Water quality in California is regulated by several state
agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board
(State Water Board) and its nine regional boards, which
enforce clean water laws and the Department of Public Health.
Water quality concerns are also often involved in disputes
over water rights, particularly in situations involving
endangered species or habitat.
The State Water Board administers the Clean Water Grant Program
that funds construction of wastewater treatment facilities. The
State Water Board also issues general permits for municipalities
and construction sites that try to prevent contaminants from
those sources from entering municipal storm sewers.
Drinking water standards and regulations are developed by federal
and state agencies to protect public health. In California, the
Department of Public Health administers the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, which regulates drinking water quality in the
United States.
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.
Elevated levels of tritium — a radioactive form of hydrogen —
have been found at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station, but pose no risk to public health or safety, officials
from Southern California Edison said on Thursday, Sept. 5. The
Environmental Protection Agency has set a “maximum contaminant
level” of 20,000 picocuries per liter for tritium in drinking
water. Routine monitoring at San Onofre found a low
concentration of 3,430 picocuries per liter in one well, and a
higher concentration of 19,100 picocuries per liter in an
adjacent well. Neither, however, is a drinking water well,
officials said.
Water quality projects needed to meet goals of the Clean Water
Act will cost an estimated $630.1 billion nationwide over the
next 20 years, according to the most recent Clean Watersheds
Needs Survey (CWNS) conducted by the Environmental Protection
Agency. The survey was completed in 2022 and published in a
report to Congress in April. The analysis comes on the heels of
a second study, the most recent Drinking Water Infrastructure
Needs Survey and Assessment. That analysis, finalized last
September, found that water utilities nationwide will need to
spend $625 billion over the next 20 years to fix, maintain, and
improve the country’s water infrastructure. The two surveys
together—one focused on wastewater and stormwater and the other
on drinking water systems—indicate a total infrastructure
funding deficit greater than $1.2 trillion over the next two
decades. … California, New York, Florida, Virginia,
Louisiana, and Georgia reported the highest needs and
collectively accounted for 42% of the national total.
The L.A. City Council is moving forward with a “comprehensive
plan” to investigate the source of lead exposure found in
Watt’s tap water, as well as repairs for the affected areas.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) have been
directed to immediately develop strategies to protect people
living in Watts. … A nonprofit, Better Watts Initiative,
studied hundreds of water samples from across the neighborhood
and found varying levels of lead in 21 of them, including from
public housing units.
Officials from Lake Elsinore and representatives from a water
treatment company that deployed a system earlier this year to
eliminate algae and other impurities in the 3,300-acre water
body will hold a “Global Water Summit” a week from Tuesday to
highlight progress in the transformation process. The city’s
partnership with Hawthorne-based Moleaer Inc. was announced
just before Christmas, and within a couple of months, the
company deployed its Nanobubble Generators system to begin
cleansing the water, in what Lake Elsinore Mayor Steve Manos
characterized at the time as a major move toward “progressive
and sustainable change.”
Children can’t swim in the ocean. Businesses can’t retain
customers. Lifeguards have to wear special protective gear. And
the Navy often relocates training for its elite SEALs force.
These are just some of the consequences of 1,000 consecutive
days that the shoreline in California’s southernmost region has
been closed because of sewage spilling over the U.S.-Mexico
border from Tijuana. The mayors of every city in San Diego
County have pleaded with the federal government to remedy the
decadeslong crisis. So have state legislators, the governor and
members of Congress. Still, the contamination continues
– breaking records this year for the amount of
polluted water reaching the Tijuana River Valley and the
Pacific Ocean.
San Lucas residents met with the California State Water Board
and engineers last week to discuss solutions to the town’s
long-standing water quality issues. … For 45 years, some
residents in San Lucas have never experienced clean
water…. The California State Water Resources Control
Board attributes the problem to high nitrate levels in the
drinking water. High nitrate levels can affect how blood
carries oxygen and can lead to blue baby syndrome. The board
states that while tap water is safe for bathing, it is not safe
for drinking.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday the addition of a
historic Northern California mine to the Superfund National
Priorities List — a federal index that ranks hazardous waste
site risk and helps in prioritizing cleanup operations.
The Afterthought Mine, located in Shasta County about 200
miles north of Sacramento, produced gold, silver, copper, lead
and zinc from 1862 to 1952, according to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). … Both the mine and the
Afterthought Smelter, about a mile downstream, were “in direct
contact with surface water” in the adjacent Little Cow Creek,
according to the EPA’s Hazard Ranking System documentation
record. … Little Cow Creek, which is frequented by
fishing enthusiasts, also hosts a variety of wetland wildlife
and has been designated as a critical habitat for steelhead
trout, per the document. Other fish found in the waterway
include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Chinook salmon, brown
trout, brook trout and rainbow trout, according to the EPA.
The Mendocino County Public Health Department, along with the
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, have issued
health warnings about toxic mats found in three local rivers:
the East Fork of the Russian River, the Navarro River at Philo,
and Standish-Hickey State Park Recreation Area. Toxic Algae
Alert signs have been posted in all three locations to alert
the public recommending that all swimmers and waders,
particularly children and dogs, should avoid touching any algal
material or scum along the riverbanks or in the water. The
potentially toxic algal mats composed of cyanobacteria may be
attached to the river bottom, floating in the water, or lying
on the riverbanks. The algae colors range from bright to dull
green, orange, or maroon.
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.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s water quality
standards for San Francisco are legal and should be upheld in
the face of a challenge from the city, California and various
green groups told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. San
Francisco is challenging a Clean Water Act permit for its
Oceanside combined sewer system and wastewater treatment
facility issued by the EPA, which includes narrative standards
that the city said are too vague to comply with. The California
Department of Justice said in an amicus brief in support of the
EPA that narrative standards are not only permissible but
sometimes “indispensable” for ensuring compliance with water
quality standards.
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.
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.
Stockton’s McLeod Lake is looking pretty in pink this week. The
splash of color is part of a study being conducted by the
California Department of Water Resources, which is dumping
pinkish dye into the water to figure out why the lake has
become a hot spot for harmful algae. Hazardous algal blooms,
which can be toxic to humans, pets and aquatic life, popped up
in McLeod Lake in 2020 and 2022 but — curiously — not this
year. So scientists are using the dye to record the flow of
water, which they’re hoping will answer the question of why the
algae spreads some years but not others. Crews started dumping
the rhodamine dye into the water Monday and will complete the
study by Friday, according to a news release.
Arvind Kumar and his husband Ashok Jethanandani … [have]
spent the last 20 years volunteering at Lake Cunningham Park in
their East San Jose neighborhood — working to undo years of
neglect and unsafe water. For the last five years they’ve
focused on stinkwort, a sticky, camphor-smelling invasive
species native to southern Europe, northern Africa and
southwestern Asia that is irritating to the touch. Now, their
hard work restoring the park to its former glory is getting a
boost thanks to $850,000 in federal funding from Congressmember
Jimmy Panetta and the dedication of San Jose Councilmember
Domingo Candelas. The money will be used to further the lake’s
rehabilitation by funding flood prevention, water filtration
and restoration of the water’s nutrients — which advocates said
will improve equity in the historically disenfranchised part of
the city.
California communities and waterways near scorched hillsides
are vulnerable to serious disasters, long after wildfire
flames die out. Downpours can wash away millions of tons of
soil and rock each year from California slopes, according to
a study published this week, led by scientists from
the U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological
Survey. Researchers found this postfire erosion has
dramatically accelerated across Northern California over the
past four decades. Burn scars are especially at risk of debris
flows, fast-moving slurries of mud and rock that can destroy
homes and wipe out roads. But even smaller trickles can unload
soil into waterways and clog up lakes. The researchers reported
that across the state, 57% of the material flushed from
postfire locations was upstream of reservoirs. The cycle could
amplify in the future, as the potential for California blazes
continues to climb due to climate change.
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists compiled one year’s
worth of soil and sediment erosion quantities occurring after
large California wildfires between 1984 and 2021. Scientists
found that postfire erosion has accelerated over time,
particularly in northern California, likely reflecting both the
increase in wildfire in the state and the frequency of wet
water years. In addition, scientists found that 57% of postfire
erosion by mass occurred upstream of reservoirs. This research
helps planners understand the degree to which postfire erosion
has impacted watersheds and can inform management actions to
minimize the effects of runoff on clean water storage.
On the heels of an environmental study that found lead-tainted
water in public housing developments in Watts, Los Angeles
Mayor Karen Bass has called on the city’s housing authority and
largest water utility to conduct further testing for the potent
neurotoxin. The discovery of lead-contaminated tap water in
Watts, home to three of Los Angeles’ 13 major public housing
complexes, has jolted city leadership and raised serious
questions about the age of the plumbing that serves low-income
residents. Although California banned the installation of lead
pipes in 1985, the average home in Watts is nearly 77 years
old, which makes the South L.A. neighborhood more likely to
contain corroded lead plumbing.
In Colorado, you’re never too far from Rocky Mountain snowmelt,
so it’s no surprise that an annual competition for the state’s
best-tasting water ended in a three-way tie. However, after a
sudden-death sip-off, Denver took home the gold. The taste
test, held at the American Water Works Association Rocky
Mountain Section conference in Keystone, pitted eight
submissions from around the state against one another. Bronze
and silver also went to Front Range cities. Louisville took
second and Broomfield took third.
A bitterly contested commercial solar project in the California
desert was unanimously approved by the Riverside County Board
of Supervisors on Tuesday after what one official described as
a “doozy” of a public hearing in which retirees begged the
board to consider an “environmentally superior” alternative
further from their homes. … [S]easonal and full-time
residents at Lake Tamarisk vigorously contested the company’s
claims and said they remain concerned about heavy construction
dust, impacts on a groundwater aquifer and steep declines in
property values due to lost scenic views. … Intersect
Power’s Senior Director of Environmental and Permitting Camille
Wasinger defended the project vigorously during the hearing and
pushed back against residents’ concerns, saying more aggressive
dust suppression measures would be employed than had been used
at Oberon, an earlier large project they built near area homes,
and that an expert’s study had shown it would use little water
and have no groundwater impact.
The California Department of Water Resources and the city of
Stockton are letting people know the water color change is on
purpose and not to be alarmed. A dye, which according to
scientists is harmless to people, boats and the environment,
will be used to test the water as scientists examine harmful
algal blooms at the lake. McLeod Lake’s water may turn
pink or purple during the testing, according to the city of
Stockton. The lake was selected by the state as one of the
study sites because of the impact of those harmful algal blooms
in the area, particularly during drought years.
Regional water regulators have approved Berkeley’s plans to
measure radiation levels in Cesar Chavez Park using a drone.
The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board rejected
Berkeley’s initial proposal for radiation testing in May,
citing concerns that its methodology was too lenient.
Regulators wrote that the proposed tests, which called for an
inspector to walk around with a detector, could miss a
“significant portion” of the park. The water board,
working in consultation with the California Department of
Public Health, signed off on Berkeley’s revised work plan on
Aug. 13. The city has until Nov. 11 to complete the testing and
submit a completion report that includes a three-dimensional
map of the site. The radiation testing follows
revelations in January that the now-defunct Stauffer Chemical
Company may have dumped radioactive industrial waste in the
landfill between 1960 and 1971.
A costly project to replace drinking wells closed due to
contamination is moving forward, as the issue of safe drinking
water bubbles to the top of the city’s election buzz. Five
years ago, the city of Pleasanton began shuttering the
underground water supply, eventually closing three wells and
switching an estimated 22,000 customers to a water wholesaler
that serves eastern Alameda County. Now, officials are on the
hunt for new wells, a project estimated to cost between $23
million to $43 million. The issue has emerged as one of the
hottest topics among candidates running for seats in November,
including the tight race between current Mayor Karla Brown and
Councilman Jack Balch. When the city in 2019 detected
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — substances
commonly found in Teflon or “non-stick” chemicals, known as
PFAs — it “was a surprise to us all,” Brown said in an
interview.
A northern California community is questioning the length of
time for a school district to report elevated levels of lead
across multiple schools’ drinking fountains and faucets,
reports USA Today. “We are putting systems in place to ensure a
lack of effective communication does not occur again, and that
school communities receive quick notice when this kind of
testing is taking place on their campuses,” the Oakland Unified
School district wrote in a letter to families last week.
However, staffers at affected schools – including Frick United
Academy of Language – noted the lead testing had taken place
between late March and June, although the results were released
only in August. Of the 1,083 fixtures tested, nearly 200
contained lead levels above the district’s limit of 5 parts per
billion (ppb).
A federal report this week linked high levels of fluoride in
other countries to lower IQs in children, adding new evidence
in the long-simmering debate over adding fluoride to public
drinking water systems. The report from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services’ National Toxicity Program concluded
with “moderate confidence” that a collection of non-U.S.
studies associated higher levels of fluoride with lower IQ in
children. The report evaluated a collection of previous studies
completed on populations in Canada, China, India, Iran,
Pakistan and Mexico. The review examined total fluoride
exposure from all sources, so it did not solely measure health
effects of drinking fluoridated water. But experts say it will
likely generate debate among anti-fluoride groups who are
pushing for ballot measures and other actions to ban public
water fluoridation in local communities.
… Beneath the surface of nearby streams, fires can also cause
a silent upheaval – one that affects populations of creatures
that are important indicators of the water’s health. …
When fires move from nature into neighborhoods, however, they
encounter a drastically different set of fuels. Urban
conflagrations consume a mix of synthetic and natural
materials, including homes, vehicles, electronics and household
chemicals. This creates a unique set of problems that
can have far-reaching consequences for waterways and the
creatures that call them home. … I study how human actions on
land affect the chemistry and ecology of surface water systems,
including an important group of stream dwellers: benthic
macroinvertebrates. These tiny creatures, which include
mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies, are not only food
sources for fish and other stream life but also serve as
nature’s own water quality monitors.
– By Lauren Magliozzi, environmental engineering
researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder
… Sonoma County supervisors approved a combined $8.4 million
last week to purchase the 394-acre Russian River Redwoods
property south of Guerneville and the 384-acre Camp Meeker
Forest Open Space north of Occidental. … The
grassroots Guerneville Forest Coalition and its
partners challenged what had been the 224-acre Silver Estates
Timber Harvest Plan beginning when it was first proposed in
2020, then took Cal Fire to court when the state agency
approved a modified version of the logging plan. Opponents
argued the harvest plan failed to protect threatened and
endangered species, risked undermining steep, unstable
hillsides, threatened harm to water quality and would mar the
views from Highway 116, a state-designated Scenic
Highway.
Officials with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control
Board are reviewing findings from RTX Corp., the owner of the
former Rocketdyne site, seeking to test soil and groundwater at
several businesses, homes and the Westfield Shopping Mall for
contamination. The vast 47-acre property in Warner Center sits
across the street from bustling Westfield Topanga Mall, and is
one of the largest undeveloped sites in Los Angeles. The former
Rocketdyne parcel has been undergoing an extensive cleanup to
address the tainted soil and groundwater at the site that trace
back to toxic chemicals produced at the site three decades ago.
Cleanup of the site has been underway since 1991. Still, its
contaminated groundwater has spread to the land beneath nearby
homes, businesses and the busy Westfield Topanga mall,
according to a report filed in June with the Los Angeles
Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is overseeing the
cleanup.
Alaska’s permafrost is melting and revealing high levels of
mercury that could threaten Alaska Native peoples. That’s
according to a new study released earlier this month by the
University of Southern California, analyzing sediment from
melted permafrost along Alaska’s Yukon River. Researchers
already knew that the Arctic permafrost was releasing some
mercury, but scientists weren’t sure how much. The new study —
published in the journal Environmental Research Letters — found
the situation isn’t good: As the river runs west, melted
permafrost is depositing a lot of mercury into the riverbank,
confirming some of scientists’ worst estimates and underscoring
the potential threat to the environment and Indigenous peoples.
Elevated levels of E. coli have been found at Avocado Lake Swim
Beach in Fresno County, according to the Fresno County
Department of Public Health. Officials say the Central Valley
Regional Water Quality Control Board recollected a sample on
Aug. 22 that recorded an E. coli concentration of 1553.1
MPN/100 ml, which surpasses the Statewide Bacteria Water
Quality Objectives established by the California State Water
Resources Control Board. E. coli is a bacteria bound in the
intestines of warm-blooded animals and serves as an indicator
of fecal pollution in water. Officials say that although most
E. coli is harmless, it is essential to be cautious when levels
exceed the recommended safety threshold due to the high risk of
illness for swimmers and others who interact with the water.
… On the trail, water truly does dictate most decisions. The
availability and quality of drinking water dictates how much to
carry, how to purify it and how far to walk each day. Water
from the weather—rain, snow, sleet, humidity—dictates when the
PCT thru-hiking season begins. It usually begins between March
and May so a northbound hiker hits the Sierras after the
snowpack on its passes has sufficiently melted to allow for
safe passage, and ends by September or October, before the snow
begins to dump on Washington. … “Part of the reason
it’s so hard to see climate change is that there’s so much
variation from year to year that it hides the trend,” said
Naomi Tague, a professor in ecohydrology and ecoinformatics at
University of California, Santa Barbara. “Everybody wants
these easy prescriptions that work everywhere,” she said, but
“How much water you have in a particular stream depends on the
snow it got that year. It depends on geology. It depends on how
big that watershed is. It depends on the type of vegetation.
You want to start putting all the pieces together. That’s how
you get an integrated systematic perspective.”
The White House on Thursday announced $26 million in new
funding to test for and remove lead from water in schools and
child-care facilities, two months ahead of plans to publish a
new rule requiring such testing at elementary and middle
schools. While there is no national requirement to test for
lead in school water, states and localities that have chosen to
test often find it. Lead in schools is frequently caused not by
lead service lines, which are narrow pipes that serve
households and small businesses, but by lead-laced plumbing and
fixtures.
Scientists at San Diego State University have successfully
completed a study with a new early warning system to track the
levels of untreated sewage in the Tijuana River. The team, led
by SDSU biologist Trent Biggs and environmental engineer
Natalie Mladenov, used specialized fluorescence sensors to
detect and differentiate treated and untreated sewage where the
river crosses the international border and in a creek of its
estuary. “Our overall objective was to create a real-time
sewage monitoring system,” Biggs told City News Service. “We
had two main unknowns: What percentage of pollutants in the
river are raw sewage with high bacteria levels — which is
critical to monitor progress as new infrastructure is installed
— and what happens to that sewage?”
A new report has found elevated lead levels in tap water across
Watts, a south Los Angeles community that has faced decades of
environmental racism, including in the drinking water of
multiple public housing developments. Researchers working with
the Better Watts Initiative, a community environmental group,
tested tap water at sites across the neighbourhood, and found
lead, a neurotoxic metal, at or above US government limits. The
elevated concentrations were most often found in housing
developments that have been plagued for decades by toxic
contamination from lead and other pollution.
California Consulting is proud to announce the successful
acquisition of a $4,992,209 grant from the State Water
Resources Control Board’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund for
the City of Arvin. This critical funding will finance
essential repairs and upgrades to the Water Treatment Plant
(WTP) Effluent Pond #3. This grant is a major
milestone in the City of Arvin’s clean water vision. The
awarded funds will be used to implement comprehensive
repairs and upgrades, including reinforcing pond structures,
updating treatment technologies, and ensuring compliance
with state water quality standards. These improvements will not
only boost the efficiency and reliability of the water
treatment process but also contribute to the overall
well-being of Arvin’s residents.
Watchdogs are raising new concerns about legacy contamination
in Los Alamos, the birthplace of the atomic bomb and home to a
renewed effort to manufacture key components for nuclear
weapons. A Northern Arizona University professor emeritus who
analyzed soil, water and vegetation samples taken along a
popular hiking and biking trail in Acid Canyon said Thursday
that there were more extreme concentrations of plutonium found
there than at other publicly accessible sites he has researched
in his decades-long career. That includes land around the
federal government’s former weapons plant at Rocky Flats in
Colorado. While outdoor enthusiasts might not be in immediate
danger while traveling through the pine tree-lined canyon,
Michael Ketterer — who specializes in tracking the chemical
fingerprints of radioactive materials — said state and local
officials should be warning people to avoid coming in contact
with water in Acid Canyon.
The Department of the Interior today announced the availability
of $775 million for 21 states to clean up legacy pollution
through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. These
historic resources to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells and
well sites – of which over $1 billion has already been
distributed – are creating good-paying jobs, catalyzing
economic growth, eliminating harmful methane leaks, and
reducing environmental and public health risks to surface water
and groundwater resources critical to U.S. communities and
ecosystems.
A USA TODAY analysis of new EPA data shows local officials most
frequently blame airports; utilities, such as sewage treatment
plants; and military bases as likely sources of toxic “forever
chemicals” in their drinking water. Thousands of public
drinking water systems began sampling last year for PFAS, or
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in the Environmental
Protection Agency’s largest-ever effort to monitor their spread
across the country. As water utilities submit their results,
the EPA also asks if they’re aware of any sources that may have
polluted their drinking water. Most systems marked “No” or
“Don’t know” in the records the EPA released this month, but
about 730 checked off boxes next to a list of two dozen
potential sources. …Military bases topped the list of
potential sources among drinking water systems that detected
PFAS above the EPA’s new limits, but USA TODAY found airports
closely followed with 50 systems. These include Fresno,
California; Newport News, Virginia; and Greensboro, North
Carolina
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.”
In nature, water always contains dissolved minerals and
nutrients. Water “hardness” is determined by the concentrations
of minerals present in a particular water source—specifically
calcium and magnesium. Simply put, hard water is mineral water
that comes from your tap. Water containing high amounts
of calcium and magnesium leaves behind solid calcium carbonate
deposits when it evaporates. … Minerals in soil and rock
in a particular region will naturally be present in that
region’s groundwater. All four soft-to-hard classifications are
typical in California groundwater, depending on the source
region. —Written by Suzanne DeLorenzo, director of water
quality at San Jose Water
The binational agency that operates an aging wastewater
treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border that is allowing
Tijuana sewage to foul South County shorelines said it won’t
meet this week’s deadline to bring the broken system into
compliance with federal water quality standards. Commissioner
Maria-Elena Giner, who heads the U.S. section of the
International Boundary and Water Commission responsible for the
South Bay plant, told the San Diego Regional Water Quality
Control Board on Wednesday that continuing equipment failures
and political challenges made it impossible to get three of the
five primary treatment tanks online by Thursday, as had been
promised. …. Water board commissioners praised Giner’s
exhaustive efforts, but said they weren’t enough.
SCV Water recently completed construction of the Wash Water
Return and Sludge Systems Project at its Earl Schmidt
Filtration Plant, located near Castaic Lake. The additions will
improve treatment plant operations, ensure regulatory
compliance and reduce staff maintenance activities. “The
completion of these modifications enhances the operational
reliability of the wash water return system and the maintenance
of the sludge collection system,” said Rafael Pulido, SCV
Water’s water treatment manager. “And overall, this project has
increased the resiliency of our water treatment system.” The
Project, which cost approximately $18.8 million and took two
years to construct, included the addition of two wash water
return basins, one sludge thickener tank and one sludge drying
bed to the water treatment system.
A project to protect water quality and reduce flood risk in
Twain Harte has been completed with funding from a state grant.
The State Water Resources Control Board and the Twain Harte
Community Services District have completed a stormwater
project, partly funded by a $3.7 million grant from the Board’s
Stormwater Grant Program. It authorized $7.5 billion in general
obligation bonds for water projects including surface and
groundwater storage, ecosystem and watershed protection and
restoration, and drinking water protection. The Twain Harte
grant funded the replacement of outdated storm drains,
installed stormwater capture technology, and created bioswales,
or landscapes, that filter out pollutants to slow and capture
runoff.
In a scramble to clean up a large fish die-off last month, park
rangers buried fish in a mass grave to mask the smell, a city
administrator went “incognito” to dodge reporters, and
employees were rushed in to work overtime over a holiday
weekend, new records show. The documents, obtained by this news
organization through a public records request, paint a clearer
picture of what happened in the days after a Bay Area heatwave
killed about 1,000 fish in Fremont’s Lake Elizabeth. Rising
water temperatures and leached oxygen from the manmade lake
suffocated the fish between July 3 and July 6. It left an
estimated five-ton fish mess on the city’s hands and forced
staffers to scramble for a response. … Although “harmful
algae blooms” were suspected, the city reaffirmed in an Aug. 2
news release that they were not a contributing factor.
The US air force is refusing to comply with an order to clean
drinking water it polluted in Tucson, Arizona, claiming federal
regulators lack authority after the conservative-dominated US
supreme court overturned the “Chevron doctrine”. Air force
bases contaminated the water with toxic PFAS “forever
chemicals” and other dangerous compounds. Though former US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials and legal
experts who reviewed the air force’s claim say the Chevron
doctrine ruling probably would not apply to the order, the
military’s claim that it would represents an early indication
of how polluters will wield the controversial court decision to
evade responsibility.
… Cal Water Service initially sent an advisory asking people
in Office Park Drive, Commercial Way, Commerce Drive, and
Truxtun Avenue, between Mohawk Street and Westside Parkway, to
not drink or use their tap water until further notice. They
stated the reasoning for the advisory came from a private
customer’s oil backflowing into the water distribution. It
eventually left 42 customers without water for days, some even
with noticeable damages. In a lawsuit filed by the
city of Bakersfield a month after the incident, Deputy
City Attorney Matthew Collom told Eyewitness News they named
Griffin Resources LLC responsible for the contamination. “The
city hopes to recoup those damages in turn from Griffin. That’s
really what this is,” said Collom.
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.
Tahoe’s clarity report card just came out, yet two sewage
spills occurring within less than two weeks of each other have
minds on murkier matters. A private contractor working for
Caltrans on Highway 28 near Gar Woods struck a North Tahoe
Public Utility District’s main sewer export pipeline the
morning of July 18. This sent an estimated 85,000 gallons of
raw sewage into Carnelian Bay. The spill closed beaches and a
myriad of health advisories ensued, warning of elevated water
bacteria counts. All advisories finally lifted on July 31.
The Hualapai Nation sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Friday over its approval of a lithium exploration project near
Wikieup, Arizona, alleging the federal agency did not properly
evaluate the project’s potential impacts on the local aquifer
that feeds a nearby spring that is sacred to the tribe. The
lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions taken by
tribes as mining companies propose new projects to extract
minerals critical to the energy transition with mines that
threaten tribal communities and lands important to their
cultures, traditions and histories. The nation, and especially
Western states where vast amounts of federal lands remain open
for extractive industries, is seeing a boom of new mining
proposals for minerals like lithium, the soft, silvery metal
used in the batteries that power electric vehicles and store
solar and wind energy. But the projects to mine those critical
minerals can come at the expense of the landscapes, water
supplies, air quality and wildlife rural and indigenous
communities depend on, research has found, often leading them
to oppose the projects.
Emerald Bay, punctuated by a wooded island on Lake Tahoe’s
western edge, is probably the lake’s most recognizable feature.
But beneath the water’s azure surface lies an issue few have
set eyes on: about 6 miles worth of defunct century-old
telephone cables that contain toxic lead. The cables, made of
copper wires sheathed in lead, were discovered by scuba divers
12 years ago resting on the sandy lake bottom and, in places,
bent around rocks. One long segment spans the West Shore from
Baldwin Beach across the mouth of Emerald Bay up to Rubicon
Bay — including through shallow areas where people swim
and boat — and there’s a separate strand inside the
bay.
A dangerous herbicide banned immediately by the US
Environmental Protection Agency has been sprayed on crops in
many California counties and has contaminated groundwater in
low concentrations in the Salinas Valley and Santa Barbara
County. The weed-killing chemical, known as DCPA or
Dacthal, can harm the developing brains of babies in the womb,
and can remain in farm fields for weeks, EPA officials said.
The greatest threat is to pregnant farmworkers and those who
live near fields. The chemical, which has been in use in
the United States for almost 70 years, was so dangerous that
“it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” EPA
announced Tuesday. The agency issued a rare emergency order
suspending all use immediately — a first for the EPA in almost
40 years.
Sixteen tons of radioactive uranium tailings once sat near the
banks of the Colorado River, putting the waterway in peril of
contamination on the outskirts of Moab. Removal began in 2009
and was halted for a time due to lack of funding for the U.S.
Department of Energy cleanup project, but work is continuing at
a steady clip — with nearly 15 tons shipped by rail to a
disposal cell about 30 miles away at Crescent Junction. At
this rate, the tailings removal may be completed by next year,
but much work remains to be done afterward for full remediation
of the area in which the uranium mill operated for nearly three
decades.
Nearly three quarters of California counties have some kind of
harmful algal bloom, according to the State Water Control
Resources Board, prompting warnings at rivers and lakes.
Algal blooms, known as cyanobacteria or blue-green algae, can
be found when warm water and abundant nutrients cause harmful
algae to grow rapidly and produce toxins in any fresh body of
water. They also contribute to nasty odors and taste.
… According to the State Water Resources Control Board,
43 of 58 counties have reported harmful blooms. The board
website lists the location, extent, and toxicity of the blooms
but states that the information may not be accurate due to
changing environmental conditions.
A local group filed a third lawsuit against a construction
company in July for stormwater runoff violations under the
Clean Water Act at a facility near McKinleyville. “We’ve never
sued anybody twice, and we’ve never — ever — brought a third
lawsuit against anyone,” said Patty Clary, executive director
of Arcata-based Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, also
known as CATs. The lawsuit, a civil suit against Kernen
Construction Co., alleges similar issues in CATs’ previous
lawsuits — the company is discharging stormwater illegally from
parts of the industrial property. Filed July 5, the lawsuit
alleges the company is operating in areas without a permit to
discharge water, failing to monitor and report water
contaminants, not capturing water from the industrial yard, and
building unpermitted ponds to capture stormwater. The water off
the property flows into Noisy and Hall creeks, which in turn
flow into the Mad River, when it rains.
Northern California authorities issued a warning Friday
urging people to avoid swimming in rivers and lakes if they
encounter slimy layers of dark green or brown scum floating on
the surface or a pea soup-like murkiness to the water – signs
of cyanobacteria. Conditions are ripe for potentially
harmful blue-green algae this time of year, when it grows more
rapidly in warm and slow-moving water, and may even lead to
blooms producing toxins that could pose a health risk to humans
and animals, the Humboldt County Department of Health and
Human Services said in a recent news release. Dogs and children
are most susceptible to exposure because of their smaller size
and tendency to stay in the water for longer periods of time,
according to the department.
Summer is here, and the Russian River is a favorite spot for
cooling off. But is it really safe to take a dip? The answer is
complicated. Recent water quality tests reveal a mixed picture.
Coliform bacteria are a group of microorganisms commonly found
in the environment, including human and animal feces. The US
EPA recommends that fresh recreational water for body contact
have fewer than 126 colonies per 100 milliliters
(mL). … High levels of coliform bacteria, including
E. coli, pose significant health risks. Ingesting contaminated
water or exposing open wounds can lead to gastrointestinal
illnesses and skin infections. Symptoms can range from mild
discomfort to more severe conditions requiring medical
attention. A key culprit is the aging and failing septic
systems along the lower Russian River, particularly between
Guerneville and Monte Rio.
Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks
or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw
enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix
broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that
don’t work. … Across the U.S., trillions of gallons of
drinking water are lost every year, especially from decrepit
systems in communities struggling with significant population
loss and industrial decline that leave behind poorer residents,
vacant neighborhoods and too-large water systems that are
difficult to maintain.
Learn the history and challenges facing the West’s most dramatic
and developed river.
The Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin introduces the
1,450-mile river that sustains 40 million people and millions of
acres of farmland spanning seven states and parts of northern
Mexico.
The 28-page primer explains how the river’s water is shared and
managed as the Southwest transitions to a hotter and drier
climate.
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.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.
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.”
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
On average, more than 60 percent of
California’s developed water supply originates in the Sierra
Nevada and the southern spur of the Cascade Range. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This tour ventured into the Sierra to examine water issues
that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and
throughout the state.
Radically transformed from its ancient origin as a vast tidal-influenced freshwater marsh, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem is in constant flux, influenced by factors within the estuary itself and the massive watersheds that drain though it into the Pacific Ocean.
Lately, however, scientists say the rate of change has kicked into overdrive, fueled in part by climate change, and is limiting the ability of science and Delta water managers to keep up. The rapid pace of upheaval demands a new way of conducting science and managing water in the troubled estuary.
Out of sight and out of mind to most
people, the Salton Sea in California’s far southeast corner has
challenged policymakers and local agencies alike to save the
desert lake from becoming a fetid, hyper-saline water body
inhospitable to wildlife and surrounded by clouds of choking
dust.
The sea’s problems stretch beyond its boundaries in Imperial and
Riverside counties and threaten to undermine multistate
management of the Colorado River. A 2019 Drought Contingency Plan for the
Lower Colorado River Basin was briefly stalled when the Imperial
Irrigation District, holding the river’s largest water
allocation, balked at participating in the plan because, the
district said, it ignored the problems of the Salton Sea.
Voluntary agreements in California
have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve
environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows
and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be
diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state
regulators.
This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
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.
The majestic beauty of the Sierra
Nevada forest is awe-inspiring, but beneath the dazzling blue
sky, there is a problem: A century of fire suppression and
logging practices have left trees too close together. Millions of
trees have died, stricken by drought and beetle infestation.
Combined with a forest floor cluttered with dry brush and debris,
it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.
Fires devastate the Sierra watersheds upon which millions of
Californians depend — scorching the ground, unleashing a
battering ram of debris and turning hillsides into gelatinous,
stream-choking mudflows.
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.
Californians have been doing an
exceptional job
reducing their indoor water use, helping the state survive
the most recent drought when water districts were required to
meet conservation targets. With more droughts inevitable,
Californians are likely to face even greater calls to save water
in the future.
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.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
We headed into the foothills and the mountains to examine
water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts
downstream and throughout the state.
GEI (Tour Starting Point)
2868 Prospect Park Dr.
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
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.
We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop
of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad
sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and
climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs was the focus of this tour.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.
Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.
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.
Sixty percent of California’s developed water supply
originates high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our water
supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests,
which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought,
wildfires and widespread tree mortality.
This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River
where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand
is growing from myriad sources — increasing population,
declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs is the focus of this tour.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Algal blooms are sudden overgrowths
of algae. Their occurrence is increasing in California’s
rivers, creeks and lakes and along the coast, threatening the
lives of people, pets and fisheries.
Only a few types of algae can produce poisons, but even nontoxic
blooms hurt the environment and local economies. When masses
of algae die, the decaying can deplete oxygen in the water to the
point of causing devastating fish kills.
Potable water, also known as
drinking water, comes from surface and ground sources and is
treated to levels that that meet state and federal standards for
consumption.
Water from natural sources is treated for microorganisms,
bacteria, toxic chemicals, viruses and fecal matter. Drinking
raw, untreated water can cause gastrointestinal problems such as
diarrhea, vomiting or fever.
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.
This 28-page report describes the watersheds of the Sierra Nevada
region and details their importance to California’s overall water
picture. It describes the region’s issues and challenges,
including healthy forests, catastrophic fire, recreational
impacts, climate change, development and land use.
The report also discusses the importance of protecting and
restoring watersheds in order to retain water quality and enhance
quantity. Examples and case studies are included.
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.
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.
California’s little-known New River has been called one of North
America’s most polluted. A closer look reveals the New River is
full of ironic twists: its pollution has long defied cleanup, yet
even in its degraded condition, the river is important to the
border economies of Mexicali and the Imperial Valley and a
lifeline that helps sustain the fragile Salton Sea ecosystem.
Now, after decades of inertia on its pollution problems, the New
River has emerged as an important test of binational cooperation
on border water issues. These issues were profiled in the 2004
PBS documentary Two Sides of a River.
A watershed is the land area that drains snowmelt and rain into a
network of lakes, streams, rivers and other waterways. It
typically is identified by the largest draining watercourse
within the system. In California, for example, the Sacramento River Basin is the
state’s largest watershed.
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.
Lake Tahoe is one of the world’s most beautiful yet vulnerable
lakes. Renowned for its remarkable clarity, Tahoe straddles the
Nevada-California border, stretching 22 miles long and 12 miles
wide in a granitic bowl high in the Sierra Nevada.
Tahoe sits 6,225 feet above sea level. Its deepest point is 1,645
feet, making it the second-deepest lake in the nation, after
Oregon’s Crater Lake, and the tenth deepest in the world.
The continued effort to improve water quality and reduce nonpoint
source pollution will hinge largely on a little-known pollution
control strategy known as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs),
which describe the amount of a particular pollutant that a water
body can absorb on a daily basis while remaining safe for
wildlife and people. While by no means a comprehensive
explanation of all the factors surrounding this complex subject,
this issue of Western Water provides a snapshot of TMDLs and what
they mean for water quality, supply and reliability.
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.
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.
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 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 challenges facing state,
federal and tribal officials and other stakeholders as they work
to manage terminal lakes. It includes background information on
the formation of these lakes, and overviews of the water quality,
habitat and political issues surrounding these distinctive bodies
of water. Much of the information in this article originated at
the September 2004 StateManagement Issues at Terminal Water
Bodies/Closed Basins conference.
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.
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 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 printed issue of Western Water examines the Russian and
Santa Ana rivers – areas with ongoing issues not dissimilar to
the rest of the state – managing supplies within a lingering
drought, improving water quality and revitalizing and restoring
the vestiges of the native past.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and
controversy – and the expected role it might play as an
alternative water supply strategy.
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 printed issue of Western Water examines
groundwater management and the extent to which stakeholders
believe more efforts are needed to preserve and restore the
resource.
This printed issue of Western Water discusses low
impact development and stormwater capture – two areas of emerging
interest that are viewed as important components of California’s
future water supply and management scenario.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
Drawn from a special stakeholder symposium held in September 1999
in Keystone, Colorado, this issue explores how we got to where we
are today on the Colorado River; an era in which the traditional
water development of the past has given way to a more
collaborative approach that tries to protect the environment
while stretching available water supplies.
This 30-minute documentary, produced in 2011, explores the past,
present and future of flood management in California’s Central
Valley. It features stories from residents who have experienced
the devastating effects of a California flood firsthand.
Interviews with long-time Central Valley water experts from
California Department of Water Resources (FloodSAFE), U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood
Management Program and environmental groups are featured as they
discuss current efforts to improve the state’s 150-year old flood
protection system and develop a sustainable, integrated, holistic
flood management plan for the Central Valley.
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 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
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.
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.
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 7-minute DVD is designed to teach children in grades 5-12
about where storm water goes – and why it is so important to
clean up trash, use pesticides and fertilizers wisely, and
prevent other chemicals from going down the storm drain. The
video’s teenage actors explain the water cycle and the difference
between sewer drains and storm drains, how storm drain water is
not treated prior to running into a river or other waterway. The
teens also offer a list of BMPs – best management practices that
homeowners can do to prevent storm water pollution.
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.
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.
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 the
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.
This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors”
features photos and information on four such species – including
the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic
threats posed by these species.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as
the most thorough explanation of California water rights law
available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing
in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation
ditch through the complex web of California water rights.
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 Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
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.
Finding and maintaining a clean
water supply for drinking and other uses has been a constant
challenge throughout human history.
Today, significant technological developments in water treatment,
including monitoring and assessment, help ensure a drinking water
supply of high quality in California and the West.
The source of water and its initial condition prior to being
treated usually determines the water treatment process. [See also
Water Recycling.]
California’s nearly 40 million residents all depend on clean
water to thrive, as do the fish and wildlife and industries such
as agriculture, food processing and electronics that help power
the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Rivers and other surface
waters, however, can carry a host of pollutants, both natural
and manufactured, that can contaminate drinking water, harm
wildlife and livestock and damage crops.
Wastewater management in California centers on the collection,
conveyance,
treatment, reuse and disposal of wastewater. This process is
conducted largely by public agencies, though there are also
private systems in places where a publicly owned treatment plant
is not feasible.
In California, wastewater treatment takes place through 100,000
miles of sanitary sewer lines and at more than 900 wastewater
treatment plants that manage the roughly 4 billion gallons of
wastewater generated in the state each day.
There are nine regional water quality control boards statewide.
The nine Regional Boards are semi-autonomous and are comprised of
seven part-time Board members appointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the Senate. Regional boundaries are based on
watersheds and water quality requirements are based on the unique
differences in climate, topography, geology and hydrology for
each watershed. Each Regional Board makes critical water quality
decisions for its region, including setting standards, issuing
waste discharge requirements, determining compliance with those
requirements, and taking appropriate enforcement actions.
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking
water quality in the United States.
Launched in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Safe Drinking Water Act oversees states,
communities, and water suppliers who implement the drinking water
standards at the local level.
The act’s regulations apply to every public water system in the
United States but do not include private wells serving less than
25 people.
According to the EPA, there are more than 160,000 public water
systems in the United States.
California boasts some of the finest quality drinking water on
the planet. Every day, people turn on their tap and receive
clean, safe water with nary a thought. But the water people take
for granted isn’t so reliable for residents of small water
systems and many disadvantaged communities (DACs) in rural
agricultural areas.
It may surprise some people to know that California is the fourth
largest producer of crude oil in the United States and has a long
history of oil exploration. Since the 1860s, wells in Kern County
and Southern California have been tapped for more than 500,000
barrels of oil each day.
For something so largely hidden from view, groundwater is an
important and controversial part of California’s water supply
picture. How it should be managed and whether it becomes part of
overarching state regulation is a topic of strong debate.
Is the water consumed by people everyday safe to drink or should
there be concern about unregulated contaminants, many of which
are the remnants of commonly used pharmaceutical and personal
care products?
For most people in the United States, clean, safe drinking water
is a given – a part of daily life that is assumed to be a
constant, readily accessible commodity. Underpinning that fact
are the vast, mostly unheralded efforts of the many people
throughout the country who work everyday to take the raw source
water from the environment and turn it into the safe drinking
water that makes life possible.
There may be no other substance in nature as vexing as selenium.
The naturally occurring trace element gained notoriety more than
20 years ago as it wreaked havoc among birds at the Kesterson
Reservoir in California’s Central Valley. The discovery of dead
and deformed birds sparked a widespread investigation that
revealed the pervasiveness of selenium throughout much of the
West; woven into the soil and rock of the landscape.
Most people take for granted the quality of their drinking water
and for good reason. Coinciding with America’s rapid urbanization
last century was the development of an extensive infrastructure
for the storage, treatment and delivery of water for generations
to come. The improvement in the quality of water provided by
water agencies has been so phenomenal that some of the best
tasting water in the world comes not from a plastic bottle, but
from the tap.
There’s danger lurking underground. The threat cannot be seen,
heard or felt immediately, but there it resides – in shallow
pockets of groundwater and deep, cold subterranean aquifers
situated hundreds of feet below the surface. The danger manifests
itself through the most vital human activity next to breathing,
the consumption of water. Experts know there is no such thing as
pure water. Microscopic bits of a host of elements that surround
us are present in the water we drink. They exist at levels that
are harmless, and in fact some of the constituents found in tap
water are beneficial to human health.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most
significant environmental laws in American history, the Clean
Water Act (CWA). The law that emerged from the consensus and
compromise that characterizes the legislative process has had
remarkable success, reversing years of neglect and outright abuse
of the nation’s waters.
The arrival of each storm brings more than rain and snow to
thirsty California. From the coastal redwoods to the streets of
Los Angeles, water flowing from hillsides and paved surfaces
carries with it a host of pollutants that befoul tributaries,
streams and rivers. The toll on the environment is measured in
closed beaches, reduced fish populations and, in some cases, a
lower quality of available water for human use. The sources of
pollution are sometimes easy to control with existing technology.
But in other cases, the ubiquitous nature of contaminants has
left regulators in a quandary over how to solve the problem.
Drinking water is the ultimate recycled resource. It is recycled
over years, centuries and millenniums. The water we use today is
the same supply with which civilization began. The water that
once coursed down the Ganges River or splashed into Julius
Caesar’s bathing pool may end up running from the tap in your
home.
Clean air vs. clean water sums up the controversy surrounding the
gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an
oxygenate designed to help fuel burn cleaner, reducing tailpipe
emissions. Since 1996, the year it was first used statewide on a
year-round basis, MTBE has reduced smog from motor vehicles by 15
percent, according to air quality officials. It’s as if 3.5
million cars have disappeared from the roads – no small feat in
the automobile – dependent Golden State.
