Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 18, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Marin sewage spill to reach 300,000 gallons
The San Francisco
Drinking Water to Become More Corrosive
Discovery News
Police: Don't flush drugs unless you want to drink them
The Orange
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Marin sewage spill to reach 300,000 gallons
A southern
The Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District said it appears the leak, which began at 1 p.m. Tuesday, sprang from a potentially defective backup pipe at the agency's
Simmons said rough surf could have contributed to the break.
"We're not sure, but it could also be that that pipeline is in an extreme environment, based on heavy surf and exposure to air," said Simmons, whose district serves 18,000 residents of southern
Simmons said this particular 23-year-old pipeline is used to hold extra sewage during overflows or maintenance. When the joint in the pipeline broke Tuesday, sewage began pouring out at a rate of 200 gallons per minute.
Sewage spills have become a chronic problem in
In fact, so many spills have occurred in the county - two spills from another southern Marin County sewage agency last January dumped more than 3 million gallons of untreated and treated effluent, closing beaches and harming wildlife - that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in April ordered nine Marin County cities and sanitation districts, including Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary, to fix and upgrade decaying sewer pipes.
The orders, which did not specify a deadline for the work, could cost the districts millions in repair costs and in fines for further violations. In general, sewage spills happen when heavy rains flow into broken pipelines. From there, waves of rainwater and sewage overpower treatment plants or surge up out of manholes and into storm drains that feed into streams and bays, bringing bacteria, pathogens and industrial chemicals.
Environmental groups have sued cities and sanitation agencies around the Bay Area for sewage spills they say violate the Clean Water Act.
Simmons said his district has complied with federal short-term orders to increase maintenance and cleaning of vulnerable pipelines and immediately notify public safety agencies of spills. In addition, the district is in the midst of a $40 million, 10-year project to rehab old equipment and replace key pipelines.
Nevertheless, the EPA is likely to slap the agency with a fine that could run into the tens of thousands.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/17/BADQ1600MK.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Drinking Water to Become More Corrosive
Discovery News – 2/18/09
By Michael Reilly
Drinking water in the American west could become more toxic as a result of climate change, according to a new study, thanks in large part run-off from thousands of abandoned mine sites that pepper the region.
Global climate predictions call for conditions similar to the Dust Bowl of the 1930's to set in by the year 2050. With a burgeoning population and ever increasing need for clean water, the situation is already grim.
But it's going to get worse, according to Kirk Nordstrom of the U.S. Geological Survey in Boulder, Col. Expanding dry spells and worsening storms will flush large amounts of acid out of mine tailings and into the water supply, dragging along a suite of poisonous heavy metals in the process.
In an examination of three sites across the
Much of that water runs off into streams and rivers. A small fraction also seeps into the ground, though, where it often remains for decades before trickling back out into surface waters.
Over time, continuous precipitation will dilute the 'first flush' of surface contaminants. And as the trickle of acidic ground water meets fresh rain and snow melts, it can dilute that, too. The problems come as rain fails to materialize.
"Think of two spigots feeding the water supply," Nordstrom said. "One spigot is slightly open, a continuous supply of acid water from the ground. The other is a spigot of rain and snow. When it comes down it dilutes acid and metals in a river or lake. But if it's lessening, there's going to be relatively more acid water coming in from the groundwater."
Increasing toxicity due to acid and heavy metals is just one of a suite of problems facing water utilities in the American west, Kathleen Miller of the
"There's been a lot of work done on the impacts of climate change on water water resources, but not so much on water quality," Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute in
Gleick added that the two laws that govern water quality in the United States -- the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act -- are outdated, and don't consider the effects of climate change on the country's water supply.
"They were written 40 years ago, and there are all sorts of things they don't take into account; among them is climate change," Gleick said. "We need to revise water quality laws so some of the threats posed by climate change can be addressed."#
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/02/17/drinking-water.html
Police: Don't flush drugs unless you want to drink them
Huntington Beach
The Orange
By Jaimee Lynn Fletcher
HUNTINGTON BEACH– Police are urging residents to properly dispose of their medications to combat the effects of throwing prescription drugs in the trash or flushing them down the toilet.
A pharmaceutical disposal box has been placed in the Police Department lobby for residents who want to get rid of their medications.
The idea of a disposal bin was prompted by a study that showed a variety of pharmaceuticals were making their way into drinking water, Dove said.
An Associated Press investigation released last March showed that 41 million Americans are exposed to traces of prescription drugs in their drinking water, including mood stabilizers, sex hormones and antibiotics.
The five-day investigation showed that 24 major metropolitan areas were affected, including 18 million
Although the drugs show up in tiny amounts, measured in parts per billion or trillion, some scientists said there could be long-term effects to exposure, the AP reported.
"They just can't test for all of them," he said.
And tossing medication in the trash is not a good alternative to flushing them, he added.
"We don't want people to throw them in the trash because we do have criminals that will go through the trash…and try to sell them," he said.
Dove said prescription drugs will be collected and destroyed as part of the department's bi-annual narcotics burn.
Residents can drop off their pharmaceuticals from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. #
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-residents-drugs-2309806-trash-dove
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