Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 24, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Vilsack Announces Recovery Act Projects to Address Safety Hazards and Environmental Damage at Abandoned Mines
Yuba Net
Hearings focus on cleanup of DDT off Palos Verdes coast
U.S. EPA, State and tribes, warn against
Yuba Net
Return of blue-green algae nothing new at
Ukiah Daily Journal
IBM and SFPUC Team to Help Reduce Water Pollution in
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Vilsack Announces Recovery Act Projects to Address Safety Hazards and Environmental Damage at Abandoned Mines
Yuba Net-6/23/09
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today $19.88 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to address safety hazards and environmental damage caused by abandoned mines. The 14 projects receiving Recovery Act funds are located in National Forests in
"The funding provided by President Obama's Recovery Act will address safety hazards and correct environmental damage at neglected and abandoned mines around the country," said Vilsack.
The remediation activities undertaken as part of these projects include closing mine openings and vertical shafts; recontouring open pits, trenches, and associated roads; and removing or stabilizing abandoned buildings, equipment, and hazardous materials. To enhance safety, mine openings will be gated and signs posted to prevent public entry. Watershed cleanup activities will include replacing contaminated soil and debris from ground surfaces and streams with clean soils and native vegetation and restoring streams to their original channels.
For instance, in
The list of projects receiving funding (by state):
Resurrection Creek Watershed Restoration
Salt Chuck Mine Removal Action
World's Fair Mine Adit - Acid Mine Drainage Remediation
Santa Rita Abandoned Mine Safety Mitigation/Closures
Abandoned mines - White Pine County
Abandoned Mine Safety Closures
Abandoned Mine Remediation
Blue Ledge Mine
Mine Closures
Mine Closure in Upper Michigan, Phase 2 and
Scotchman Mine
TOTAL: (14): $19,884.00
Additional information about these projects and other Forest Service ARRA projects can be found at: http://fs.usda.gov.#
Hearings focus on cleanup of DDT off Palos Verdes coast
A plan to cap a vast, long-neglected deposit of the pesticide DDT on the ocean floor off
The estimated $36-million proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls for a cover of sand and silt to be placed over the most contaminated part of the estimated 17-square-mile area declared a Superfund site in 1996.
EPA seeks to clean up DDT-tainted site...The cap won't clean the site, but it could reduce the health risks for people who eat fish caught off the Palos Verdes coast, said Mark Gold, executive director of the watchdog group Heal the Bay.
"I think it's a huge development," he said. "We have the worst DDT hot spot in the entire
About 30 people attended the first of several hearings planned this week, as the EPA decides whether to move ahead with its plan or modify it.
The hearing was held at a facility at
Carmen White, remedial project manager for the EPA's Superfund division, said the agency is finally moving to deal with the contamination after taking time to collect critical data.
"We finally had enough data that we feel we are ready to make a decision," she said.
She also pointed out that there had been some erosion in the middle of the contaminated site, thinning a critical layer of silt already covering the DDT and PCB there.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-ddt24-2009jun24,0,7017065.story?track=rss
U.S. EPA, State and tribes, warn against
Yuba Net-6/20/09
Due to its potential health risks, federal, state, and tribal agencies are urging swimmers, boaters and recreational users to avoid contact with blue-green algae now blooming in Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs on the Klamath River in
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California agencies including the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), Department of Public Health, and the Yurok and Karuk Tribes urge residents and recreational water users of the Klamath River to use caution or avoid getting in the water near these blooms, especially during the upcoming summer months.
Blue-green algae can pose health risks. People and their pets should avoid contact with the blooms, and particularly avoid swallowing or inhaling water spray in an algal bloom area.
The algal blooms look like green, blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats floating on the water. Recreational exposure to toxic blue-green algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcer, vomiting, diarrhea, cold and flu-like symptoms, tingling, headaches, numbness and shaking. Liver failure, nerve damage and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested.
"This is a situation that anyone who comes into contact with water at Copco or
The Statewide Guidance on Harmful Algal Blooms recommends the following:
- Avoid wading and swimming in water containing visible blooms or water containing algal scums or mats;
- If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow the water;
- Do no drink, cook or wash dishes with untreated surface water under any circumstances;
- People should limit or avoid eating fish from waters which previously tested positive for an algal toxin as the risk to human health is being evaluated by public health authorities.
- Take care that pets and livestock do not drink the water or swim through heavy scums or mats, nor lick their fur after going in the water;
- Get medical treatment right away if you think that you, your pet, or livestock might have been poisoned by blue-green algae toxins. Be sure to alert the medical professional to the possible contact with blue-green algae.
With proper precautions to avoid water contact and when eating fish from the reservoirs, people can still visit Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs and the river areas and enjoy camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, picnicking or other recreational activities excluding direct contact with the algal bloom scum. For more information, please visit:
World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd Edition: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/index.html
California Department of Public Health:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/environhealth/water/Pages/Bluegreenalgae.aspx
State Water Resources Control Board
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/bluegreen_algae/
http://www.cdc.gov/hab/cyanobacteria/facts.htm
Siskiyou County Public Health Department:
http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/phs/
(530) 841-2100
http://co.humboldt.ca.us/health/envhealth/
(707) 445-6215
Yurok Tribe Real Time Water Quality and BGA Data
http://exchange.yuroktribe.nsn.us/lrgsclient/stations/stations.html#
Return of blue-green algae nothing new at
Ukiah Daily Journal-6/24/09
By Terry Knight
The recent public health warnings on the blue-green algae blooms in the south end of the lake could impact tourism and even the fishing on
The reason the algae is so thick in the south end and mostly absent in the north end is because the prevailing westerly winds are pushing the algae south. However, algae is now starting to form in some areas north of Lakeport.
Algae are tiny water plants that cycle normally between the bottom and the surface, floating up and sinking down. During the day, algae produces oxygen within the lake, but at night algae consumes oxygen. Algae is nothing new to longtime
The decaying algae bonds together in mats and creates a terrible odor. That's also the time when it can become toxic.
The worst algae is blue-green (cyanbactria). There are three species of blue-green algae that can create problems under certain conditions. Blue-green algae typically blooms twice a year in spring and late summer. The intensity of the blooms varies from year to year, and is unpredictable.
The problem occurs when algae blooms are trapped at the surface and die. When this occurs, unsightly slicks and odors can be produced.
The recent algae bloom occurring in the south end of the lake has been identified as lyngbya. This type of algae can cause a number of problems. Swimmers itch is sometimes blamed on lyngbya. It can also cause health problems for animals drinking the water.
Many people mistakenly think that because the lake has large algae blooms it is polluted. In fact, the recent algae bloom near
Many years ago, when many of the lakeside residents had septic tanks, there was tainted water flowing into the lake and it did result in algae blooms. But now all lakeside homes are on sewer systems and it's very rare to have any sewage spill into the lake.
Decaying algae can be detrimental to the various species of fish in the lake. As the algae decays it uses up the available dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water, which in turn kills the fish. This is especially true of the juvenile bass and crappie. The adult fish normally swim out to better water but the young ones often stay and die.
Getting rid of the algae mats can be a problem. One of the most efficient methods is to aerate the water around the mats. This is often done using high-pressure hoses, which break up the mats. In cases where the mats are so thick that water pressure doesn't work, airboats are often used. The goal is to break up the mats into small balls of algae, which sink to the bottom.
Most of the fishermen don't like algae, especially when it turns the water a dirty brown color. I know that I have a hard time catching a fish when the water is coffee-colored. However, others like fishing in the green algae because it attracts bass.
As the lake level drops and the daytime temperatures reach the century mark, expect more algae blooms. We have seen it before and will see it again. It's just part of
IBM and SFPUC Team to Help Reduce Water Pollution in
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is using IBM software to help reduce pollution in the water that surrounds the city on three sides -- the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
The SFPUC, which treats an average of 80-90 million gallons of wastewater per day during dry weather and up to 370 million gallons of combined wastewater and storm runoff per day during the rainy season, is using the IBM software to develop smarter management of the city's 1,000 miles of sewer system and three treatment facilities.
Already, in the last year, the IBM software has improved the organization's ratio of preventive to corrective maintenance by approximately 11 percent, meaning that the organization has been doing more preventive and less corrective maintenance. This is how SFPUC is measured against industry standards.
The IBM Maximo Asset Management software gives the SFPUC greater visibility into their maintenance operations and physical infrastructure, with near real-time status of equipment and maintenance history. The software also integrates with the city's 311 and 28-CLEAN Customer Service systems -- dispatch centers that handle non-emergency problems, such as potholes, abandoned vehicles, loose manhole covers and overflowing storm drains.
"Using the IBM Maximo Asset Management software, problems are often solved within 24 hours," said Tommy Moala, Assistant General Manager, SFPUC Wastewater Enterprise. "But the real value of the IBM software is the information it gathers so that we can help further reduce water pollution. For example, with some work order histories generated from the IBM software, we can see that we've rebuilt a pump, say, 10 times -- maybe it's time to replace it. The software also helps us to reduce the cost of managing the system down to the component level."
Along with IBM Maximo Asset Management software, the commission's Wastewater Enterprise is using ArcGIS geographic information software from IBM Business Partner ESRI to locate and measure assets spatially.
For instance, the city was able to solve a problem of missing catch basin grates -- the heavy metal grates that keep large objects from falling into storm drains. IBM Maximo Asset Management software and ArcGIS revealed that all the incidents were located within a quarter mile of a scrap metal yard.
The SFPUC infrastructure includes wastewater treatment machinery, basins and piping including huge capital investments such as large-capacity lift pumps, dewatering centrifuges, belt presses, engine generators and a complex series of huge collection boxes--large basins strategically located throughout the city that capture storm water.
IBM has developed a number of smarter water offerings under its 'Big Green Innovations' initiative, part of a $100 million investment in 10 new businesses based on ideas generated during Innovation Jam, an IBM-led effort to gather ideas from thousands of clients, employees and thought leaders around the world. The Big Green Innovations team at IBM has concentrated its efforts on water management, alternative energy and carbon management.
"Water management is an issue faced by every business, city and government on the planet," said Sharon Nunes, Vice President for Big Green Innovations at IBM. "We're helping the SFPUC gain deep insight into the management of their water supply and usage so they can improve the quality of their water system while reducing the costs associated with removing the pollution, particularly in a big city like
SFPUC is also using IBM Cognos(R) 8 Business Intelligence software to pinpoint and report to management about trends such as the time required to get work orders, and the ratio of preventive maintenance to corrective maintenance.
For more information on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, visit: www.sfwater.org/home.cfm.
To see a video on SFPUC, go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/SFPUCcommunications
More about IBM's vision to bring a new level of intelligence to how the world works--how every person, business, organization, government, natural system, and man-made system interacts, can be found at: http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/26094.wss
For images, videos, and more information related to IBM and water, visit http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/26906.wss.
Media Contacts: Libra White IBM Communications 1-408-404-6786 libra@us.ibm.com Tyrone Jue SFPUC Communications 1-415-554-3247 tjue@sfwater.org#
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