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.
New testing results that have found record-high levels of
cyanotoxin at sampling sites on Clear Lake prompted the Public
Health officer on Wednesday night to issue a warning to those
who source their water from private intakes on the lake.
Water quality regulators let a Sonoma County-based quarry know
last week it could face a $4.5 million-fine for multiple
alleged violations of the Clean Water Act that threaten the
survival of endangered salmon populations in tributaries of the
Russian River. The proposed fine from the North Coast
Regional Water Quality Control Board is part of a legal
proceeding known as an administrative civil liability that
alleges the operator of Mark West Quarry, Dean Soiland, doing
business as BoDean Co. Inc., discharged highly turbid
stormwater from its quarry operations into Porter Creek from
September 2018 through May 2019.
The Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) has been
named an American Academy of Environmental Engineers and
Scientists (AAEES) 2021 award winner in its annual Excellence
in Environmental Engineering and Science competition, for
launching the nation’s largest per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) pilot testing program. OCWD received an
Honors Award in the research category for advancing state of
the art environmental engineering or science practices.
From the lake to the ocean, the waters of the Klamath are once
again teeming with toxic blue-green algae at the end of a hot,
dry summer. Microcystis aeruginosa, a species of
photosynthetic cyanobacteria that produces the neurotoxin
microcystin, has been detected in nearly all reaches of the
Klamath Basin at or below Upper Klamath Lake. The harmful algal
blooms have plagued the basin and its residents for decades,
fueled by nutrient runoff, stagnant water and summer sunshine.
The annual Truckee River Cleanup Day set for September 25, 2021
is a 17 year-old beautification tradition. Every year, the
nonprofit organization Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB)
organizes hundreds of volunteers who, in a four-hour period,
remove trash, erase graffiti, and stencil a warning on storm
drains along a 20-mile stretch of the river, from Verdi to
Lockwood. Last year, in one day, some 500 volunteers
removed over 35 tons of trash and green waste from the Truckee
River Watershed. … But trash is only one environmental
threat to the Truckee.
A federal jury awarded the city of Pomona $48 million in
damages to be paid by a foreign corporation for contaminating
its groundwater with a toxic chemical mixed with fertilizer and
sold to citrus farmers for decades. On Sept. 7, the city won
its case against the American subsidiary of a multi-billion
dollar Chilean company, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile,
known as SQM. The case, which began in 2011, bounced between
courts until the city won after presenting its full argument
recently in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The longer it takes for two new wells to be dug in Cantua Creek
and El Porvenir in western Fresno County, the deeper in debt
the towns are mired. Now, with the drought, those well projects
are in a race against dropping groundwater levels as farmers,
cut off from surface water supplies, are leaning more heavily
on the aquifer. The well projects started in 2018 and
aren’t scheduled to be completed until sometime next year.
Central Valley water-quality regulators released a final report
Friday concluding oil field wastewater from central Kern
County, when blended with other water sources, can
safely be used to irrigate a variety of locally grown
crops. The report, based on five years’ work and
incomplete in some respects, found no evidence of risks to
human health from watering tree nuts, citrus, berries, tubers
and other ag products with the saline water that comes up from
the ground along with oil and which contains small
concentrations of toxic chemicals.
Pleasanton water ratepayers can expect a bigger water bill in
the future after the Pleasanton City Council unanimously
approved a funding plan for final design of the city’s per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) treatment and wells
rehabilitation project on Tuesday. … City officials are
currently proceeding with the estimated $46 million project’s
final design to address the detection of PFAS — synthetic
chemicals found in common household items like paint and known
to be harmful to humans — in the city’s wells.
Few clues have been shared by investigators working to
determine how a family and their dog died a little over three
weeks ago while hiking in Sierra National Forest, in a remote
section of Mariposa County southwest of Yosemite National Park.
Known harmful algae blooms in the south fork of the Merced
River, near where the family was mysteriously found dead along
the Savage-Lundy Trail in Devil’s Gulch, are among the hazards
being considered. … [But] investigators are “not saying”
that’s what killed Mariposa residents John Gerrish, Ellen
Chung, their daughter, Miju, and family dog, Oski.
“The Lagoon is getting worse and worse every year,” said Andy
Lyon, former Malibu city council candidate, surfer, and
community activist. His concerns were validated on August 12,
when the Los Angeles County Health Department issued a water
quality warning, cautioning citizens to refrain from swimming,
surfing, and playing in ocean waters at Surfrider Beach and the
Malibu Lagoon due to potentially hazardous conditions,
including exceeding bacteria standards, and to exercise caution
where Malibu Creek discharges into the ocean and near
discharging storm drains.
The California Legislature took an important step to protect
Californians from toxic, “forever” PFAS chemicals by passing
Assembly Bill 1200 (Ting) today. Having previously passed on
the Senate floor 36-0, the bill now goes to the
Governor. AB 1200 would help make our food and our
environment safer by banning the use of toxic, “forever” PFAS
chemicals in paper-based food packaging.
Jesse Patterson, of Keep Tahoe Blue, said the organization is
funding research into the effects of the Caldor Fire on Lake
Tahoe. “It’s going to look very different. Huge areas are burnt
down, a burn scar — there can be runoff now from those areas
that use to be protected by the trees. Now, those trees are
gone and that runoff can come from the land and affect the
lakes,” Patterson said. Dr. Geoffrey Schladow, professor
of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis,
said ash is a problem too. When ash bleeds into the lake, it
turns into nutrients that cause algae blooms.
A bloom of toxic blue-green algae in a Central California
reservoir has reached the danger level, the state Department of
Water Resource said Tuesday. Lab results from this week’s
tests showed an increase in toxin levels at San Luis Reservoir
in Merced County, the department said. Boating is allowed
but people and pets should avoid physical contact with the
water and algal scum. Fish and shellfish from the lake should
also be avoided.
In the last five years, the environmental problem known as PFAS
has become mainstream public knowledge and a growing public
concern. Aided by popular movies, books, and
environmental advocates, including dozens of recently-formed
citizen action groups, many have now heard of PFAS — shorthand
for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — and are familiar with
one or more potential health consequences from prolonged
exposure to these chemicals — e.g., cancer, immune system
malfunctions, hypertension, thyroid and kidney disease.
[A] day of hiking in the Sierra National Forest, even with the
demanding switchbacks and triple-digit heat, would not have
been unusual for Jonathan Gerrish and Ellen Chung,
husband-and-wife transplants from San Francisco who had
recently become parents to a little girl, Miju, during the
coronavirus pandemic. But the trek would be the family’s
last: Search teams found all three of their bodies on Aug. 17
… The Forest Service had previously posted warning signs
about potentially toxic algae blooms in the area.
Rare earth elements are finding their way into Colorado water
supplies, driven by changes in climate, finds a new study
published in the journal Environmental Science &
Technology. Rare earth elements are necessary components
of many computing and other high-tech devices, like cell phones
and hard drives. But there is growing recognition that they can
be hazardous in the environment even at low levels of
concentration.
Researchers have suspected for years that drought conditions
worsen groundwater quality, but a study published this week
provides strong evidence proving the long-held assumption.
While previous studies have focused on the risk of wells being
overdrawn and run dry during drought, the study from the United
States Geological Survey and the California State Water
Resources Control Board is the first to directly link drought
to deteriorating water quality on a regional scale. The study
looked at 30 years of data from California’s Central Valley.
Concerned that tens of millions of dollars promised to
help address woes at the Salton Sea could vanish
from this year’s state budget, a chorus of
Riverside and Imperial County officials this week wrote to
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Natural Resources Secretary
Wade Crowfoot politely demanding that the funding stay on
track. … Residents in rural communities ringing the
rapidly shrinking water body suffer disproportionately high
asthma rates and other risks from dust released into the air as
the shoreline grows.
As wildfires tear across America’s West, the immediate risk is
to life and property, but they will eventually affect water
supplies. That’s one reason large corporations are beginning to
help fund forest restoration in order to mitigate their water
risk. The water supply for many communities, including
large cities, starts in mountains and national forests. In
California, about 70% of the water either starts or flows
through national forests, according to Forest Service
estimates.
Sierra National Forest officials closed a portion of trails in
Mariposa County where a family and their dog were found dead
under mysterious circumstances in mid-August, citing
unspecified safety concerns. … Officials have not ruled
out water toxicity as a contributing factor in the family’s
death as they await the results of water tests taken from the
area where the family was found.
Upper Klamath Lake is once again turning toxic for the summer.
On July 30, the Oregon Health Authority issued a recreational
use advisory for Eagle Ridge County Park and Shoalwater Bay due
to a cyanobacteria bloom present on the lake’s western shore.
OHA expanded the advisory to Howard’s Bay, south of Spence
Mountain, on August 30. The bloom, comprised of Microcystis
aeruginosa, produces the liver toxin microcystin, which can
cause skin rashes, stomach issues, diarrhea and vomiting if
ingested.
Sierra National Forest closed numerous hiking trails, picnic
areas and campgrounds, citing “unknown hazards found in and
near the Savage Lundy Trail,” where a Mariposa family was
mysteriously found dead two weeks ago. The closures went into
effect Sunday and extend through Sept. 26. … The
Sheriff’s Office previously said known harmful algal
blooms along the south fork of the Merced River are among
the many possible causes of death being considered in the
case with “no smoking gun” clues.
Smoke and ash from wildfires near Lake Tahoe — one of the
deepest lakes in the world — is already clouding the lake’s
famously clear water, researchers say. While the long-term
effects are unclear, ash and soot are now coating the surface
of the High Sierra lake and veiling the sun, which can disrupt
the lake’s ecosystem and its clarity. More debris and sediment
are likely to wash into the lake from runoff and rain this fall
and winter.
The Madera County Department of Public Health issued an
advisory Monday after large amounts of harmful algae blooms
were found in Hensley Lake near Yosemite Lakes. … There
has been renewed interest in the phenomenon after
a Mariposa family was found dead in the Sierra National
Forest. Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputies say they
are looking at all possible causes for their death
including signs of toxic algae.
Extreme heat waves have made this a devastating summer for the
endangered salmon species of the U.S. West Coast. In mid July,
California wildlife officials warned that almost all of the
young Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River would likely die
because of lower water levels and higher water temperatures.
… But, amidst all the catastrophic headlines was a cool
spring of good news. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is finally acting to protect more than two dozen
endangered West Coast salmon and steelhead species from
pesticides.
High schooler Eshani Jha from [Lynbrook High School in San
José, California] received the prestigious 2021 Stockholm
Junior Water Prize for research on how to remove contaminants
from water. …. Stockholm Junior Water Prize is an
international competition where students between the ages of 15
and 20 present solutions to major water challenges.
Madera County health officials in northern California on Monday
issued warnings to the public after high amounts of harmful
algae were reported in a lake. Staff from the Central
Valley Water Board have put out signs around Hensley Lake
warning people about harmful bright green algae in the water,
urging pets and children to stay away from the algae, which
contains toxins that are dangerous to humans and animals if
ingested. There are different types of toxic algae, but they
all still are a threat to human and animal health.
The state of California took the first step to order and
potentially pay for the city of Exeter in Tulare County to
extend water service to hundreds of homes in a nearby town
without safe and stable drinking water. For decades, the 340
residents of Tooleville have relied on contaminated groundwater
as their main source of tap water….
You can usually find Trish and me walking our dog CoBe around
Los Osos in the evening. Our favorite walk is along the
shoreline that stretches from Baywood Park Beach off Pasadena
Drive to the Audubon overlook at the end of 4th Street. Over
the past year, we’ve noticed a gradual increase in the amount
of eelgrass washed up on the sand. In fact, on our last hike,
there were areas that you couldn’t see any sand below the wrack
of eelgrass that formed in different ribbons of colors by the
tides.
Summers are getting hotter. Rain and snowpack are disappearing,
and water reserves are shrinking. This reduction of readily
available, adequate water resources is creating a crisis that
directly harms Californians and their environment. Studies have
found that one million Californians do not have safe drinking
water. In addition, during the last drought, about 3,500
domestic wells went dry and about 2,600 households were
negatively affected by the lack of available water.
The recent discovery of harmful algal blooms at multiple
locations in Crowley Lake in Mono County has prompted the
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board)
and Mono County Environmental Health to urge recreational water
users to exercise caution when in the lake. Testing in
localized areas of the lake, a popular destination for trout
fishing located 45 miles southeast of Yosemite National Park,
confirmed the presence of harmful algal blooms (HABs).
A sewage spill into Lake Tahoe was prevented this past
weekend. South Tahoe Public Utility District received a
call regarding a foul odor coming from the beach by Valhalla
boat house. Upon arriving on scene, crews discovered that
the sewer main had backed up causing a manhole 35 feet from the
edge of Lake Tahoe to fill with sewage, the district said in a
press release.
Toxic algae in Sierra National Forest, now being considered in
the mysterious deaths of a family this week, was being retested
on Thursday by the California State Water Resources Control
Board and Mariposa County. … Mariposa residents John
Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their daughter, Miju, and family dog,
Oski, were found dead in this area on Tuesday after
not returning from a day hike in the Hites Cove area of Devil’s
Gulch, between Mariposa and Yosemite National Park. The
family may have been exposed to cyanobacterial toxins, the
water board said, which can form in algal blooms.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are toxic chemicals
that have been linked to multiple serious health harms, such as
cancer and developmental and reproductive harm. Unfortunately,
PFAS are widely used in everyday products such as nonstick
cookware, water-resistant clothing, and food packaging. Even
worse, PFAS are very resistant to break down—and can accumulate
to dangerously high levels in the human body. Monitoring shows
that virtually all people residing in the United States have
some level of PFAS in their bodies.
Thirty 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.
Join us as we guide you on a virtual journey into the foothills and the mountains to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout the state.
Tucson Water plans to start discharging water containing low
levels of PFAS compounds from its south-side water treatment
plant into the Santa Cruz River in early October — if it gets a
state permit for the discharge by then. The utility is building
a pipeline to take the water from that treatment plant near
Interstate 10 and Irvington Road to the river near Irvington.
It also has submitted a permit application for the discharge to
the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is urging the public to
avoid contact with water at Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County
until further notice due to blue-green algae
(cyanobacteria). Boating is allowed, but swimming and
other water-contact recreation and sporting activities are not
considered safe due to potential adverse health
effects. All swim beaches are closed. For more information
on warning level advisory, go to Harmful Algal Bloom
website under Advisory Signs.
Oceanside Water Utilities in California was days away from
running out of bleach for its waste- and drinking-water
treatment plants last month, Bloomberg Law reported on Monday.
If chemical shipments didn’t return in time, the water supply
for 170,000 people would be at risk. The Oceanside plant was
one of 10 local systems from California, Utah, New Mexico, and
New York that requested help from the US Environmental
Protection Agency this week, according to
Bloomberg.
A 7-year-old Tehama County boy has died after contracting a
rare but severe brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a lake in
Northern California, his family said. … There have been
only 10 cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM,
reported in California since 1971, according to the Tehama
County Health Services Agency. Health officials recommend if
anyone has had nasal exposure to warm freshwater in the last 10
days and develops symptoms to consult a doctor immediately.
Green algae blobs choke handmade gill nets that should be
filled with salmon. The Klamath River is warming, heated by
drought and dams, and that allows the algae to thrive, making
it harder and harder to catch fish. Some days, Yurok tribal
members capture nothing but green goop. … Warming conditions
have also encouraged the spread of Ceratonova shasta, which
infected 97% of juvenile salmon in the Klamath last spring,
killing 70%.
Efforts of the Salton Sea Management Program to achieve to
goals of mitigation efforts “will be difficult, if not
impossible” without investment in continuing scientific
research, according to a new report. The report was prepared
for policymakers and stakeholders by the University of
California, Riverside Salton Sea Task Force. The task force
consists of an interdisciplinary group of scientists,
engineers, medical experts and economists gathered to identify
critical scientific research necessary to guide policymakers in
making decisions about the region’s future.
Pistachios have recently become perhaps the top choice for
institutional investors in Kern County agriculture, apparently
surpassing almonds. Farmland brokers say prices and demand for
local pistachio orchards — the few properties listed for sale,
anyway — have increased since about 2019 because of the
trees’ longevity, crop price stability and higher tolerance for
limited and lower-quality water supplies.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is urging the public to
avoid contact with water at San Luis Reservoir in Merced County
until further notice due to blue-green algae (cyanobacteria).
Boating is allowed, but swimming and other water-contact
recreation and sporting activities are not considered safe due
to potential adverse health effects. O’Neill Forebay remains at
caution advisory. For more information on caution and warning
level advisories, go to Harmful Algal Bloom website under
Advisory Signs.
There are finally efforts under way to improve the
environmental health disaster that is the Salton Sea —
California’s largest and most polluted lake. However, a group
of UC Riverside scientists, engineers, medical experts, and
economists has published a new report warning that these
efforts may not succeed. The report warns that the scientific
assumptions informing current mitigation efforts are outdated
or lacking entirely.
Water in Lake Tahoe could rise to unprecedented
levels, potentially placing communities downstream in
jeopardy, according to a study from environmental scientists at
UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center. In the past
two years, California saw brutal heatwaves and droughts shrink
Lake Tahoe’s water level to a point so low that some boats
couldn’t be launched. However, that’s expected to change. While
temperatures aren’t projected to cool off, Lake Tahoe could see
a rapid depletion of its snowpack and an influx of water during
the coming years.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors received an update on
local drought conditions from the drought task force Tuesday
and authorized the group to expand its membership to local
tribes, community services districts and state agencies “as
needed.” The task force, which meets weekly, was created
to explore and develop both short- and long-term actions to
address local impacts from drought. Ryan Derby, the county’s
emergency services manager, said local conditions have only
worsened since the task force’s last update to the board on
July 21.
An extremely rare brain-eating amoeba infected a child who was
swimming in a California lake, health officials said. A child
under the age of 10 was diagnosed with primary amebic
meningoencephalitis, a rare infection caused from brain-eating
amoeba and known as PAM, the Tehama County Health Services
Agency said. … Health officials did not say what lake or
identify the child. The infection is extremely rare, and there
have only been 10 cases reported in California since 1971,
according to the health agency.
6-PPD is a chemical widely used to protect car tires from
ozone. However, when rainwater washes it into freshwater, 6PPD
degrades into 6-PPD quinone, a contaminant that a recent study
has linked to the mass deaths of Coho salmon in the Pacific
Northwest of the US. Researchers from Northeastern University
and the University of Washington found that even small doses of
6PPDq were lethal for the salmon. … According to the
California Water Board, Coho populations today are
probably less than 6% of what they were in the 1940s, and there
has been ‘at least’ a 70% decline since the 1960s.
The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant is expected to continue
releasing millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater
into the Pacific until the plant is restored to normal
operations later this month, but the amount of pollutants in
the water flowing into the ocean is already dropping
dramatically as more of the damaged facility is brought back
online, according to new water quality data.
A “fish die-off” is generally a natural phenomena and occurs in
summer when low oxygen and warm temperatures causes large
mortality in a localized population of fish. Fish die-offs can
also happen in winter months when temperature stress can kill a
fish population. We have seen winter die-off happen during
extreme winters here in Clear Lake and her tributaries,
especially to the fragile, small bait fish populations like the
threadfin shad and silversides.
In early January 2016, Fresno city officials began picking up
on social media chatter among northeast Fresno residents who
were concerned about rusty, discolored water coming out of
their pipes. Starting Jan. 25, the city began testing the water
in five homes around an area bounded by Chestnut Avenue on the
west, Gettysburg Avenue on the south, Willow Avenue on the east
and Copper Avenue to the north. Test results showed everything
checked out fine, including pipes between the water main and
the homes. However, the tests did find iron, zinc, copper and
in a few of the homes, lead.
The West Nile virus was once associated with higher humidity
and moisture, conditions that help mosquitoes thrive. But a
growing body of research has found that drought conditions –
such as those being felt across the American west – could
amplify its effects. States are already on alert. California
reported its first death of the year in July. By the end of
that month, the state’s department of public health (CDPH) had
documented the virus in 4 people, 94 dead birds, 563 mosquito
samples, 10 chickens and 1 horse.
Wastewater treatment plants in the United States are in a race
against time. Like all other industries, the clock is ticking
for the sector to cut its carbon pollution, given President Joe
Biden’s goal to halve the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by
2030 and reach net zero by 2050. To make their contribution,
utilities will have to pull against strong currents. The energy
needs of the wastewater sector are projected to climb during
this period, due to population growth and tightening
water-quality standards.
The water quality of several beaches near Dockweiler State
Beach has returned to state standards after a sewage spill,
according to the California Department of Public Health.
Beachgoers had been warned against swimming along a stretch of
coastline after an emergency discharge from the Hyperion Water
Reclamation Plant sent 17 million gallons of raw sewage into
the waters off Dockweiler and El Segundo beaches on July 11 and
12.
The California State Water Resources Control Board (“State
Water Board”) has issued an Order to approximately 160 bulk
fuel storage terminals and refineries in California requiring
implementation of a PFAS site investigation. The State
Water Board identified the recipients of the Order on the basis
that they had stored and/or used materials that may contain
PFAS such as AFFF for fire suppression, fire training, and
flammable vapor suppression.
Greater buffer zones around bodies of water and more consistent
enforcement of water protection regulations are needed to
reduce agriculture-based pollution in the Western U.S., a
recent review from Oregon State University found. Prior
research has shown that agricultural pollution, both from
croplands and rangelands, is the cause of 48% of water-quality
impairment in U.S. surface waters, which in turn disrupts
habitat for fish and insects and reduces biodiversity in
aquatic environments.
At least 162 oil refineries and other petroleum-holding
facilities in California have likely stored or used materials
containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class
of synthetic chemicals that persist indefinitely in the
environment and are linked to severe illnesses, according to
state water regulators. The California State Water Resources
Control Board sent a letter to facility operators in March
ordering them to submit work plans evaluating the presence of
the toxic compounds at their facilities, including areas where
PFAS are stored or disposed of and the potential ways the
chemicals could have contaminated soil, surface water, storm
water and groundwater …
Several Los Angeles County beaches near Dockweiler State Beach
continue to exceed state standards for bacteria in water,
according to the Department of Public Health. However,
special water sampling conducted Friday determined water
quality levels returned to state standards at the Hyperion
Water Reclamation Plant outfall at Dockweiler State Beach and
the Topsail Street extension at Venice Beach, lifting warnings
there.
Thirty-five years ago, California voters approved a landmark
law meant to halt exposure to dangerous chemicals in drinking
water and everyday products like food, flip-flops, and face
shields. Decades later, the water cases are few and far
between—while hundreds of product lawsuits bring in millions of
dollars annually for plaintiffs’ attorneys, some of whom
represent environmental groups focused only on this law.
Last week, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) released draft public health goals (PHGs) for
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
(PFOS) in drinking water. OEHHA’s announcement is several years
in the making and is relevant for water purveyors and
municipalities providing other related services such as
wastewater treatment because PHGs are used to create
enforceable drinking water standards and remediation goals for
groundwater contamination.
Drought conditions have prompted the building of a 750-foot
wide rock barrier to prevent saltwater intrusion into the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The California Department
of Water Resources constructed the temporary barrier with
110,000 cubic yards of rock off West False River in Contra
Costa County. Principal engineer Jacob McQuirk said that
without the barrier, saltwater would endanger freshwater
supplies in the Delta and water exports to the south.
… McQuirk said 27 million people are dependent upon
those water supplies and that the barrier will be taken down by
November.
After three weeks of round-the-clock work, the emergency
drought salinity barrier (EDSB) was completed in late June. The
barrier will help prevent saltwater contamination of water
supplies used by millions of Californians who rely on
Delta-based federal and state water projects for at least some
of their water supplies.
The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional
San) has completed a significant upgrade to its wastewater
treatment facility that serves the Sacramento region. The new
Biological Nutrient Removal project (BNR) is now operational,
virtually eliminating ammonia from the region’s treated
wastewater.
State work to improve wildlife habitat and tamp down dust at
California’s ailing Salton Sea is finally moving forward. Now
the sea may be on the verge of getting the vital ingredient
needed to supercharge those restoration efforts – money. The
shrinking desert lake has long been a trouble spot beset by
rising salinity and unhealthy, lung-irritating dust blowing
from its increasingly exposed bed. It shadows discussions of
how to address the Colorado River’s two-decade-long drought
because of its connection to the system.
Rain fell on San Diego Monday. It wasn’t a lot of rain – an
Accuweather forecast called for “a brief morning shower or two”
with an anticipated rainfall of 0.01 inches. But it was enough
to prompt a beach closure at the Tijuana Slough, just south of
Imperial Beach. That section of the beach is closed whenever
the Tijuana River is flowing. Cross-border sewage spills have
been an issue in South County for decades.
California’s courts routinely impose punitive damages awards
against polluters that knowingly release hazardous substances
which contaminate groundwater. But California has been slow to
follow the nationwide trend favoring punitive damages awards
against polluters that knowingly fail to remediate their past
hazardous releases before those releases spread and cause
greater harm.
A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to provide
billions of dollars to improve access to clean water in tribal
lands. One of the senators who introduced the bill, Sen.
Michael Bennet, D-Colo., wrote in the foreword of a report
about tribal water access within the Colorado River Basin that
one estimate states 48% of households within tribal lands lack
clean water or sufficient sanitation.
Last week, the House of Representatives approved legislation
that would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to establish national drinking water standards for
regulating harmful forever chemicals, known as per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that are linked to kidney,
liver and other health problems. … The bill now awaits
consideration in the U.S. Senate. There’s just one problem,
however, as the collective water sector opposes the bill.
The California Water Environment Association (CWEA) selected
Eshani Jha from Lynbrook High School in San Jose as
California’s first place winner of the Stockholm Junior Water
Prize, 2021. Jha’s project, Thiol Functionalized and
Manganese Doped Biochar for the Removal of Toxic Organic and
Inorganic Contaminants from the Water was selected as the
first-place project for California out of 21 papers submitted.
Jha, one of 43 state winners announced by the Water Environment
Federation (WEF), represented California in the national finals
in June where she was declared as the U.S. winner.
Baby salmon are dying by the thousands in one California river,
and an entire run of endangered salmon could be wiped out in
another. Fishermen who make their living off adult salmon, once
they enter the Pacific Ocean, are sounding the alarm as
blistering heat waves and extended drought in the U.S. West
raise water temperatures and imperil fish from Idaho to
California. Hundreds of thousands of young salmon
are dying in Northern California’s Klamath River as
low water levels brought about by drought allow a parasite to
thrive, devastating a Native American tribe whose diet and
traditions are tied to the fish.
Here, in California’s far south-east, there’s no escaping the
noxious air. The haze that hovers over Imperial [County] is a
peculiar blend – incorporating pesticide plumes, exhaust fumes,
factory emissions, and something curious: vaporized dust rising
from the nearby Salton Sea. … It is California’s largest
lake, an ecological oasis, a former mecca for famous
vacationers, and a muddy sink for agricultural runoff. For
decades, it has been shrinking, exposing a powdery arsenic-,
selenium- and DDT-laced shoreline that wafts into the
atmosphere.
On a jog in her El Segundo neighborhood, Corrie Zupo’s head
hurt and her eyes watered. She blamed the symptoms on noxious
fumes from the nearby Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which
is undergoing at least a month of repairs after discharging 17
million gallons of raw sewage into the ocean on July 11. Other
residents have complained of rashes, nausea and burning eyes.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment
Department, which runs the plant, announced that it would
reimburse El Segundo residents for air conditioners if they
stay in their homes, or hotel vouchers if they would rather
leave.
Environmental lawyers are urging a California appellate court
to overturn a pair of district court rulings that handed
significant victories to the Squaw Valley ski resort as it
moves forward with expansion plans critics say will
dramatically increase traffic in the area and harm Lake Tahoe’s
air and water quality. Justice Vance W. Raye, chief of the
Third District Court of Appeals, appeared sympathetic to their
arguments this week that Placer County may have violated a
public records law in approving part of an environmental
analysis and mitigation plan at the home of the 1960 Winter
Olympics.
In a draft report, California says only extremely low levels of
two toxic “forever chemicals” are safe for humans to drink in
water. A July 22 draft report from the California Environmental
Protection Agency would set a science-based safe level—called
a public health goal—of 0.007 part per trillion for
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 1 ppt for
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. The two
compounds are the two most common per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS)—a group of environmentally persistent
synthetic molecules—found as contaminants in drinking water.
California took a major step towards regulating dangerous
“forever chemicals” in drinking water by proposing new health
limits for two of the most pervasive contaminants. State
environmental health officials recommended goals of
one part per trillion and less — a minuscule amount 70 times
smaller than the federal government’s non-binding guideline for
drinking water nationwide.
The House on Wednesday approved a bill setting deadlines for
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement drinking
water regulations for so-called forever chemicals.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called
PFAS, are widely used, man-made compounds that are found in
manufacturing and consumer products like Scotchguard,
flame-resistant materials, nonstick cooking surfaces and
firefighting foam used on military bases since the 1940s.
The water is back on at a South Bay apartment complex, but a
big question remains: what was in the pipes from which tenants
obtained gallons and gallons of water to use in their bathrooms
and kitchens and possibly to drink? Tenants at the Foxdale
Apartments were without water from Saturday until Monday after
a buried water main broke. During that time, some tenants
tapped into an emergency fire sprinkler supply line to get
water.
The EPA has reported several dog and livestock deaths due to
toxic algae blooms found in riverbeds. A researcher from UNR is
examining what conditions cause these blooms. … [Joanna
Blaszczak, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada,
Reno,] has received a $200,000 grant from the National Science
Foundation. Her research will be focused on three rivers in
Northern California and will be conducted through 2023.
Lawmakers and regulators are increasingly mobilizing behind
efforts to crack down on so-called forever chemicals as
pressure to find a solution swells to a fever pitch. At an
inaugural conference pegged to issues around per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances, EPA Administrator Michael Regan
vowed to “follow the science” on the chemicals and offer a
strong federal partner to local governments.
A South Carolina federal judge issued an order late last
week allowing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, the Trump
administration’s “waters of the United States” rule, to remain
in place while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
Army Corps of Engineers work on rulemakings to revoke and
replace it. The final rule was issued in April 2020, redefining
“waters of the United States” and narrowing the scope of Clean
Water Act jurisdiction.
For years, petroleum hydrocarbons have been seeping from the
groundwater beneath the old oil tank farm property in Avila
Beach into tide pools below. Much of the source of the
pollution has been cleaned up, but an unknown amount remains.
The question now is, what should be done with it and could
over-aggressive remediation cause more harm than good?
The trickle of hydrocarbons — comprised of a mixture of
diluted, broken-down gas from the tank farm — was discovered in
May 2012 …
Residents, along with the local population of Mallard ducks,
Canada geese and coots will soon get their Legacy Park nature
preserve back. The pond, which is normally kept full most of
the year with storm runoff water, totally dried up this spring
in the middle of duckling season. The statewide drought took
its toll. Meanwhile, the construction of a new office park and
shopping center—the La Paz project—right across the street was
running into difficulties with groundwater as workers excavated
a future underground parking garage.
While algae growing in our lakes, ponds and reservoirs can be
quite visible, the algae in many of our rivers and their
tributaries is often not so obvious, lurking on the bottom of
the rivers, and clinging to rocks. Yet, some of these riverbed
blue-green algae, referred to as “cyanobacteria,” can create
algal blooms that produce toxins harmful not only to aquatic
life, but also to pets, livestock and humans. University of
Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor Joanna Blaszczak is conducting
research to identify the specific conditions conducive to
producing these blooms and their toxins…
California water inspectors have discovered evidence of algae
that could pose a risk to humans and pets at North Natomas
parks, prompting city workers to plant signs warning locals to
steer clear of the water. … The algae bloom coated the
city’s water and flood control basins, which collect and store
water run-off. The presence of algae itself isn’t unusual,
especially during a season of unprecedented droughts and
red-hot temperatures, officials said. But exposure to the
harmful algae toxins can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches
and eye irritation.
After 17 million gallons of raw sewage were discharged into the
ocean off Los Angeles beaches early Monday, county officials
waited hours before notifying the public to avoid swimming in
areas potentially affected by high levels of bacteria. The
delay occurred even though officials from the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health, which is responsible for
notifying the public, were at the Hyperion Water Reclamation
Plant in Playa del Rey during the emergency discharge procedure
that began Sunday evening and ended Monday around 4:30 a.m.,
according to interviews.
Global warming has already left its mark on the backbone of
California’s water supply, and represents a growing threat to
its first developed agricultural region, state experts have
warned in a new study. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
fuels California’s $3 trillion economy, including its $50
billion agricultural industry, sustains more than 750 plant and
animal species and supplies 27 million people with drinking
water. But global warming is likely to destabilize the
landscape that made the delta a biodiversity and agricultural
hotspot …
Caddisfly swarms along the Colorado River in Laughlin are
annoying most residents, but scientists see them as an
opportunity. Dr. Michael Cavallaro, entomologist and pest
abatement manager for Bullhead City, is working on a project to
find a permanent solution to the swarms, which have become a
nuisance for residents and businesses. He thinks the residents
should feel honored, since caddisflies swarm only in healthy
ecosystems with high-quality, clean water.
Nearly $3.25 million in federal funding was preliminarily
secured for separate project requests at the Salton Sea and the
New River on Monday, July 12, according to the office of
Congressman Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista. The funding was
part of a 2022 House Appropriations Energy and Water
Subcommittee bill that included requests of $2.546 million for
a major Salton Sea research project, $200,000 for a Salton Sea
feasibility study, and $500,000 for planning and design phases
for a potential New River restoration project, Vargas’ press
release states.
Extreme heat and wildfires are engulfing the [West] amid a
historic drought that scientists think may be the region’s
worst in at least 1,200 years. In response, some drinking water
systems are beginning to grapple with maintaining both water
supplies and water quality as they deal with potential legal
and regulatory concerns. … California contracted with
the U.S. Geological Survey to study the link between drought
and water quality … Some systems saw increases in nitrates,
arsenic, and uranium …
The Clean Water Act has traveled a successful but tortuous
path. From combustible beginnings on the Cuyahoga River;
through the Lake St. Clair wetlands; to reservoirs near the
Miccosukee; and eventually discharged (or “functionally”
discharged) off the Maui coast. With each bend, the nearly
fifty-year-old Act has proven to be not just resilient, but
among our most successful environmental laws. Much of that
success stems from an effective enforcement structure that
focuses more on treating pollutant sources rather than just
impaired waters. –Written by Sean G. Herman, an attorney with Hanson
Bridgett LLP and an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University
School of Law.
California denied 21 oil drilling permits this week in the
latest move toward ending fracking in a state that makes
millions from the petroleum industry but is seeing widespread
drought and more dangerous fire seasons linked to climate
change. … Fracking involves injecting high-pressure
water deep underground to extract oil or gas from rock. Critics
say it can pollute groundwater and contributes to climate
change.
Community members in Alameda County are outraged by the huge
amount of trash blown into the Bethany Reservoir in Alameda
County. They believed it was coming from a nearby landfill and
were demanding action. … Residents of nearby Mountain
House came with cameras to document it. They believed high
winds carried trash from the Altamont Landfill.
The Salton Sea has been a health problem for decades with
longtime inaction from agencies charged with actually doing
something about it. But there is recent movement on a couple
wetland projects around the lake.
City officials have placed warning signs at four North Natomas
parks where California water inspectors have found signs of
algae blooms that can be harmful to people and pets.
Algae blooms are not uncommon during warm spells when there is
stagnant water around, but the toxins in the bacteria
they produce can be harmful.
California has a long history of treating public water as a
commodity instead of a human right and entrusting it to
industries that fail to manage it responsibly. Water is a
public trust resource that needs protection. The federal Water
Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability Act would
put water systems back in the hands of the people who depend on
it for life and livelihood. This bill [S. 11] would set aside
$35 billion annually to shore up drinking and wastewater
systems. It would ensure no one lacks access to water because
they can’t afford it. -Written by Alexandra Nagy, California director
for Food & Water Watch.
A year-and-a-half after Orange County began shutting down
groundwater wells because of PFAS contamination, the first
treatment plant to remove the carcinogens is up and operating
in Fullerton, with two dozen more to be built throughout the
north and central parts of the county. Miniscule quantities of
PFAS, a family of chemicals used for waterproofing and
stain-proofing among other uses, have been found to be toxic…
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Regional
Board”) is in the process of issuing a new permit for water
discharges through the municipal separate storm sewer systems
(“MS4”) in Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The MS4
permit is an important document that regulates how
municipalities can allow stormwater to flow through the MS4
system and out into natural (or modified) waterways. Stormwater
typically contains high quantities of pollutants, including
toxic metals, bacteria, and other materials picked up from
buildings and streets during wet weather events, all of which
harms both the ecosystem and human health.
Hot temperatures have many headed straight to local waterways
to cool off, but experts say high heat and a bad drought this
year can be ideal conditions for harmful algae. It’s an issue
that’s not always top of mind. … According to state
data, popular waterways in the immediate Sacramento area are
safe. People headed to the American River or Folsom Lake for
the Fourth of July are in the clear. But the state labels
part of Discovery Bay near San Francisco as a danger area, with
a warning not to swim or touch the scum on the water.
The Long Beach City Council is set to weigh in on the next
phase of the planned Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater
Treatment Facility … The project will include both
construction of the facility and a new wetland habitat area,
though the contract with Shimmick will just be for the
stormwater treatment site; a contract to build the wetlands
will come to the panel at a later date.
The beaches are back, and according to research taken from the
coastal watchdogs at Heal the Bay, there are plenty of
excellent Southland beaches for people to enjoy this summer.
Even so, a handful of beaches across California, including a
perennial “beach bummer” in Los Angeles County, leave something
to be desired. Heal the Bay’s complete 2020-2021 Beach Report
Card covers the entirety of the west coast, from the Pacific
Northwest down to Tijuana, and includes brief water quality
updates from along the coast. It also features grades on
freshwater sources and swimming holes, such as those along the
LA River.
With a vast portion of the United States coping with
exceptional drought this summer, conditions are ripe in many
places for harmful algal blooms, bringing additional threats to
already-stressed water systems and increased health risks for
communities. The blooms are in large part fueled by phosphorus
and nitrogen runoff from industrial agricultural operations,
which provide a feast of nutrients for cyanobacteria — a group
of aquatic, photosynthetic bacteria that grow out of control
and overwhelm their ecosystems in the presence of excess
nutrients.
The Clean Currents Coalition – a global network of local
projects – is on a mission to clean up the world’s rivers,
using scientific solutions to address the problem of plastic
waste … Pollution doesn’t respect international
boundaries, making plastic waste in the Tijuana River Estuary,
which forms the border between the US and Mexico, everyone’s
problem. As the river is the sole source of clean drinking
water for many people, California and Mexico-based
environmental non-profit WILDCOAST, has erected a “Brute
Boom” across the Los Laureles Canyon to collect debris.
SCV Water’s response to removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl
(PFAS) chemicals in the local groundwater supply
received top honors as the Best Environmental Project from the
American Public Works Association (APWA) — High
Desert Branch. … PFAS chemicals are manmade and can
cause adverse health effects. Officials recognized the
opening of the plant, which is adjacent to the William S. Hart
Pony Baseball & Softball fields, in early
October. The $6 million facility restores up to 6,250
gallons of water per minute.
Mission Springs Water Districtis facing as much as
$9.4 million in fines from state and regional water
regulators after district officials failed to report
a nearly million-gallon spill from a breached
wastewater percolation pond as required, and failed to
notify state authorities that a temporary holding pond had
been constructed. District officials waited two weeks to
notify state authorities that last Oct. 3,
large amounts of treated wastewater
gushed through Desert Hot Springs residential streets …
California’s existing release reporting requirements, which are
in addition to federal requirements, are viewed by many as
vague and often require companies to make difficult judgment
calls to determine if small spills or threatened releases must
be reported. In workshops held on June 22 and 24, 2021 the
California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) previewed
amendments to its Hazardous Material Release Reporting
regulations that aim to clarify when a release or threatened
release of a hazardous substance must be reported.
Many water utilities face challenges from a nation-wide
shortage of chlorine and other chemicals for water and
wastewater treatment and are struggling to locate necessary
supplies or alternative sources. The Environmental Protection
Agency administers a program under Safe Drinking Water Act
section 1441 that allows water agencies to obtain priority
access to these chemicals.
For the past three weeks, construction crews working 24 hours a
day have been stacking boulders across a river in eastern
Contra Costa County, building what may be California’s biggest
defense yet against the drought: a nearly 800-foot-long rock
wall. The state’s emergency project, which was wrapping up
Thursday, is designed to prevent San Francisco Bay’s salty
flows from pushing into the coveted freshwater supplies of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Water levels in the delta’s
rivers and sloughs have dropped after two dry years, putting
water for almost 30 million Californians at risk of saltwater
intrusion. The plan is to keep the wall up until November…
Competition for the title of most surreal location in America
is hot, but the Salton Sea in California is undoubtedly a
contender. And the eerie, post-apocalyptic feel of this bizarre
body of water and the ghost-town settlements on its shoreline
has been captured in a stunning newly released photo series by
Julian Lennon, the son of Beatles legend John. The landlocked
body of water is one of the world’s biggest inland seas and at
226ft (69m) below sea level one of the lowest places on earth.
As science and policy director for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
and a 14-year resident of Carpinteria, I appreciated Bob
Franco’s June 16 letter to the editor, “Don’t drink the water,”
for its effectiveness in raising awareness about an important
pollution issue impacting Carpinteria’s local waterways.
Channelkeeper is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to
protecting and restoring the Santa Barbara Channel and its
watersheds. -Written by Ben Pitterle, Channelkeeper’s interim
executive director and science and policy director.
East Orosi is one step closer to achieving clean drinking
water, a basic human right that is denied to many of
California’s disadvantaged communities, particularly in the
rural San Joaquin Valley. Last Tuesday, the Tulare County
Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to take steps to become
the manager of the small agricultural community’s water board.
That means the town of about 500 will soon have the financial
resources and technical know-how to gain clean water.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported a
chlorine shortage in California that may affect some ACWA
member agencies’ operations. An electrical failure at Westlake
Chemical in mid-June caused the chlorine supply disruption to
water and wastewater facilities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho
and parts of California. Today, state and local utilities
attended a meeting with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Water Security Division and Region 9 to express their
concerns relating to the chlorine shortage and shipments.
When wildfires blaze across the West, as they have with
increasing ferocity as the region has warmed, the focus is
often on the immediate devastation — forests destroyed,
infrastructure damaged, homes burned, lives lost. But about
two-thirds of drinking water in the United States originates in
forests. And when wildfires affect watersheds, cities can face
a different kind of impact, long after the flames are out.
A muddy flavor in your tap water lately may not be the product
of your imagination. An algae bloom is causing water
sourced from the Sacramento and American rivers to impart a
“musty” taste to tap water. The bacterial bloom generates
something called geosmin, which is harmless for consumption but
is easily detectable due to its earthy smell and taste.
Help may be on the horizon for the about 700 residents of East
Orosi dependent on bottled water. The Tulare County Board of
Supervisors has directed county staff to begin negotiating the
scope of work and a budget … to take control of the East
Orosi Community Services District public water system.
… East Orosi’s water has been plagued with nitrates from
fertilizers and coliform bacteria since at least 2003, for
which their water system has been cited for violating the
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) both contaminants dozens of
times.
Something is off about Sacramento’s water. It smells and tastes
a little “earthy,” residents are saying — an effect of
compounding climate change crises: extreme heat, little to no
precipitation and a historic drought that has gripped the
region for the better part of a decade. Up and down the state
of California, rivers, streams and reservoirs are drying up. In
Sacramento, that has led to an increase in the concentration of
geosmin in its drinking water, one of two organic compounds
that give soil its characteristic smell.
California is home to 109 federally recognized tribes—more than
any other state—and several more are petitioning for federal
recognition. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is
responsible for regulating water quality on tribal lands, while
the State Water Board regulates water quality for other water
systems. According to USEPA’s ECHO database, 88 tribal water
systems in California serve more than 160,000 people.
Unfortunately, some Native American communities lack access to
safe drinking water.
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and
Sonoma County Department of Environmental Health Services
advise caution for anyone who boats, fishes or swims after
harmful algal blooms (HABs) were discovered in multiple Sonoma
County rivers. Because children and dogs are most susceptible
to serious health impacts, it is recommended that they avoid
touching any suspicious-looking algal material found in the
water or along river banks.
The San Elijo Joint Powers Authority’s water reclamation
facility near San Elijo Lagoon on Manchester Avenue in
Encinitas was named “Plant of the Year” by the California Water
Environment Association, the agency announced today. The award
recognizes accomplishments in compliance, innovative practices,
cost-effectiveness and superior plant performance amongst
wastewater agencies across California.
In a new symbol of California’s worsening drought, construction
crews are putting the finishing touches on a $10 million
emergency project to build a massive rock barrier through part
of the Delta in Contra Costa County to preserve water supplies
for millions of people across the state. The 800-foot long
barrier — the size of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid laid
on its side — is essentially a rock wall, 120 feet wide, built
in water 35 feet deep. Its purpose: To block salt water from
the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay from flowing too far
east and contaminating the huge state and federal pumps near
Tracy …
Water Audit California sued the City of St. Helena this week
over its management of water. The watchdog group says the city
is violating its “public trust” responsibilities relating to
the Napa River and its aquatic habitat. It cites the city’s
policies on groundwater pumping, well permitting, and water
consumption by vineyards and wineries.
Zone 7 directors have approved spending $2 million to design a
facility to treat potential human health threats in Cope Lake’s
water should chemicals accumulate above legally acceptable
levels. Those chemicals are called per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAs and PFOAs), which are found in consumer
products, such as cookware, food packaging and stain
repellents. They make their way into drinking water sources.
Several locations along the American River north of Sacramento
are showing above-average levels of E. coli, according to the
Central Valley Water Board. KCRA 3 spoke with health officials
in Sacramento County on Friday about the concerning levels of
E. coli.
[T]he problem goes way beyond grazing. Dozens of tributaries
and hundreds of springs feed Upper Klamath Lake, supplying
plenty of good, clean water. A century of mismanagement has
caused erosion of high phosphorus soils that accumulate in the
bottom of Upper Klamath Lake. Now, annual algae blooms kill
entire generations of young endangered fish every year.
… All the problems in the Upper Klamath Lake flow
downstream, affecting endangered salmon in the Klamath River as
it runs to the Pacific Ocean. The Karuk, a Klamath River tribe,
are worried that this could be another year marked by a
historic fish kill.
A hacker accessed the computer system of a Bay Area water
treatment plant in January and deleted programs the plant used
to treat drinking water, a senior intelligence official
confirmed Thursday. NBC News
first reported Thursday that the unidentified hacker
used a former plant employee’s username and password to gain
entry to the unidentified Bay Area water treatment facility on
Jan. 15.
Does your tap water taste a little off right now? Sacramento
city leaders say the drought is probably to blame. The city
says they have been recently getting some calls with people
reporting an “earthy” taste to their tap water. Some people
have also been reporting an off smell as well.
Hot temperatures are drawing people to the cool water of
Tiscornia Beach, but what many there may not know, there are
high levels of E.coli found in the water. … Robert
Metcalf is a retired professor who’s taught microbiology at
Sacramento State University for 42 years. He said finding
E. coli in the water means there is recent fecal
contamination. Mary Beth Metcalf, a retired clinical
professor of pediatrics from UC Davis, said E.coli leads
to other infections.
The Senate voted 55-43 Wednesday to confirm Radhika Fox as head
of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom
Carper (D-Del.), in remarks on the Senate floor, praised Fox’s
record and highlighted the organizations endorsing her for the
position. These include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
Family Farm Alliance and the U.S. Water Alliance, where she
previously served as CEO.
While the saying, “too much of a good thing,” sounds pleasant
at its core, water managers take that very seriously when it
comes to managing salt, or salinity, in the water supply. Water
managers across California are responsible for providing a
clean and safe drinking water supply, and salinity management
plays a critical role in the quality of water that is provided
to communities. While salt is composed of natural elements
commonly found in soil and water, how is salinity managed to
support a diversified water resource portfolio?
President Biden’s “Build Back Better” initiative proposes to
invest $111 billion in rebuilding and modernizing drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as funding other
water quality-related priorities, including addressing per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water
supplies. Legislation proposed in both the Senate and
House of Representatives in the 117th Congress (2021-2022)
reflects a bipartisan effort to translate the President’s goals
into national policy.
The first glimpse of the water driving down Highway 86 is
breathtaking. From some angles, you can’t even see the other
side of California’s biggest lake. It seems out of place in the
vast desert expanse of the Imperial Valley, just north of the
Mexican border, where it’s over 100 degrees for much of the
year. But then the car door opens, and it hits: the
overwhelming smell of rotten eggs. At the shoreline is a
sign saying not to touch the toxic water.
The drought facing the Western United States is
bad. Really bad. It’s become worse faster than the last
one. As more of the United States suffers from drought
conditions and water supplies are diminishing, water
demands are rising. Smaller water supplies combined with
increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and other effects
of climate change pose an enormous threat by creating a
feedback loop that exacerbates drought conditions and
increases wildfire risk across the United States.
With harmful algal blooms (HABs) being forecast to increase, in
part due to the effects of climate change, more water systems
can expect to face problematic cyanotoxin conditions more
frequently and for more days per year. In its efforts to
mitigate the negative effects of such increases, the U.S. EPA
has enhanced its information resources for water utilities by
issuing a new Cyanotoxins Preparedness and Response Toolkit.
As California plunges into another “historic” drought, people
across the state are worried about water shortages. But the
last drought never really ended for some Californians, like
residents of East Porterville that still have emergency water
storage tanks in their front yards. With the state’s current
financial surplus, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity
to fund drought preparedness and water safety in communities
that have lived for decades with shallow and contaminated
drinking water wells, inadequate water treatment, and other
infrastructure failures… -Written by Carolina Garcia, a resident of Tombstone
Territory, and Sandra Chavez, a member of the
Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER)
Advisory Group.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of
Engineers announced their intent to revise the reach of the
federal Clean Water Act by changing the definition of “waters
of the United States.” This move, announced yesterday, would
reverse the Navigable Waters Protection Rule adopted during the
Trump administration, which itself replaced a 2015 revision by
the Obama administration.
The Biden administration began legal action Wednesday to repeal
a Trump-era rule that ended federal protections for hundreds of
thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways,
leaving them more vulnerable to pollution from development,
industry and farms. The rule — sometimes referred to as “waters
of the United States” or WOTUS — narrowed the types of
waterways that qualify for federal protection under the Clean
Water Act. It was one of hundreds of rollbacks of environmental
and public health regulations under President Donald Trump, who
said the rules imposed unnecessary burdens on business.
California’s drought highlights the importance of an
appointment sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk – filling the
final seat on the State Water Resources Control
Board. This is a critical agency appointment at a
critical time. The drought highlights many inequities in
California water policy. Disadvantaged communities in Stockton
face the prospect of a drought summer plagued by harmful algae
blooms in Delta rivers. Those algae outbreaks, which can
harm children and kill pets, are caused by excessive nutrients
and inadequate freshwater flow. -Written by Belinda Faustina, a strategic advisor
with Los Angeles Waterkeeper, and Barbara
Barrigan-Parilla, the executive director of Restore the
Delta.
The Union has printed several opinion pieces by Idaho-Maryland
Mine Project opponents. The majority of these columns present
“information” that’s either biased or misleading and based
neither on science nor logic. Here are the facts.
… Recent columns erroneously suggest that groundwater
impacts cannot be accurately predicted. Numerous expert
hydrogeologists and a century of mining at the Idaho-Maryland
say otherwise. … The actual conclusion is that no wells
would be drained… -Written by Ben Mossman, president of Rise Grass
Valley and CEO of Rise Gold Corp., U.S. corporations.
San Luis Obispo’s 2020 Water Quality Report shows zero
violations of health regulations. Jason Meeks is the supervisor
of the city’s water treatment plant. He has been working in
water and wastewater for nearly 22 years. Meeks said one of the
most important things for city residents to know about the 2020
Water Quality Report is that it only shows substances that were
detected in the water.
In unburned forests, the spring runoff is a glorious, annual
event. But not this year. [U.S. Forest service ecologist Liz]
Roberts and other forest experts know that the runoff will
carry an array of frightening heavy metals and ash-laden
sediment generated in the burned soils, posing danger to the
people of Glenwood Springs, who rely on Grizzly Creek and its
neighbor just to the west, No Name Creek, for drinking
water.
San Franciscans are pretty proud of their tap water.
Sourced from the Hetch Hetchy watershed in Yosemite National
Park, the complex supply system of reservoirs, tunnels,
pipelines, and treatment systems stretching from the Sierra to
San Francisco is uniquely almost entirely gravity fed. The San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission even boasts on its site
that their water is “among the purest water in the
world.” So the 2.7 million residents who benefit from the
supposed crème de la crème of tap water may be surprised to
learn that the water coming out of the faucets in SoCal has
been named the best tasting tap water in America, on qualities
including odor and “mouth feel.”
In victories that make the state’s drought even crueler, two
Southern California water districts have won the top prizes for
best tap water in the U.S. at an international tasting contest.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California finished
first and Santa Ana took second place for the nation’s Best
Municipal Water on Saturday at the 31st annual Berkeley Springs
International Water Tasting in West Virginia. Those two
competitors finished first in the category in 2008 and 2018,
respectively. Third place went to the Southwest Water Authority
of Dickinson, in North Dakota.
Water is weird – and yet so important. In fact, it is one of
the most unusual molecules on Earth. It boils at a temperature
it shouldn’t. It expands and floats when it is in the
solid-state. Its surface tension is higher than it should be.
Now, new research published in the journal Nature has
added one other equally strange property to water’s list of
oddities. The implications of this new revelation could have a
remarkable impact on all water-related processes from water
purification to drug manufacturing.
Citing numerous “concerns” with the Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 401 water quality certification rule enacted by the
Trump Administration in 2020, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has issued a Notice of Intention to
reconsider and revise the rule. EPA’s notice states that
the new rule will be “better aligned with the cooperative
federalism principles that have been central to the effective
implementation of the Clean Water Act” and is “responsive to
the national objectives outlined in President Biden’s Executive
Order 13990.”
Recent research from the US Geological Survey (USGS) suggests
that droughts, particularly the prolonged kind happening in
parts of the US, could increase the risk of harmful arsenic
exposure for people that rely on well water. Hundreds of
millions of years ago, the baseline quality of your drinking
water may have been set in stone, literally. Arsenic is a
common groundwater contaminant, largely because of local
geology. In Maine, for instance, the formation of the
Appalachian Mountains and volcanic activity came together to
concentrate arsenic and other metals into cracks inside the
bedrock…
The ocean shoreline at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge
and Border Field State Park was closed Saturday due to
contaminated sewage water that may be moving north into the
U.S., county water authorities said. The San Diego County
Department of Environmental Health and Quality issued the
contact closure for the ocean shoreline Saturday. Ocean water
samples exceeded state health standards, DEHQ officials said.
Construction of a temporary salinity barrier on the False River
is underway after an emergency request by the Department of
Water Resources (DWR) was approved by the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB). The barrier, necessitated by worsening
drought conditions, is intended to help preserve water quality
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by reducing saltwater
intrusion. The declaration of a drought emergency made by Gov.
Gavin Newsom on May 10 suspended the requirement that a project
of this nature complete a California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) assessment.
At the May meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council, Dr. Steve
Brandt, Chair of the Delta Independent Science Board, provided
a brief background on the Delta Independent Science Board,
reported on the Board’s recently completed review on non-native
species in the Delta, and discussed the Board’s approach going
forward in light of the recent compensation issues. Also,
Dr. Laurel Larsen spotlighted a recent study looking at the
effects of the Sacramento Regional Sanitation District plant
upgrade on phytoplankton.
Oxygen levels in the world’s temperate freshwater lakes are
declining rapidly — faster than in the oceans — a trend driven
largely by climate change that threatens freshwater
biodiversity and drinking water quality. Research published
today in Nature found that oxygen levels in surveyed lakes
across the temperate zone have declined 5.5% at the surface and
18.6% in deep waters since 1980.
Too often, ocean water is laced with sewage and pollutants,
affecting how safe beaches are for swimming and surfing –
that’s the message of this year’s Clean Water Report released
Tuesday, May 25, by the Surfrider Foundation. …
[T]he report highlights inefficiencies in sewer
infrastructure and a need to stop urban runoff before it
reaches the coast, both main contributors to dirty water that
plagues the country’s coastlines.
Hidden from view when driving by is the [Rise Gold]
mine that is filled with water contaminated with
byproducts of hard rock mining. The water now forms a murky
lake several hundred yards wide. Rise Gold plans to pump out
3.6 million gallons of water every single day for six months
and after that another 1.2 million gallons a day for up to 80
years from this site. Let that sink in. Get your mind
fully around this. This is real. They will dump this water
into the little creek alongside the site and send it on its way
down Wolf Creek to the Feather River to the Sacramento River to
San Francisco Bay … -Written by Billy Packard.
Climate change has created new “seasons” that challenge
communities across the nation. California now has a “fire
season,” and sadly, we are embarking on harmful algal bloom
(HAB) season again. NRDC has updated its national map of
state-reported freshwater HABs, which tracks the HABs reported
by states from 2008-2020 and shows that these toxic outbreaks
are increasing across the country, making our rivers, lakes,
and beaches unsafe for swimming, boating, and drinking. Between
2008 and 2020, over 44,000 HAB events were recorded across 38
states.
In September 2012, California’s transportation agency announced
it was leading a multi-state partnership to buy more than 100
new passenger railcars, each one assembled on American soil.
Funded in part by the Obama administration’s economic stimulus
plan, the cars would start arriving in late 2015. Instead, the
project has gone badly off the rails. … Excessive levels
of lead have been found in some of the cars’ restroom water
supplies, discovered during routine testing last November, said
Caltrans spokesman Christopher Clark.
[R]esearchers collected water during heavy rainstorms from 12
streams flowing into the San Francisco Bay. … Microscopic
fibers and black rubbery fragments were the most common
microparticles, while natural debris, glass, paint and wool
were only minor components. Then, the team identified a subset
of plastic- or rubbery-looking fragments as being made mostly
of plastic polymers or other synthetic materials, and many of
the black rubbery particles originated from tires.
It was a question asked of panelists discussing the Salton Sea
on Tuesday, May 25. State and local officials were asked a
number of questions about the drying sea during a one-hour
online forum. The Red Hill Bay project that stalled after
breaking ground in 2015 was one of the topics panelists
discussed.
Malibu residents voiced concerns about a large algae bloom in
Malibu Lagoon at the Monday, May 24, Malibu City Council
meeting, with one requesting the city demand California State
Parks to do something about the lagoon—which public speakers
said could breach as soon as the early morning of Wednesday,
May 26. Malibu Lagoon has previously been plagued by algal
blooms; in 2018, one large bloom choked native plants and
fish—which suffocated, died and floated to the surface in a
massive, smelly die-off.
The Kern River Conservancy received a $23,000 grant to study
whether last year’s Sequoia Complex Fire harmed the water
quality in the wild and scenic section of the Kern River. The
Virginia and Alfred Harrell Foundation awarded the grant to the
non-profit conservancy, Gary Ananian, the conservancy’s founder
and executive director, told the Kern Valley Sun.
[P]rivate and public stakeholders must hold Rise Gold Corp.
accountable when it promises to deliver drinkable water — a
promise it’s made — and in particular, investigate what primary
and secondary drinking water standards mean. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency, national primary drinking
water regulations are legally enforceable standards applied to
public water systems. In contrast, secondary drinking
water standards are “non-enforceable guidelines regulating
contaminants that may cause cosmetic or aesthetic effects.”
Cosmetic effects are detailed as affecting skin or teeth color,
and aesthetic effects refer to water’s taste, odor, or color.
The State Water Board recently completed a multi-year needs
assessment of the state’s safe drinking water challenges. One
big takeaway: more money is needed. The study identified a
funding gap of $4.6 billion to resolve safe drinking water
problems over the next five years. We talked to Greg Pierce—the
study’s lead researcher and associate director of the UCLA
Luskin Center for Innovation—about the findings.
When hackers penetrated a small water utility in North Carolina
three years ago that debilitated its IT systems, operators
there refused to “bow” to hackers and fork over ransom money to
make the assault stop. That 2018 cyberattack was part of what
experts say is a fast-growing and evolving threat in the water
sector and a glaring example of the type of attack — ransomware
— that earlier this month shut down the East Coast’s largest
fuel supplier, the Colonial pipeline… EPA is in the
process of collecting data from water utilities on their
cyberdefenses to assess hacking risks.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced today that ongoing drought
conditions require the Delta Cross Channel gates to remain
closed until further notice to help maintain water quality
standards. Typically, the gates are opened on weekends for
recreational purposes from May 21 through June, as well as
holiday weekends. The gates control the diversion channel near
Walnut Grove, about 30 miles south of Sacramento. Keeping the
gates closed under current drought conditions targets improving
water quality in the Sacramento River channel.
Just who is in charge of revitalization of California’s largest
lake, and why has it been so tough to solve the issues at the
Salton Sea? … There has been a lot of blame passed around by
those who own the land around and under the Salton Sea. The
biggest land owner here is the Imperial Irrigation District, or
IID. Then, the federal government. Next, the Torres-Martinez
tribe.
Growers in the Central Coast region of California produce most
of the cool-season vegetables for the U.S. from March to
mid-November. After several years of multi-cropping vegetables,
the groundwater in many of the coastal valleys has become
contaminated with nitrate. Some wells have concentrations of
nitrate several times the federal drinking water standard of 10
ppm (parts per million) nitrate-N. Rural communities that rely
on groundwater as their sole source of drinking water must
purchase bottled water or install small reverse osmosis
systems.
The deadline is looming: According to a state law adopted in
2018, the California State Water Resources Control Board has
until July 1 to adopt a standard methodology for testing
drinking water for the presence of microplastics; adopt
requirements for four years of testing and reporting of
microplastics in drinking water, including public disclosure of
the results; and accredit qualified laboratories in California
to analyze microplastics. The problem? Testing for
microplastics … is not quite ready for prime time. It is not
yet precisely clear what effects microplastics have on animals,
including humans, and at what levels they may be harmful.
In the latest chapter of California’s unfolding drought, state
officials are planning to build a giant rock wall across a
river in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to save the
vital freshwater estuary from San Francisco Bay’s saltwater.
The emergency measure is a page from last decade’s drought when
the delta, a maze of sloughs and man-made channels east of the
Bay Area, was at risk of becoming too salty to provide water to
the nearly 30 million Californians who depend on it. As in
2015, the freshwater rivers that feed the 1,100-square-mile
delta have gotten so low that they no longer counter the
brackish flows that push in from the bay.
More wildfires. Hotter days. Drought. Sea-level rise. Those
conditions are an increasing reality in California, which is
steadily becoming an altered state. But if the grimmest
predictions of experts about our state and climate change
become true, the conditions will become far worse.
A state appeals court has upheld California’s cleanup standards
for a cancer-causing chemical that was added to pesticides and
has polluted groundwater in the Central Valley, rejecting
challenges by manufacturers that may have to pay the costs. The
State Water Resources Control Board’s 2017 mandate for removing
nearly all TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) from drinking water was
contested by the California Manufacturers and Technology
Association, representing Dow Chemical Co. and Shell Oil, which
included the chemical in worm-killing fumigants widely used by
farmers through the 1980s.
A group of protesters gathered at Sugarman’s Corner in downtown
Klamath Falls on Saturday, preparing to welcome a 25-car
caravan of mostly Klamath Tribal members calling for solutions
to the Klamath Basin’s water crisis. A man walked by the
demonstrators, eyeing their signs with statements like “Peace
and Healing in the Klamath Basin,” “Water Justice is Social
Justice” and “Undam the Klamath.”
Construction on 8 miles of water pipeline that will be serve as
life-blood for the Pure Water Soquel Project, is set to begin
on May 24 in Santa Cruz. Three distinct components of building
are set to take place during the next several months. From late
May until June 15 crews will work around California Street,
from the Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility to Laurel
Street. After that, and until around July 6, construction will
take place on Laurel Street to Chestnut Street. The third
scheduled construction phase will run from July 6 through Aug.
12 on Chestnut to the west end of the Laurel Street Bridge.
Nancy Smith remembered that children had called it “the sick
land” — the wedge of property alongside the 110 Freeway where a
dry cleaning facility had laundered aprons and uniforms for
decades across from a Lincoln Heights elementary school.
… Decades after the old Welch’s laundry was shuttered,
California regulators worked to clean up the soil and check the
groundwater for the chemicals used there — volatile
organic compounds such as tetrachloroethylene that could damage
the human liver and nervous system and have
been tied to an increased risk of cancer. The Department
of Toxic Substances Control oversaw a cleanup effort that
lasted for years and has continued to monitor groundwater at
the site.
The Salton Sea continues to be a big talker when it comes to
lithium, but a long problem remains in and around the sea when
it comes to toxic air. During our extensive coverage of the
Salton Sea, we learned that toxic air is not only coming from
dried-up parts of the sea, but other parts of the sea are now
contributing to the toxicity. “It is not just the toxic
elements that have been trapped by the water and now exposed as
the sea recedes,” explained Frank Ruiz, Salton Sea Director
with Audubon California. Ruiz has been working with researchers
who have been studying the toxic levels at the Salton Sea.
May is American Wetlands Month and this year also marks the
50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance. This intergovernmental treaty is
focused on the conservation and wise use of important wetlands
and their resources. … Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine
Research Reserve … provides habitat for a diversity
of wildlife species, including more than 100 species of fish,
500 species of invertebrates, and the region’s iconic southern
sea otters. … Tomales Bay is a marine-coastal
wetland consisting of estuaries, eelgrass beds, sand dune
systems, and tidal marshes.
When Sandra Chavez’ mother discovered she had stage four cancer
last year, one of Sandra’s first thoughts was about their
water. Her family’s private well is contaminated with nitrates
and Chavez wondered if years of drinking the water could have
caused her mother’s sickness. Chavez and her family have relied
on bottled water since they found out their well water was
unsafe in 2015. But sometimes they don’t have enough and are
forced to drink the contaminated water. So when Chavez
found out about a new program providing free bottled water
delivery for families with nitrate-contaminated wells, she was
frustrated she hadn’t been contacted.
AB-377, is a proposed state Assembly bill titled Water Quality:
Impaired Waters. The premise of this legislation seems to be
that local authorities are responsible for all the dirty water
in local waterways. While the goal of “cleaning up the water”
is commendable the proposed solution is problematic. The Lompoc
City Council discussed a staff request to oppose this
legislation on May 4; the staff explains that “Assembly Bill
(AB) 377 seeks to ensure California’s waterways are drinkable,
fishable and swimmable by 2050.” -Written by Ron Fink, a Lompoc resident.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water infrastructure,
drought response, and climate resilience proposal
includes $220 million for the Salton Sea, and Assembly
member Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, applauded the announcement.
Garcia, chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and
Wildlife, stated in a press release from his office that the
funding would maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate
economic relief to the community.
Chula Vista resident and Imperial Beach lifeguard Lillian
Burkhart still remembers the sting on her skin after surfing in
Imperial Beach waters one day last summer. Within 24 hours, she
fell ill with a gastrointestinal infection, she said.
… Burkhart’s experience is commonplace and a reminder of
the decades-long struggle to address the recurring sewage
spills from Tijuana that pollute the South Bay shoreline.
As California slowly emerges from the depths of the COVID-19
pandemic, one remnant left behind by the statewide lockdown
offers a sobering reminder of the economic challenges still
ahead for millions of the state’s residents and the water
agencies that serve them – a mountain of water debt.
… Our latest article in Western Water explores the
hurdles to helping consumers, how some water agencies have
devised workarounds and how far more lasting solutions remain
out of reach.Western Water is just one of the publications
produced by our journalism team…
The North Marin Water District failed to adequately study
whether there will be enough water for endangered fish in
Lagunitas Creek if it builds a new well in West Marin, an
environmental group alleges. The well is intended to address
worsening saltwater contamination in the water supply. Save Our
Seashore, a nonprofit in Inverness, filed an appeal against the
project with the Marin County Planning Commission. … The
commission is expected to hold a hearing on the issue on May
24.
In 2020, the Salton Sea was described by Palm Springs Life
Magazine as “the biggest environmental disaster in California
history.” With the largest lake in California holding such a
bleak title, it’s amazing how obscure its legacy is. Over
spring break, we decided to go on a road trip to visit an
eccentric settlement in the middle of the lower Colorado
desert, known as a Slab City. This settlement is most well
known for being a site of post-apocalyptic garbage art and a
home for colorful nomads. Due to its libertarian ethos, it is
billed as the “last free place in America.”
Every spring, California farmers brace themselves for signs of
wriggling organisms destined to launch multigenerational
attacks on their crops. Many insect species survive the
winter as eggs or larvae and then emerge in early spring as the
first generation to feed and breed on millions of acres of
California vineyards, orchards and row crops. Climate change
will complicate farmers’ efforts to control these pests in
complex and unpredictable ways. The most alarming
consequence is apt to be ramping up pesticide applications,
with broad implications for the safety of California’s
waterways—just as the state gears up for a future filled with
drought.
Kern County ag producers are making changes big and small —
from redeveloping entire orchards to fine-tuning their
irrigation systems — as they try to adjust to worsening
drought conditions across the Central Valley. Strategies vary
depending on access to water and ability to shift irrigation to
different fields. Some landowners are trying to hold onto as
much water as they can in case prices rise later in the year.
More than 58,000 fires scorched the United States last year,
and 2021 is on track to be even drier. What many people don’t
realize is that these wildfires can do lasting damage beyond
the reach of the flames – they can contaminate entire drinking
water systems with carcinogens that last for months after the
blaze. … Since 2017, multiple fires have
impacted drinking water systems … including the CZU
Lightning Complex, Camp and Tubbs fires in California.
Thousands of private wells have been affected too.
Just a short drive south of Palm Springs, you’ll find
California’s largest lake. The drive along the circumference of
the Salton Sea reveals surprising, majestic views unlike
anything you’d expect to find in the desert. But for its
impressive sights and size, the Salton Sea is not a household
name, least of all in the very state it’s found. These days, if
you travel along the increasingly shrinking shorelines, you’ll
see suffering communities dotted with abandoned homes and lined
with silent streets.
At its next meeting Wednesday, the Ukiah City Council will
consider a recommendation to spend more than $175,000 on a
system to help control algae in its recycled water system, also
called the Purple Pipe. According to the staff report prepared
for the May 5 meeting, “due to high nutrient content and local
climate, the water quality of recycled water within the storage
reservoirs can become negatively impacted by algal blooms.
Algae can become problematic once it is in the distribution
system and lead to clogging of filters or irrigation
equipment.”
Pregnant women exposed to too much nitrate in their drinking
water are at greater risk of giving birth prematurely,
according to a Stanford University study of more than 1.4
million California births. Agricultural runoff containing
fertilizer and animal waste can greatly increase the nitrate
level in groundwater, which naturally contains a low level of
the chemical. … The strongest effects of nitrate on
prematurity risk were seen in California’s agricultural
regions, including the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland
Empire, the study noted. A higher proportion of births in
these areas are to Hispanic women than in other regions of the
state …
Gov. Doug Ducey has asked the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
to address groundwater contamination near military
installations in Arizona. In an Apr. 27 letter to Secretary of
Defense Lloyd Austin, Gov. Ducey requested DOD to identify and
treat water in Arizona contaminated in the areas surrounding
four DOD installations and to prevent additional human exposure
to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from other DOD
facilities in Arizona, which impact the groundwater. … These
bases are located in the two most populous metropolitan areas
in Arizona and each is surrounded by thousands of Arizonans who
rely on clean groundwater for drinking water purposes.
When Ramona Hernandez turns on her kitchen faucet in El Adobe,
an unincorporated town just a few miles southeast of
Bakersfield, the water that splashes out looks clean and
inviting. But she doesn’t dare drink it. … Drinking the
tap water in this tiny community of dusty ranches and unpaved
roads could expose Hernandez to arsenic. So, for years, she and
her husband, Gerardo, have shuttled twice a week to the nearby
town of Lamont to load up on bottled water. At a cost of about
$80 a month, it’s enough for drinking and cooking.
A familiar scene has returned to California: drought. Two
counties are currently under emergency declarations, and the
rest of the state could follow. It was only four years ago when
a winter of torrential rain finally wrestled the state out of
its last major drought, which had dragged on for five years and
left thousands of domestic wells coughing up dust. That
drinking-water crisis made national headlines and helped shine
a light on another long-simmering water crisis in California:
More than 300 communities have chronically unsafe drinking
water containing contaminants that can come with serious health
consequences, including cancer.
In 2021, access to running water and clean drinking water is a
given for most Americans. The Census Bureau has even considered
dropping a question on plumbing access from the U.S. census
questionnaire. But many of the nation’s tribes still lack
running water, access to clean water, and even flushing
toilets. Native American households are 19 times more likely
than white households to lack indoor plumbing, according to the
U.S. Water Alliance, and more likely to lack piped water
services than any other racial group. That problem is at an
inflection point for the Navajo Nation and 29 other tribes in
the Colorado River Basin, which stretches from the Rocky
Mountains to Mexico.
On Thursday the U.S. Senate voted to pass S. 914, the
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act
(DWWIA). It is the first infrastructure bill approved by
the Senate this Congress. The bipartisan, comprehensive clean
water and drinking water infrastructure legislation will
authorize strong annual water infrastructure investment to help
boost total federal investment. In full, the legislation
authorizes more than $35 billion for drinking water and
wastewater resource development projects across the country …
Seven years ago, after the fish died, Sarah Ryan decided she
couldn’t wait any longer for help. California at the time
was in the depths of its worst drought in the last millennium
and its ecosystems were gasping. For Ryan, the fish kill in
Clear Lake, the state’s second largest and the centerpiece of
Lake County, was the last straw. Ryan is the environmental
director for Big Valley Rancheria, a territory of the Big
Valley Band of Pomo Indians that sits on the ancient
lake’s western shore. She and others raised alarms for several
years about increasingly dire blooms of toxic
cyanobacteria.
A little more than a week ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that
not only would California effectively ban hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking, by 2024, but the state also would work to phase
out oil extraction entirely by 2045. … It was — like the
governor’s promise last year that the state would ban the sale
of new gas-powered cars by 2035 — a sweeping pronouncement
meant to show urgency in addressing climate change while the
state he leads struggles with many of its most dire effects.
But meeting those goals requires complex regulatory
maneuvering.
