Last week fog crept over the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach,
oozing a pungent rotten-egg smell, as hydrogen sulfide bubbled
up from the polluted Tijuana River. … Later that day,
Thursday, March 19, air pollution monitoring data showed
hydrogen sulfide levels at 500 parts per billion, more than 15
times the California state standard of 30 parts per billion.
… When raw sewage enters the river in Mexico because of
wastewater system failures or spills, the health impacts are
felt across the border. Imperial Beach residents describe
asthma, migraines, rashes, nausea, eye irritation, dizziness
and brain fog when the sickening smell of hydrogen sulfide
wafts off the water.
Just over 75 years ago, the California Legislature passed the
Dickey Water Pollution Act, the nation’s first comprehensive
attempt to address pollution control at the state level. Though
still protective of industry, the act established the framework
for the State Water Board and nine Regional Water Quality
Control Boards. … The Dickey Act created the State Water
Pollution Control Board, a predecessor to the State Water
Board, that was comprised of gubernatorial appointees and state
officials who set statewide policy and coordinated pollution
control efforts. … Here are stories about the dramatic
improvement in the San Diego Bay, San Francisco Bay and the
Klamath River.
A California lawmaker wants to ban the use of long-lasting
chemical pesticides in the state within a decade. Assembly Bill
1603 would ban the use, sale and manufacture of PFAS pesticides
in California beginning in 2035. More than 20 of the chemicals
already banned in the European Union would be prohibited
earlier, starting in 2030. The bill would also halt state
approvals of PFAS pesticides and require public disclosure.
… The group said PFAS in drinking water has drawn
increased attention from regulators and lawmakers. Affected
crops include almonds, pistachios, wine grapes and tomatoes.
As temperatures soared to record levels and officials issued
warnings about the heat wave sweeping San Diego, hydrogen
sulfide levels in and around the Tijuana River have also
spiked. At the same time, bacterial levels are also high. The
Tijuana River Coalition issued a press release on Friday
calling for a “timely and reliable” alert system to warn
residents of contamination spikes and for better coordination
among public agencies to connect residents and schools with
information that could help people protect their health.
… Water contaminated with sewage and chemicals flowing
into the Tijuana River has remained high for the dry season,
flowing at 30 to 40 million gallons a day.
Authorities charged with cleaning up Tijuana River pollution
should finish upgrades to wastewater plants on both sides of
the border, fund operations as well as construction of those
facilities, and plan for eventual wastewater reuse, a report
issued today recommended. Those are some key suggestions of the
report “Tijuana River Contamination Crisis: A Five-Pillar
Framework for Binational Solutions,” released today by the San
Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Prebys Foundation.
… The report offers an overview of how the cross-border
river became one of the most polluted waterways in the country,
recent efforts to fix that, and what’s still needed to clean it
up.
… Excess nitrogen from dairies turns into excess nitrate in
the soil, spilling into waterways, seeping into groundwater and
contributing to widespread contamination of drinking water in
the Central Valley. In some counties there, 40 percent of
drinking wells are above the safe limit established by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, posing health risks like
miscarriages and infant mortality. In the next two months, the
State Water Board says it will release a long overdue draft
order that will chart a course to fix that. A first draft
of the board’s thinking came in October 2024, when it proposed
a new framework requiring that Central Valley dairies comply
with a nitrate drinking water standard of 10 milligrams per
liter.
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday nixed the Environmental Protection
Agency’s recommendation to relax criteria for toxic cadmium
levels in fresh water, compelling the agency to revisit its
guidance under the Clean Water Act. A
three-judge panel — upholding a lower court order vacating the
guidance — found the agency violated the Endangered Species Act
by failing to consult with either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service before it
issued new recommendations in 2016. … The panel accepted
the center’s evidence that cadmium exposure at the agency’s
recommended levels are harmful to numerous marine
animals like salmon, sturgeon and sea turtles.
… For the past couple of weeks [a] boat pushed
barges several miles each way up and down the lake, bringing
empty containers deep into the canyon and returning them to
land full of oil-covered debris and refuse. The wreckage in the
water had been flushed into the North Yuba River and stalled
about a mile downstream at the mouth of Englebright Lake in
mid-February after a ruptured pipe at New Colgate Powerhouse
sent a deluge of water and hillside into the river.
… Environmental and Yuba Water Agency workers and
contractors on Tuesday began wrapping up their efforts to
remove debris and oil captured downstream of the powerhouse,
and they expect to complete the job within days.
… In 1994, Los Angeles County’s water quality watchdog made a
troubling discovery: Beneath the Phillips 66 refinery’s Carson
site, there was a lake — of oil. … For more than a
century, after all, the refinery polluted the surrounding
groundwater and air by producing toxic chemicals. … The
regional watchdog, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality
Control Board, ordered Phillips 66 to clean up the lake by
pumping out the toxic waste and treating contaminated water.
Those remediation efforts continue to this day. … But
there is still no estimated date, [Los Angeles Water Board
spokesperson Ailene] Voisin said, for when the cleanup effort
will be done.
A new study from researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno,
finds elevated mercury levels in wood ducks along the Carson
River, downstream from Nevada’s historic Comstock Lode. In the
1800s, miners used mercury to extract gold and silver from
crushed rock. Much of that toxic metal washed into nearby
waterways, where it settled into sediments along riverbanks and
floodplains. … While the research focused on the
Carson River watershed, the implications extend beyond northern
Nevada. Historic mining shaped watersheds across the
Mountain West, including parts of Colorado, Idaho and Montana.
Many of those rivers still contain legacy contamination from
gold and silver extraction.
Authorities continue to work to contain a spill of oil and
debris in the Yuba River after a penstock burst on Friday at
the New Colgate Powerhouse, the Yuba Water Agency’s main
hydroelectric facility south of Dobbins. An oil sheen was
discovered in the river Sunday where it meets with Englebright
Lake, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced.
… A crew composed of CDFW personnel and members of the
Office of Spill Prevention and Response assessed the Yuba River
along the Nevada-Yuba county line. As of Sunday, the crew had
not observed any visibly oiled wildlife. Crews continued
assessing the area Monday.
Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly
increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as
traditional water supplies grow tighter.
The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a
strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.
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.
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.
