[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS -WATER QUALITY- 5/04/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

May 4, 2009

 

4. Water Quality –

 

Hundreds volunteer Saturday for 'Snapshot Day' on the California coast

The San Jose Mercury News

 

O.C. water quality still poor in creeks and streams

The Orange County Register

 

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Hundreds volunteer Saturday for 'Snapshot Day' on the California coast

The San Jose Mercury News – 5/3/09

By Alia Wilson

 

SANTA CRUZ -- Across four counties and 300 miles of coastline, nearly 200 volunteers came together Saturday for the 10th annual Snapshot Day, an effort to keep California waterways picture perfect.

 

Snapshot Day allows community volunteers to learn firsthand about the condition of local streams while providing water quality data that government agencies can use in policy decisions. Volunteers participated in water quality monitoring at more than 180 river and creek sites from Morro Bay to the Marin Headlands.

 

Volunteers clustered around sites throughout Santa Cruz County, including Moore Creek where Santa Cruz Coastal Watershed Council members and interns collected water samples.

 

"This is very important as scientists because we are always wanting more data and very rarely do we get an opportunity to get data from the same sites for 10 years now," said Armand Ruby, Coastal Watershed Council executive director. "Just by having all the citizens come forward and participate is a great experience to become informed and take that knowledge throughout the community. It's an effective way to increase awareness."

 

All data collected by the volunteers goes to the State Water Resources Control Board. The board uses it to create a listing of how the water body is doing.

 

"The county will look into those sources and make informed policies especially if a surfer gets sick or domoic acid affects pinnipeds or other marine life

 

in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary," said Nik Strong-Cvetich of the Coastal Watershed Council. "In terms of looking at trends, we have been able to spot problems in the Pajaro River and Watsonville Sloughs where there is a high amount of nutrients and high bacteria. Moore Creek spikes in high bacteria levels but it all depends on what the environment is doing.

 

This year, we are testing for toxicity. Previously, it was too expensive but this new technology brings a whole new view of health in our watersheds."

 

Created by a company in San Diego, the new technology, which tests toxicity levels, uses a plankton species that is bioluminescent. When the levels of toxicity are high in a water sample the level of bioluminescence will decrease in the plankton, or in extreme cases the organisms will die.

 

"It won't tell us exactly what the toxins are but it will tell us where to start looking," Strong-Cvetich said.

 

Volunteering for the first time, Matthew Nessan, a graduate student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, was able to dive into Moore Creek and get hands-on experience.

 

"So far, I have collected a couple of samples to measure bacteria levels and now we're moving on to measuring the toxicity," Nessan said. "It's been really great. I'm doing something that I can walk away from with hard skills. I'll be joining the Peace Corps soon so I think this will be a skill that I can take other places to benefit others."

 

Fifty volunteers were dispersed throughout 71 sites in the Santa Cruz County for the day.#

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12284326?nclick_check=1

 

O.C. water quality still poor in creeks and streams

The Orange County Register – 5/3/09

By Deepa Bharath

 

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Michelle Weinberger shook the tiny test tube with two little white tablets.

It started to turn pink.

 

The 12-year-old from Fulton Middle School in Fountain Valley was in Bolsa Chica Conservancy Saturday morning completing a science class project.

 

"I learned from it," she said, after testing some creek water for oxygen levels. "It tells me that we can do a lot better in taking care of the environment."

 

Water testing was a popular exercise at the Orange County Coastkeeper's 7th annual Snapshot Day. On Saturday, environmental groups all over the state of California were conducting these events to give Californians a closer look at water quality. Hundreds of volunteers from different groups were collecting water samples from their local creeks to have them tested, said Ray Heimstra, Associate Director of the Orange County Coastkeeper.

 

The event is mostly aimed at creating public awareness about water quality issues and making people more conscious about their environment, Heimstra said.

 

"The quality of ocean water in Orange County is pretty good," he explained. "But that's not the case when it comes to creeks and streams."

 

There is no reason why local creeks and streams cannot be cleaner, Heimstra said. These are the smaller bodies of water that tend to become polluted because of runoff, he said.

 

"When I was a little boy, I remember chasing frogs down the local stream," Heimstra said. "Those streams are no longer usable or habitable for small animals because they are polluted by runoff."

 

Nathan Vega, a second-year biology major at Cerritos college, said he learned some interesting details from his visit to the Conservancy.

 

"I'm learning that it is good to keep things simple when it comes to the environment," he said. "It's as simple as watching what you put down the drain. Simple things, when done by a lot of people, can make a big difference."

 

It's never too late to learn how to take care of the environment, said Michelle's father, David Weinberger.

 

"People hear so much about it, but still litter and do things that are not good for the environment," he said. "After what we've done over the years to pollute the earth, the least we can do is start learning and do the right thing now."#

 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-environment-heimstra-2388633-people-county

 

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