Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 19, 2008
4. Water Quality
GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATES:
Suit pins bad water in Tulare on dairies - Sacramento Bee
Water activists sue California; Tulare Co. group says dairy rules aren't enough - Fresno Bee
PERCHLORATE:
Perchlorate dispute may be settled soon - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
AG RUNOFF ISSUES:
Next step in agricultural runoff regulation pondered - Chico Enterprise Record
SEPTIC ISSUES:
Editorial: A loan would beat a fine for septic problems -
GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATES:
Suit pins bad water in
By Chris Bowman, staff writer
When 181 households volunteered their wells for state testing a few years ago, about 40 percent learned they were drinking unsafe amounts of nitrate, a contaminant generally linked to livestock waste.
More than 20 percent of the state-regulated public water systems in the county also failed the nitrate test. Several schools shut off drinking water fountains.
On Friday a group of residents, many of them farm laborers, filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court alleging that state water pollution regulators failed to protect their drinking water supply. They want the state to require the 1,600 dairies in the
Many of the affected families live in impoverished farm towns such as Alpaugh, Earlimart and Poplar, in the heart of
"We're talking about poor communities who are paying for water they can't drink," said Susana De Anda, a leader of the communities' anti-pollution coalition, called AGUA.
Lawyers with the nonprofit Environmental Law Foundation in
Board officials on Friday said they had not read the lawsuit. But they defended the permit and said nitrate pollution can come from septic tank drain fields and crop fertilizers – not just cow manure.
"We don't know which waste ponds are causing water quality problems, so to require every pond to be retrofitted doesn't make sense," said Ken Landau, the regional water board's assistant executive officer.
The
Nitrate is commonly found in well water throughout
Animal waste from corrals and milking parlors typically drain into retention ponds or lagoons. Dairies then flood their animal feed-crop fields with the nutrient-rich wastewater.
Nitrate from spillage and seepage from dairy waste ponds too small or inadequately sealed with clay or synthetic liners slowly migrates to groundwater, along with runoff from fields over-watered with liquid waste.
High levels of nitrates can impair the body's ability to absorb oxygen in blood, leading to serious health effects. Infants fed formula or breast milk high in nitrates can develop "blue baby syndrome," a condition that can lead to coma or death.
To prevent nitrate poisoning, many rural residents in
"We have to buy six 5-gallon jugs every two weeks ($15 a month) and still pay a $57 water bill every month," said Edgar Sanchez, 18, who lives in
Sanchez said his high school also has switched to bottled water.
Sanchez and other residents recently pressed their case before the board of the East Orosi Community Services District, their water utility.
"We told them it would be better if they lowered the water prices since we hardly used it," Sanchez said. "They said they can't do anything about it."
Laurel Firestone, an attorney and co-director of the
"They have to figure how to get money to get a safe supply of water," Firestone said.
"Even if the water utility can get money from the state or federal government to drill new wells," she added, "they can't find a safe supply underground." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/717031.html
Water activists sue California; Tulare Co. group says dairy rules aren't enough
By Mark Grossi, staff writer
The rules need to go further, immediately requiring all dairies -- not just those that are new or expanding -- to monitor underground water, according to the suit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Activists are concerned about the tons of untreated animal waste that daily comes from dairies.
"We are not against dairies," said activist Juan Gomez of Orosi, which has several dairies in the area. "We need the jobs they provide. But we are against the contamination."
Activists filed the lawsuit against the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. It challenges a new dairy water permit system that the board approved last May.
The plaintiffs are the Asociación de Gente Unida por el Agua, or AGUA, a Valley nonprofit coalition to protect water supplies, and the Environmental Law Foundation, a nonprofit legal watchdog in Oakland.
Kenneth Landau, assistant executive officer in the
Water monitoring for existing dairies will take place over a number of years as officials look at the potential problems of each operation, Landau said.
Industry representatives said the activist lawsuit will stall the toughest dairy rules in the country.
"It's truly unfortunate that these groups continue to divert public resources toward political grandstanding and away from clean water and public health," said William Van Dam, chairman of Community Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship, representing dairies across the state.
But the activists said underground monitoring was not their only concern. They said there was no requirement for protective liners beneath lagoons where animal waste is flushed. A liner, however, can be required if state officials consider it necessary.
Activists also said they are concerned about dairy owners sending manure waste to other farms. The manure is used in fertilizing crops.
"There's no tracking, no accounting for it and how it is used on the ground," said lawyer Laurel Firestone, who represents the activists.
The manure is a source of nitrate contamination in underground water, which is a problem in the Valley. Such contamination has been linked to cancer, pregnancy risks and a blood disorder called methemoglobinemia, also known as "blue-baby syndrome."
Dairy industry leaders and state officials have said it can be difficult to determine the origin of nitrate contamination. Nitrates also come from fertilizers, septic tanks, sewage plants and many other sources.
But
Two of every five private wells tested by the state in the county have nitrate contamination.
Orosi residents routinely get warnings about high nitrate readings in their tap water, activists said.
They said the costs of the contamination are being borne by the state's poorest people -- farm laborers in rural areas, such as Orosi. Residents in the area often pay up to $60 a month for tap water they cannot drink. They must pay an additional $25 to $75 a month for bottled water.
"It's time to say enough to contamination," said Susana De Anda, coordinator of AGUA. "We are being denied the basic right to clean water." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/401742.html
PERCHLORATE:
Perchlorate dispute may be settled soon
By Jason Pesick, staff writer
During the closed session portion of tonight's City Council meeting, the council will consider a "proposed settlement agreement with the county."
Councilwoman Winnie Hanson, a member of the council's perchlorate subcommittee, said she doesn't think the county and city are ready to settle.
But the other member of the subcommittee, Councilman Ed Scott said the two sides are very close to settling.
Scott said he expected an announcement today.
The two sides have come close to settling in the past - in 2006 they reached a tentative deal - but to no avail.
Bob Page, 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales' chief of staff, did not respond to a request to comment.
Also at the meeting, the council will also vote on a resolution supporting the formation of a joint powers authority including Rialto, Colton, West Valley Water District, the county and Fontana Union Water. The authority would collectively lobby for cleanup money.
In the past,
At the meeting,
The project is revitalizing some of the city's most crime- ridden, dilapidated housing.
AG RUNOFF ISSUES:
Next step in agricultural runoff regulation pondered
The next phase of regulations over water that leaves farms and enters public waterways will be pondered over the next several months as water quality officials meet with growers to ask for input.
It may be that different crops or different growing areas have different approaches.
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board will meet from 6-8 p.m. April 8 at the Durham Memorial Hall, 9319 the Midway. It's one of several meetings the agency has scheduled.
The meetings are to gather input about the long-term regulatory program.
In the past, farmers were exempt from requirements to have a permit to discharge irrigation water from their lands.
That changed and in 2003 conditional waivers were granted, at the same time requiring landowners to join a coalition that conducted water quality monitoring.
Landowners pay an assessment on their land to pay for the tests.
But that is just an interim program, with the guidelines for the long-term program to be decided in the future.
Some of the proposals call for having different requirements for different types of agriculture or for different regions that have different water quality issues.
The Water Quality Control Board also might decide to treat different farms differently, such as small operations, organic farms, nurseries, wetland, etc.
Groundwater impacts from irrigated lands is another issue to look at more closely.
Information about the current Conditional Waiver Program is available at: www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralvalley/ water_issues/irrigated_lands/index.html.
Comments on the program must be submitted by May 30. #
http://www.chicoer.com//ci_8285725?IADID=Search-www.chicoer.com-www.chicoer.com
SEPTIC ISSUES:
Editorial: A loan would beat a fine for septic problems
Redding Record Searchlight – 2/26/08
Our view: Many cities and counties offer low-interest loans to homeowners who can’t afford to fix failed septic systems.
The kind-hearted residents of the north state have a habit of refreshing one's faith in humanity. The reaction to a story this week about a widowed mother facing potential fines from
The day Barbara Dill's plight was publicized, numerous volunteers were offering money, equipment and expertise to make repairs. The charitable impulse is inspiring.
But in the big picture, there must be a more effective method of helping pinched homeowners and boosting our water quality. Rather than spurts of generosity, we need a system.
Many cities and counties around the country offer low-interest loans to residents whose failing septic systems are polluting the neighborhood but who cannot afford to fix them. In the most extreme cases, they'll even make repairs and put a lien on the property to eventually recover the cost.
That's a heavy-handed measure -- but it's downright helpful compared with red-tagging a house and fining its owner.
Jim Pedri of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's
Maybe so, but the voters passed a $5.4 billion water-quality bond in 2006 and a river of state and federal grants flows toward environmental projects. It's hard to believe that money to establish a loan fund couldn't be found somewhere.
Or that the county itself couldn't find a way to help struggling residents make repairs.
A county repair program would be good for our creeks and for our rural neighborhoods, and offering a hand up would be a heck of a lot better than kicking property owners while they're down. #
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/feb/16/a-loan-would/
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