis
in Mexico. The San Diego Air Pollution Control District
declared the IBWC’s equipment was to blame for over 150 odor
complaints in nearby communities. The IBWC said, you’ve got the
wrong guy. In the meantime, 54 million gallons of
polluted water flowed down the river channel and into the
United States at a time of year when the riverbed should be
naturally dry.
A bi-state effort to reduce pollution and restore Lake Tahoe’s
world-famous water clarity kept significant amounts of
stormwater and fine-grained sediment out of the lake in 2023,
despite challenges from a winter of record snowfall and runoff,
according to an annual lake performance report released on
Wednesday. While a prolonged snowmelt period in spring 2023
swept sediment into the lake and reduced clarity, partners in
the Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load Program helped keep the
lake’s annual average clarity at around 68 feet, which is in
line with what has been observed over the past two decades, the
bi-state report shows. This was achieved despite continuous
periods of heavy snowfall and cold temperatures in 2023, which
hindered street sweeping and stormwater infiltration efforts
for long stretches.
A coalition of environmental groups are calling on local
officials and regulators to shutter two controversial dump
sites that have long operated in the Napa Valley hills near
Calistoga. “We are a growing list of nonprofits that are asking
for Clover Flat Landfill and Upper Valley Disposal Service to
be decommissioned,” said the letter to the regional California
Water Board, Napa County Board of Supervisors and Upper Valley
Waste Management Agency, the oversight body for Napa County
waste services. The group called for operations to be moved “to
a safer, less environmentally sensitive location than the
current CalFire High Fire Severity Zone at the top of the Napa
River watershed.”
A coalition of environmental groups are pushing California
officials to close a Napa Valley-area landfill that has
been the site of repeated regulatory violations and is
suspected of sending toxic chemicals into local waterways,
which drain into the river that irrigates the valley’s famous
vineyards. In an Aug 12 letter, six local nonprofit
organizations called on officials overseeing waste management
and water quality to shut down the Clover Flat Landfill and the
related garbage collection recycling and composting operation
called Upper Valley Disposal Services (UVDS). The landfill is
“long overdue to move its waste operations to a safer, less
environmentally sensitive location,” the groups wrote.
To avoid having someone write ‘wash me’ on your vehicle, you
can either take it to a car wash, use a mobile detail service,
or lather up the suds yourself. Whatever you choose, did
you know that the runoff can actually contribute to the water
pollution in our county? Project Clean Water has ways to
reduce that. Project Clean Water is an organization
dedicated to protecting water quality in San Diego County. They
promote countywide initiatives for good watershed health by
collaborating with 21 governmental agencies, the County, Port
of San Diego, San Diego International Airport, and the 18
incorporated cities within the county.
The polluted water from the Tijuana River isn’t just
contaminating the ocean, it’s also in the air locals breathe,
experts believe, and now, San Diego County is offering some
residents living in the border zone relief. “In response to the
ongoing Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis, on June 4, 2024,
the county board of supervisors allocated $100,000 in funding
to provide free air purifies to homes in areas affected by
ambient odors,” the county states on its website. “Some air
purifiers can reduce the smell and improve air quality. The
county is giving out air purifiers that can help and are
certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).”
Alex Grant and two fellow researchers from San Diego State
University’s Water Innovation and Reuse Lab spent Monday
morning in an area most people would avoid at all costs: the
Tijuana River Valley. … The Tijuana River runs from
Tijuana northbound across the border into San Diego. “We
actually have taken samples from 13 different locations
throughout, from the border to where the river outlets into the
Pacific Ocean.” Grant said she and other researchers
have published several findings about the water
contamination in the Tijuana River Valley. “Even during
dry conditions like now, when we don’t have any rain, you have
constant flow of water coming across the border through the
Tijuana River, and much of that water is very polluted,” she
said.
States across the country continue to add to the growing
patchwork of restrictions for per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) in products, posing challenges for those who
manufacture, distribute, and sell products in the U.S. In 2024
alone, states introduced nearly 250 bills addressing PFAS,
including restrictions for PFAS in products. Thirteen states
have already enacted laws regulating PFAS in products,
including (as previously reported) Minnesota and California. In
the past few months, Maine, Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, and
Rhode Island have joined the list, each with its own unique and
nuanced set of requirements, deadlines and exemptions. The
variations in these state laws presents a complicated
compliance matrix, necessitating an informed and strategic
approach, particularly for companies navigating the
complexities of extensive, global supply chains.
Tiny pieces of plastic waste shed
from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts,
tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of
daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made
it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists
about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking
water.
After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a
first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how
prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water
sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public
health threat.
A pilot program in the Salinas Valley run remotely out of Los Angeles is offering a test case for how California could provide clean drinking water for isolated rural communities plagued by contaminated groundwater that lack the financial means or expertise to connect to a larger water system.
Martha Guzman recalls those awful
days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative
secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a
recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks
were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a
troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible
time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across
California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay
for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually
spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely
greatest opportunity.”
Innovative efforts to accelerate
restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the
benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water
agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires.
Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of
California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address
persistent challenges facing the Colorado River.
These were among the issues Western Water explored in
2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed
them.
It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends
of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water
districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the
state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it
can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems
and upend an agency’s finances.
Blasted by sun and beaten by waves,
plastic bottles and bags shed fibers and tiny flecks of
microplastic debris that litter the San Francisco Bay where they
can choke the marine life that inadvertently consumes it.
Summer is a good time to take a
break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and
watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting
a chance to do plenty of that this July.
But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss
some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re
taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned
for later this year, we want to help you catch up on
Western Water stories from the first half of this year
that you might have missed.
Each day, people living on the streets and camping along waterways across California face the same struggle – finding clean drinking water and a place to wash and go to the bathroom.
Some find friendly businesses willing to help, or public restrooms and drinking water fountains. Yet for many homeless people, accessing the water and sanitation that most people take for granted remains a daily struggle.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.
That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
Disadvantaged communities are those carrying the greatest
economic, health and environmental burdens. They include
poverty, high unemployment, higher risk of asthma and heart
disease, and often limited access to clean, affordable drinking
water.
For decades, cannabis has been grown
in California – hidden away in forested groves or surreptitiously
harvested under the glare of high-intensity indoor lamps in
suburban tract homes.
In the past 20 years, however, cannabis — known more widely as
marijuana – has been moving from being a criminal activity to
gaining legitimacy as one of the hundreds of cash crops in the
state’s $46 billion-dollar agriculture industry, first legalized
for medicinal purposes and this year for recreational use.
As we continue forging ahead in 2018
with our online version of Western Water after 40 years
as a print magazine, we turned our attention to a topic that also
got its start this year: recreational marijuana as a legal use.
State regulators, in the last few years, already had been beefing
up their workforce to tackle the glut in marijuana crops and
combat their impacts to water quality and supply for people, fish
and farming downstream. Thus, even if these impacts were perhaps
unbeknownst to the majority of Californians who approved
Proposition 64 in 2016, we thought it important to see if
anything new had evolved from a water perspective now that
marijuana was legal.
Joaquin Esquivel learned that life is
what happens when you make plans. Esquivel, who holds the public
member slot at the State Water Resources Control Board in
Sacramento, had just closed purchase on a house in Washington
D.C. with his partner when he was tapped by Gov. Jerry Brown a
year ago to fill the Board vacancy.
Esquivel, 35, had spent a decade in Washington, first in several
capacities with then Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and then as
assistant secretary for federal water policy at the California
Natural Resources Agency. As a member of the State Water Board,
he shares with four other members the difficult task of
ensuring balance to all the uses of California’s water.
A new study could help water
agencies find solutions to the vexing challenges the homeless
face in gaining access to clean water for drinking and
sanitation.
The Santa Ana Watershed Project
Authority (SAWPA) in Southern California has embarked on a
comprehensive and collaborative effort aimed at assessing
strengths and needs as it relates to water services for people
(including the homeless) within its 2,840 square-mile area that
extends from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Orange County
coast.
Microplastics – plastic debris
measuring less than 5 millimeters – are an
increasing water quality concern. They enter waterways and
oceans as industrial microbeads from various consumer
products or larger plastic litter that degrades into small bits.
Microbeads have been used in exfoliating agents, cosmetic washes
and large-scale cleaning processes. Microplastics are used
pharmaceutically for efficient drug delivery to affected sites in
patients’ bodies and by textile companies to create artificial
fibers.
Microplastics disperse easily and widely throughout surface waters and sediments. UV
light, microbes and erosion degrade the tiny fragments, making
them even smaller and more difficult for wastewater treatment
plants to remove.
The particles, usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene
plastic, take thousands of years to biodegrade
naturally. It takes prohibitively high temperatures to
break microplastics down fully. Consequently, most water treatment plants cannot remove
them.
The health effects of consumption are currently under
investigation.
Responses
Many advocacy groups have published lists of products containing
microbeads to curb their purchase and pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates microbeads in
industrial, but not domestic, wastewater.
Federal
law required microbeads to be phased out of rinse-off
cosmetics beginning in July 2017. Dozens of states also
regulate microbeads in products. California has the strictest
limitation, prohibiting even the use of biodegradable microbeads.
Microplastics in California Water
In 2019, the San Francisco Estuary Institute published a
study estimating that 7 trillion pieces of microplastic
enter San Francisco
Bay annually from stormwater runoff, about 300
times the amount in all wastewater treatment effluent entering
the bay.
California lawmakers in 2018 passed a package of bills to raise
awareness of the risks of microplastics and microfibers in the
marine environment and drinking water. As
directed by the legislation, the State Water Resources Control
Board in 2020 adopted an official
definition of microplastics in drinking water and in 2022
developed the world’s standardized methods for testing drinking
water for microplastics.
The water board was expected by late 2023 to begin testing
for microplastics in untreated drinking water sources tapped by
30 of the state’s largest water utilities. After two years, the
testing was expected to extend to treated tap water served
to consumers. A progress report and recommendations for
policy changes or additional research are required by the end of
2025.
Contaminants exist in water supplies from both natural and
manmade sources. Even those chemicals present without human
intervention can be mobilized from introduction of certain
pollutants from both
point and nonpoint sources.
Directly detecting harmful pathogens in water can be expensive,
unreliable and incredibly complicated. Fortunately, certain
organisms are known to consistently coexist with these harmful
microbes which are substantially easier to detect and culture:
coliform bacteria. These generally non-toxic organisms are
frequently used as “indicator
species,” or organisms whose presence demonstrates a
particular feature of its surrounding environment.
Point sources release pollutants from discrete conveyances, such
as a discharge pipe, and are regulated by federal and state
agencies. The main point source dischargers are factories and
sewage treatment plants, which release treated
wastewater.
Problems with polluted stormwater and steps that can be taken to
prevent such pollution and turn what is often viewed as
“nuisance” runoff into a water resource is the focus of this
publication, Stormwater Management: Turning Runoff into a
Resource. The 16-page booklet, funded by a grant from the State
Water Resources Control Board, includes color photos and
graphics, text explaining common stormwater pollutants and
efforts to prevent stormwater runoff through land use/
planning/development – as well as tips for homeowners to reduce
their impacts on stormwater pollution.
20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A
Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues related to complex water management
disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances
Fisher.
For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and
California border has faced complex water management disputes. As
relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary
narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range
from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp,
farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists
– all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water.
After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon
settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise
of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the
documentary here.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Salt. In a small amount, it’s a gift from nature. But any doctor
will tell you, if you take in too much salt, you’ll start to have
health problems. The same negative effect is happening to land in
the Central Valley. The problem scientists call “salinity” poses
a growing threat to our food supply, our drinking water quality
and our way of life. The problem of salt buildup and potential –
but costly – solutions are highlighted in this 2008 public
television documentary narrated by comedian Paul Rodriguez.
A 20-minute version of the 2008 public television documentary
Salt of the Earth: Salinity in California’s Central Valley. This
DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking
engagements to help the public understand the complex issues
surrounding the problem of salt build up in the Central Valley
potential – but costly – solutions. Narrated by comedian Paul
Rodriquez.
20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater,
and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and
turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource
through various activities.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The
map text explains the many issues facing this vast,
15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration;
agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are
descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement,
and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development
of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
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 28-page Layperson’s Guide to California
Wastewater is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the history of wastewater
treatment and how wastewater is collected, conveyed, treated and
disposed of today. The guide also offers case studies of
different treatment plants and their treatment processes.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
The most recent version of the Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when
the Colorado River broke
through a series of dikes and flooded the seabed for two years,
creating California’s largest inland body of water. The
Salton Sea, which is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, includes 130
miles of shoreline and is larger than Lake Tahoe.
This printed issue of Western Water, based on presentations
at the November 3-4, 2010 Water Quality Conference in Ontario,
Calif., looks at constituents of emerging concerns (CECs) – what
is known, what is yet to be determined and the potential
regulatory impacts on drinking water quality.
This issue of Western Water looks at some of the issues
facing drinking water providers, such as compliance with
increasingly stringent treatment requirements, the need to
improve source water quality and the mission of continually
informing consumers about the quality of water they receive.
This issue of Western Water examines PPCPs – what they are, where
they come from and whether the potential exists for them to
become a water quality problem. With the continued emphasis on
water quality and the fact that many water systems in the West
are characterized by flows dominated by effluent contributions,
PPCPs seem likely to capture interest for the foreseeable future.
This issue of Western Water examines the presence of mercury in
the environment and the challenge of limiting the threat posed to
human health and wildlife. In addition to outlining the extent of
the problem and its resistance to conventional pollution
remedies, the article presents a glimpse of some possible courses
of action for what promises to be a long-term problem.
This issue of Western Water examines the problem of perchlorate
contamination and its ramifications on all facets of water
delivery, from the extensive cleanup costs to the search for
alternative water supplies. In addition to discussing the threat
posed by high levels of perchlorate in drinking water, the
article presents examples of areas hard hit by contamination and
analyzes the potential impacts of forthcoming drinking water
standards for perchlorate.
2002 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most significant
environmental laws in American history, the Clean Water Act
(CWA). The CWA has had remarkable success, reversing years of
neglect and outright abuse of the nation’s waters. But challenges
remain as attention turns to the thorny issue of cleaning up
nonpoint sources of pollution.
