Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
July 14, 2009
1. Top Items–
Sacramento area is Delta's top pesticide source, study finds
Sacramento Bee
Strapped California to receive nearly $25 million in coastal grants
Orange County Register
The governor's fishy business
Eureka Times-Standard
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Sacramento area is Delta's top pesticide source, study finds
Sacramento Bee-7/14/09
By Matt Weiser
Urban Sacramento is the leading source of pesticide contamination disrupting the Delta aquatic environment, according to new research on pollution in the estuary.
The study, led by UC Berkeley toxicologist Donald Weston, found enough pyrethroid pesticides in the American River to kill tiny shrimp – among the first links in the aquatic food chain.
Those pesticides likely reached the river from urban storm drains, which collect runoff from the Sacramento area's 1.4 million residents.
For five years, biologists have hunted for the cause of a collapse in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, a water supply for 23 million Californians. Nine fish species are declining, from tiny Delta smelt to giant green sturgeon.
Weston's research supports the theory that no single villain is to blame. The problem probably lies at the complex interface between people and water.
"We were just amazed by this data," said Weston. "The American River is not supposed to be toxic. I think it reflects the fact that the river's going through 30 miles of heavy urbanization."
The study also found that among the water sources tested, Sacramento's regional wastewater treatment plant is the single largest source of pyrethroid pollution in the Delta. The plant discharges treated sewage into the Sacramento River near Freeport.
The reason for this contamination is less clear. It may be caused by people dumping unused pesticides into sink drains. It could also come from consumer products, such as shampoos made to kill lice and fleas.
There is no evidence pyrethroids are harmful to people at typical consumer exposure levels. But they are proving harmful to aquatic life at very low concentrations.
"It might be that a public education program could go a long way," said Stan Dean, chief of policy and planning at the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, which operates the regional wastewater treatment system. "Ultimately, you might need to have more controls on consumer products that have pyrethroids in them."
Pyrethroids are manufactured versions of pyrethrins, natural insecticides produced by certain species of chrysanthemum. These stronger synthetic versions began to dominate the retail market in 2000.
That followed the phasing out of pesticides known to be more dangerous to humans and other mammals – mainly the organophosphates diazinon and chlorpyrifos.
Pyrethroids were considered safer, partly because they don't easily dissolve in water. But biologists learned later that pyrethroids are actually more harmful to aquatic life.
The chemicals attach easily to soil. They can remain toxic in creek beds or landscaping for months, then hitch a ride downstream when overwatering or a storm washes topsoil into storm drains.
Pyrethroid-based pesticides dominate the shelves at grocery and hardware stores. They are common in powders and sprays used by homeowners and pest control companies to kill a variety of insects, from flies to cockroaches.
Weston presented his findings last week to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board in Rancho Cordova.
The board funded the study and plans to list several area waterways as "impaired" because of pyrethroids, including Strong Ranch and Chicken Ranch sloughs, and Arcade, Morrison and Elder creeks.
In 2006, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation began a process to regulate pyrethroids. This could bring new usage rules and even a ban on some products. It has found pyrethroids in waterways throughout the state.
Pyrethroids found most often in Weston's sampling were bifenthrin and cyfluthrin, common on ingredient labels of many consumer pesticides.
He and a team of researchers sampled water in the American, Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, as well as creeks in Vacaville, on several occasions in 2008 and 2009. They also sampled agricultural runoff on several Delta islands, and sewage treatment outfalls in Sacramento, Vacaville and Stockton.
They found the Delta islands are a small source of pyrethroids. Urban areas appear to be a much bigger source, with Sacramento by far the largest among the areas sampled.
Researchers used a species of shrimp as a test subject. Toxic effects were revealed by exposing the quarter-inch shrimp to water samples for four days and counting how many were killed or paralyzed.
Almost no pyrethroids were found in Stockton's treated wastewater. Unlike Sacramento, Stockton holds wastewater in giant ponds as long as 30 days before discharging to the Delta. The ponds may allow pyrethroids to settle out or degrade before discharge.
Paul Towers, state director of Sacramento-based Pesticide Watch, noted many other areas also likely are adding pyrethroids to the Delta, such as Redding, Chico and Contra Costa County.
"Ultimately, if we took better steps to keep pests from entering our homes, or redefined what our landscapes should look like, we wouldn't have to use these chemicals," he said.#
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2023496.html?mi_rss=Top%20Stories
Strapped California to receive nearly $25 million in coastal grants
Orange County Register-7/14/09
By Pat Brennan
A state Fish and Game patrol boat called the “Thresher” will likely get a new engine, trash will be cleared in Newport Bay and invasive species will be removed from Talbert Marsh – just a few ways nearly $25 million in federal coastal grants would be spent throughout the state.
The Minerals Management Service, a federal agency whose main job is to watch over oil and gas production offshore, announced approval of California’s plans for the grants Monday aboard the Thresher while it was docked in Dana Point. The boat is used, among other things, to catch poachers along the coast.
The agency is part of the Department of the Interior, which approved $24.7 million for California agencies for 89 projects, $16 million to the state itself and $8.7 million to be divided among 17 coastal counties under the Coastal Impact Assistance Program.
The state’s budget crisis made Orange County and state officials especially grateful for the grants, paid for with revenue from oil and gas leases and dispersed by the Minerals Management Service to benefit coastal and marine habitats.
“In these unprecedented budgetary times, this is a lifeline thrown to the law enforcement division,” said Nancy Foley, chief of the division at Fish and Game.
Each agency must now apply for the grants set forth in the California plan. Fish and Game is expected to receive $1 million to refurbish its boats. Replacing engines on Fish and Game patrol boats should cut their pollution output, make them more energy efficient and possibly allow patrols to increase by 20 percent, Foley said.
Fish and Game wardens aboard the Thresher said budgetary constraints mean it can be taken out twice a month for two to three-day patrols each time. Ideally, they said, the boat should go out four times a month.
Poachers along the coast are aware of the limited patrols, they said, and may be attempting to take advantage of the situation.
About $541,000 in grants is marked for Orange County, so far including $225,000 for the Newport Bay watershed stormwater trash management program and $197,174 to remove non-native, invasive species, such as giant reed, from Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach.
That leaves $118,896 either to expand the two county projects or fund a third one.
The Fish and Game grants should allow wardens to catch more poachers, or fishermen who sell fish illegally.
Game warden Spencer Gilbert said the Tresher crew recently caught poachers who were diving on lobster traps and removing the lobsters, surprising the poachers as they tried to carry the lobsters away.
“Everybody has a laugh,” he said. “Then you go to jail in your Speedos.”#
The governor's fishy business
Eureka Times-Standard-7/13/09
By Casey Allen
Commentary
The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was established in California in 1999. The MLPA by law will create Marine Protected Areas (MPA) that in theory will protect breeding populations of bottom fish and other sea creatures.
The idea is these fish-generating areas will provide enough fish outside the MPAs for fishermen to catch while at the same time protect the resource for future generations. There will be three levels of restrictions assigned to MPAs -- no human access, research access only, and limited recreational access.
The size of each MPA was estimated to be no less than 9 square miles and they should be 30 to 60 miles apart. The MPAs are to be established based on scientific data while taking socioeconomic factors under consideration.
At face value, the MLPA seems like a good idea, but the facts of the matter are much different. First, there is not enough scientific data to show that overfishing is occurring. The MLPA is supposed to revisit each MPA every five years to monitor results. Without a baseline study, how can the MLPA measure success?
If fish stocks are not in trouble, why do we need MPAs? There are already restricted areas and fishing limits in place. Limits have been reduced to 10 rockfish per angler each day.
The Rockfish Conservation Area is closed to fishing for rockfish in water deeper than 120 feet. That is one of the largest closures in the world. On the North Coast, all rockfishing is closed once the allotted (estimated) by-catch of yelloweye rockfish is reached.
Our most severe fishing restriction on the North Coast is weather.
Major funding for implementing the MLPA comes exclusively from powerful environmental organizations, mainly the Packard Foundation. After the MPAs are established, the California Department of Fish and Game will be required to fund monitoring and enforcement.
That was originally estimated to cost $250,000 per year but is now estimated to be somewhere between $25 million to $40 million a year. That spread in estimated dollars makes one wonder if they know what they are getting into.
Our governor has proposed closing our state parks for two years because of the economic crisis. How can he close existing parks that will eliminate jobs and at the same time create underwater parks that will also eliminate jobs?
Does the governor believe the Department of Fish and Game has done a poor job of managing our natural resources and needs to turn to private funds to save the environment? It seems the governor wants to save the environment, whether it needs it or not, and can't afford the money or time to do it right.
The MLPA process is supposed to be transparent and inclusive to all. But again, the facts paint another picture. During the North Central Coast process, stakeholder groups spent thousands of hours gathering their own scientific and socioeconomic data. With this information, the groups agreed on an alternate proposal that still met all the MLPA requirements.
The effort was literally thrown into the trash can. It was blatantly obvious to those close to the process that the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force has its own agenda that is nowhere near inclusive.
One of the results was the creation of an MPA that encompasses most all of Point Arena, which effectively puts that town, that relies on fishing, out of business.
The MLPA process is coming to the North Coast this summer and aims to conclude by 2011. The areas targeted for closures are in Shelter Cove, Cape Mendocino, Humboldt Bay, Trinidad and Crescent City. Historically, in the MLPA process, the fishing areas that are closest to ports are closed. This severely impacts sport fishermen and the business that depends on their support.
The members of Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers (HASA) are teaming with a host of user groups and local government agencies to make sure the MPAs established on the North Coast are not overly restrictive to recreational activities, are based on the best science available, and do not adversely affect the local economy.
HASA also invites environmental groups or individuals to discuss the issues. HASA feels that their members are as concerned about the environment and maintaining ocean resources for the future as anyone. Our Web presence is on the Humboldt Tuna Club discussion board at humboldttuna.com.#
Casey Allen is a longtime sport fisherman with Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers.
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_12824796?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
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