Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 1, 2007
4. Water Quality
REGULATION:
Sewage spill could cost cities nearly $1.1 million; Agency suggests fine for incident in lagoon -
Warning issued over toxic algae along Klamath River - Redding Record Searchlight
ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER:
Lancaster well's arsenic levels a shade too high - Antelope Valley Press
AG ISSUES:
Letters to the Editor: Water quality is a priority - Stockton Record
REGULATION:
Sewage spill could cost cities nearly $1.1 million; Agency suggests fine for incident in lagoon
By Matthew Rodriguez, staff writer
The spill – one of the largest in the county in recent decades – poured about 7.3 million gallons of raw sewage into the lagoon in late March and early April, killing an estimated 1,700 fish and four birds.
In a complaint issued yesterday, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board suggested a $1,095,000 fine, saying the spill had “significantly impacted water quality, including short and potentially long-term impacts.”
The spill was caused by a rupture in a 24-inch pressurized sewer main that sends sewage from the Buena Vista Pump Station to the Encina Wastewater Authority's treatment plant in
Vista owns 90 percent of the iron main and would pay that portion of a fine;
The report faulted Vista and
The report states the maximum fine that could have been imposed was $73 million. However, even adjusted for inflation, the proposed $1.1 million is higher than a $142,000 fine the board levied on
The complaint states that
Because of the prior spills into Buena Vista Lagoon, the report states, Vista and
“With knowledge of the condition of
Rita Geldert,
“It could,” she said. “I don't know what that would do with the formula yet.”
Last week, the cities submitted further information to the board, including a report on why the spill occurred. They could submit further information ahead of a hearing.
Geldert said she wants to evaluate the proposed fine with city officials before deciding how to proceed. “You always want to know what your liability is as soon as possible to plan for it,” she said. “But you want to make sure that the decision is made with all of the facts.” #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070929/news_1mi29lagoon.html
Warning issued over toxic algae along Klamath River
Redding Record Searchlight – 9/29/07
By Dylan Darling, staff writer
The news:
What’s next: State officials plan to post warning signs along close to a 200-mile stretch of river next week.
Don't touch that brightly hued
That's the warning set to be planted next week on posters from Iron Gate Dam down almost 200 river miles to where its water meets the
"The blue-green algae can produce harmful toxins," said Bob Klamt, executive officer for the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. "They can result in damage to livers and internal organs."
While the blue-green algae has bloomed in recent falls in reservoirs along the Klamath -- prompting the state to erect warning signs on their shores -- this is the first time the warnings will be posted on the free-flowing stretch of river, he said.
"We are finding blue-green algae through the entire river system," Klamt said.
High concentrations of the single-celled plant can be dangerous, he said. The regional water board deems water with more than 40,000 cells per teaspoon of water a health risk.
Samples taken by state and tribal scientists along the river have shown as much as 85,000 per spoonful.
While not all the algae on the river is toxic, it's hard to tell what is and isn't without putting samples under a microscope, said Harriet Hill, an environmental specialist with the
"Therefore, we tell people to avoid all algae-infested areas," she said.
The agencies are warning against wading or swimming in the river, as well as drinking, cooking or washing with river water.
The toxins can be especially dangerous for children and pets, Hill said.
With warning signs set to go up along the river, one of those trying to get its dams removed was in
Regina Chichizola, director of Klamath Riverkeeper, an Orleans-based environmental group, said she met with federal legislators from around Northern California and
With her, she said she brought photos showing the bright-green color of the river -- similar to antifreeze.
Chichizola is among those pushing to have dams along the river removed and cites the algae as one good reason to do so.
"You can't have these toxic reservoirs without the river becoming toxic, too," she said. #
http://search.redding.com/sp?keywords=water&serachmenu=0&image.x=16&image.y=12
ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER:
Arsenic in the well, which serves the area bounded by Avenue H, 15th Street West, Avenue K-8 and 35th Street West, between July 2006 and June averaged 0.011 parts per million, above a newly-stiffened federal standard of 0.010 parts per million that went into effect in January 2006, officials said.
"It is noteworthy that water from the impacted well never entered the distribution pipelines without blending with water from a nearby well with an arsenic level of 0.003 parts per million," Los Angeles County Waterworks District 40 said in a letter dated Wednesday. "The two wells are electrically connected in such a way that the well with higher arsenic levels turns on last and turns off first."
The blended water served to customers contained levels of arsenic lower than the level reported for the well, but the federal government bases its regulations on arsenic tests at individual wells, the letter said.
Waterworks officials said they have been working with state health officials to formally approve the blending operation that mixes water from the two wells and have been monitoring arsenic levels by taking samples frequently from the wells and a water tank since May.
"This is not an emergency," the letter said. "However, you have the right to know what happened, what you should do and what the district is doing to correct this problem."
Waterworks officials said residents need not buy bottled water or take other actions.
The federal government's limit for arsenic had been 0.050 parts per million for 50 years but was reduced to a fifth of that level in 2006. At the time, the EPA estimated that about 4,000 water systems - most serving fewer than 10,000 people and most in the
Arsenic in
A deadly poison at higher concentrations, arsenic at low levels in drinking water has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver and prostate, experts say.
The amounts of arsenic involved are minuscule: The new federal standard of 0.010 parts per million is equivalent to approximately 10 drops in 13,000 gallons of water. The EPA estimated that reducing arsenic from 0.050 parts per million to 0.010 parts per million will prevent 20 or 30 deaths a year nationwide from lung and bladder cancers.
In the
http://www.avpress.com/n/29/0929_s14.hts
AG ISSUES:
Letters to the Editor: Water quality is a priority
By Mary Jackson, Lodi District Grape Growers Association
In a Sept. 9 column in The Record ("Pollution law soft on agriculture"), Michael Fitzgerald described
In the last decade, the ag industry has become an easy target, blamed for the increase of volatile organic compounds, 70 percent of which actually are caused by vehicles.
We're all stakeholders in protecting our environment. We need to work together to create solutions to improve air and water quality.
Why would any farmer allow land to become so contaminated or toxic they wouldn't be able to grow crops or raise animals?
In
If they were polluting the land and waterways, how could the soil and water continue reaping crops?
Remember the pet food scare? Isn't that a wake-up call for how easy it would be to attack
Fruits and vegetables grown outside the
Pesticides banned in the
We believe our state needs a 25-year comprehensive water plan that brings agriculture, development and environmental interests together to discuss how to provide enough water for our population as well as projected growth for the next 25 years so we can guarantee water for all California's needs. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070930/A_OPINION02/709300309/-1/A_OPINION06
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