Is your water bottle safe?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:25 pmFrom the Examiner.com:
Check the number on the bottom of your plastic bottle before you drink. Clear, hard plastic bottles with a # 7 recycling code on the bottom and the letters PC are polycarbonate and contain Bisphenol-A (BPA). Research has shown that this potentially harmful chemical can leach into food and drink and has been linked to elevated levels of estrogen in the body. Both water and baby bottles have been made of this type of plastic. Some beverage cans also contain BPA
Since 2007 when a report by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said a chemical in polycarbonate plastic bottles, called BPA, caused reproductive abnormalities in mice, various reports have linked BPA to a range of problems including diabetes, liver problems and even reduced sperm production. Some studies have shown that BPA can cause health problems such as infertility and cancer.
Read more from the Examiner.com by clicking here.
Clear thinking on drinking water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:23 pmFrom the Examiner.com:
Last year the Associated Press revealed that tap water in 24 large U.S. metropolitan areas contained detectable levels of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers, and hormones. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates water systems that serve at least 15 households or 25 people. These systems supply most Americans, and private well serve the rest. The agency sets acceptable levels for dozens of substances, including chemicals, microorganisms, minerals, and metals. States can establish their own standards as well.What is the report on your tap water?
The EPA requires water suppliers to send customers annual reports on the quality of the local supply and levels of various contaminants.
These Consumer Confidence Reports, or CCRs, are available through the EPA website (epa.gov/safewater). The site also provides information on how to read and understand the reports, as does the website of the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water, an advocacy group (safe-drinking-water.org).
Read more from the Examiner.com by clicking here.
Department of Defense, Defense Contractors Lobby to Block Perchlorate Advisory
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 24, 2009 at 7:23 amFrom the New York Times:
The Pentagon and the defense industry is lobbying the White House to prevent U.S. EPA from tightening a health advisory for a rocket-fuel chemical.
Representatives of the Defense Department, the Navy and aerospace and defense companies have met with the Office of Management and Budget this month to discuss a pending EPA decision on the chemical, perchlorate.
In a document presented to OMB, the groups argue that rushing a decision will have “adverse public health consequences and unintended negative effects on all drinking water regulatory programs, and on voluntary, state and federal cleanup efforts.”
Perchlorate contamination of drinking water, which is linked to DOD and contractor activities at rocket test sites, has been documented in at least 35 states and the District of Columbia. The chemical can inhibit the thyroid gland’s iodine uptake, interfering with fetal development.
Read more from the New York Times by clicking here.
Critics say Groveland’s water not so ‘pristine’
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 18, 2009 at 6:45 amFrom the Union Democrat:
Groveland Community Services District is one of three utilities in the nation, along with the cities of San Francisco and New York, that doesn’t have to filter debris from its water.
District General Manager Jim Goodrich said the district has a “filtration avoidance waiver” because the district’s water source — which flows from Sierra Nevada snowpack into the Tuolumne River and through the Hetch Hetchy Mountain Tunnel and is then piped to district homes — is pristine.
Yet the lack of filtration has led to some customer complaints. Two district customers filed claims against the district saying they suffered thousands of dollars of damage to their homes and appliances from debris in waterlines. Both claims were rejected at an April 27 board meeting and passed onto the district’s insurance company, which is standard procedure, Goodrich said.
The California Department of Health Services approved the filtration avoidance waiver in 1993, because the district’s water meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Surface Water Treatment Rule criteria for filtration avoidance.
Read more from the Union Democrat by clicking here.
Two years after fluoride lawsuit, Watsonville water still fluoride free
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 15, 2009 at 6:52 amFrom the Central Coast Mercury News:
Two years after a California appellate court ordered Watsonville to fluoridate, negotiations for fluoridation terms continue, and so does the investigation of fluoride safety. But vindication for one side of the debate inches closer.
Late last month, the state Carcinogen Identification Committee, which reviews chemicals to determine toxicity, placed fluoride in the top nine of 38 compounds for complete review, including possible links to cancer.
Fluoridation opponents in Watsonville, who lost an appellate court battle to ban fluoridation in March 2007, anticipate justice when an investigation of fluoride side effects are published. “I already feel vindicated,” said Nick Bulaich, who since 2002 has spearheaded the effort to ban fluoridation in his hometown. Bulaich looks forward to the results, and thinks the investigation is evidence of a problem.
Carcinogen Identification Committee chair, Dr. Thomas Mack could not be reached to comment about why fluoride was ranked high, but released a statement saying it was because of “its widespread use,” and stressed that the high priority ranking does not indicate that it is cancer-causing. The investigation may prove fluoride is harmless.
“The California Dental Association wants this investigation to take place as quickly as possible,” said Jon Roth, executive director of the California Dental Association. “A review would put questions that opponents have manipulated to rest.”
Read more from the Central Coast Mercury News by clicking here.
In new policy statement, American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not giving well water to infants
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 14, 2009 at 10:33 amFrom Consumer Reports:
If you get your household water from a private well, you probably know that you should check the well annually for potential impurities like Giardia intestinalis, Shigella spp., E. coli 0157:H7 and coliform bacteria, Campylobacter jejuni, nitrate from sewage or fertilizer, radon, and arsenic. Groups like the National Ground Water Association, NSF International, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocate for an annual assessment of water for the 15 to 20 percent of U.S. households that rely on wells.
But if you have infants or young children at home, you should be aware of a new policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Since infants in particular cannot metabolize nitrate, the AAP recommends that you not use water with a nitrate concentration of more than 10 milligrams per liter to prepare infant formula or give well water to a child younger than one year old. The statement suggests using bottled water for infants when nitrate contamination is detected or when the source of drinking water is unknown.
More from Consumer Reports by clicking here.
Out of water? How we might make more
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 10, 2009 at 6:31 amFrom Science Daily:
Not a plant to be seen, the desert ground is too dry. But the air contains water, and research scientists have found a way of obtaining drinking water from air humidity. The system is based completely on renewable energy and is therefore autonomous.
Cracks permeate the dried-out desert ground, the landscape bears testimony to the lack of water. But even here, where there are no lakes, rivers or groundwater, considerable quantities of water are stored in the air. In the Negev desert in Israel, for example, annual average relative air humidity is 64 percent – in every cubic meter of air there are 11.5 milliliters of water.
Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart working in conjunction with their colleagues from the company Logos Innovationen have found a way of converting this air humidity autonomously and decentrally into drinkable water. “The process we have developed is based exclusively on renewable energy sources such as thermal solar collectors and photovoltaic cells, which makes this method completely energy-autonomous. It will therefore function in regions where there is no electrical infrastructure,” says Siegfried Egner, head of department at the IGB.
Read more from Science Daily by clicking here.
The Treehugger blog looks at more ways to make more water, using desalination or water purification. Check it out from Treehugger by clicking here.
Human and animal cancer evidence prompts review of fluoride; California EPA Committee designates fluoride as priority for review for public warnings about risk of cancer to consumers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 9, 2009 at 1:32 pmFrom the Fresno Bee:
On May 29, 2009, over protests by the lobbyists for the American Dental Association and the Personal Care Products Council who oppose further evaluation of fluoride as cancer-causing, the State’s Qualified Experts that comprise the Carcinogen Identification Committee, as advisors to California EPA’s Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), never-the-less established fluoride and its salts as meriting the highest priority they can recommend for further review toward including fluorides on a Prop 65 list of chemicals for which warnings for risks of cancer, birth defects, and reproductive toxicity are to be publicly posted.
Citing the passage of two pre-screenings that acknowledged the existence of animal and human cancer evidence, as well as widespread exposure, this recommendation places fluoride and its salts as one of the first of 38 chemicals that also passed at least one of the tests to be newly prioritized for Hazard Identification materials preparation.
This hazard identification process is similar to a risk assessment performed to establish a scientific point of safety for lifetime ingestion that is ordered by the Safe Drinking Water Act for chemicals in the water, with the exception that this process will evaluate fluorides from all exposures and restricts the assessment to only the risks of cancer, rather than all adverse heath effects.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Campaign stresses water over liquid sugar shockers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2009 at 2:50 pmFrom the Long Beach Press Telegram:
Drink more water, preferably from the tap. That’s the message being delivered this summer by a variety of California public health and social service organizations.
In the Inland Empire, the Desert Sierra Health Network has launched its “Be Sugar Savvy” campaign, which includes the dissemination of details on the hidden amounts of sugar in foods and beverages that many think are healthy choices - or at least reasonably good choices.
This group, representing San Bernardino, Riverside and Inyo counties, is comprised of state, county and city government groups, school districts, private nonprofits and business organizations.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County has kicked off a campaign for a “Soda Free Summer,” training county workers and others who assist low-income residents to get out the message that “fizzy and fun” can add weight and hurt calcium absorption, said Suzanne Bogert, a registered dietician with the Los Angeles County Health Department Nutrition Program.
Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram by clicking here.
Drinking Water Week highlights need to protect, conserve water resources
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 13, 2009 at 7:40 amFrom Water World:
As Drinking Water Week continues, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) joins water professionals across North America in highlighting the importance of protecting and conserving water resources.
“The prolonged droughts in recent years have called us to make smarter, more efficient use of our precious water resources,” said Mike Leonard, AWWA President. “Still, as water demand grows and we prepare for the possible impacts of climate change, we must continue to grow in our appreciation of the value of water and our commitment to use it wisely.
“One of the best ways to keep our water safe and abundant is to protect it at its source,” Leonard added. “During Drinking Water Week, communities across North America will highlight the importance of keeping our watersheds and waterways free from pollution.”
In the United States alone, communities use approximately 40 billion gallons of tap water each day for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and other everyday uses. To meet increased demand, the water community is investing in new technologies such as water reuse and desalination of ocean and brackish water. Water utilities are also highlighting the need to invest in water infrastructure to limit leaks from water mains and encouraging water efficient devices.
Read more from Water World by clicking here.
Helix board OKs treatment of water; $155,000 approved for fluoridation
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 9, 2009 at 6:19 amFrom the San Diego Union Tribune:
Helix Water District began fluoridating its water 17 months ago because it had to. This week, the district’s board decided to spend $155,000 annually to continue the process.
The Helix Water District board voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of fluoridation after hearing from supporters who say the process reduces dental cavities and from opponents who say fluoridation is unsafe and causes a range of health problems.
Helix was required to begin fluoridating its water in December 2007 because of a state law requiring larger water districts to fluoridate if the funding is offered. Helix was placed at the top of a statewide priority list because its cost per customer was the lowest.
The water district received an $80,600 grant from the state Department of Public Health and a $361,000 grant from the California Dental Association Foundation to install equipment and pay for treatment. Money from those grants will run out at the end of this month.
Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.
$2.8M should go to Rialto water treatment, officials say
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 6, 2009 at 6:39 amFrom the San Bernardino Sun:
The city has different plans for about $2.8million initially granted by the State Water Resources Control Board to study groundwater contaminated with perchlorate.
Together with the Rialto-based West Valley Water District, the city has requested that the money instead be used for a project that would treat 2,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute at the city’s well No. 6 and the water district’s well No. 11. Each well is inactive.
In an April letter to the Riverside-based Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, the city and the water district said the money should be used for the treatment project because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already is installing six groundwater monitoring wells at a 160-acre site northeast of town where perchlorate is flowing.
And Emhart Industries, a defunct subsidiary of Black and Decker Corp., is conducting a soil investigation at the site.
Read more from the San Bernardino Sun by clicking here.
20% of private water wells contaminated, research shows
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 27, 2009 at 7:51 amFrom Stockton’s Record:
One out of five private drinking-water wells in the United States contains at least one contaminant that exceeds public health standards, and wells in the San Joaquin Valley are no exception, according to new research from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Private wells that typically provide water for homes in rural areas are not regulated as strictly as public water systems, leaving the responsibility for clean water to the property owner.
The far-reaching study, which included sampling of 2,100 wells over a period of 13 years, shows that “a large number of people may be unknowingly affected” by contamination, said Matt Larsen, USGS associate director for water.
“Certainly, if you have a private well, … you should be concerned about the quality of the water from your well, and you should have it tested,” added Leslie DeSimone, who headed the study. “Contaminants can occur even if your well is in an area that doesn’t seem vulnerable” to pollution.
Read more from the Record by clicking here.
State demands action on water; Sewer assessment rate could more than triple if proposed changes take effect
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2009 at 6:44 amFrom the Santa Clarita Signal:
Local sanitation department officials have been told by the state that they must clean up a mess the state helped create, a Sanitation Districts official said.
The Los Angeles County Sanitation District must reduce the salt content of the treated wastewater released from two Santa Clarita Valley facilities into the Santa Clara river, said Steve McGuinn, chief engineer and general manager for the Sanitation Districts. The salt-laced water released from two SCV sanitation plants makes it nearly impossible for farmers downstream to grow strawberries or avocados — two crops that are sensitive to high salt levels, he said.
The water leaving the SCV plants’ salinity averages 150 milligrams per liter, said Francisco Guerrero, a Sanitation Districts civil engineer.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, controlled by the State Water Resources Board, requires the salinity to be no higher than 117 milligrams per liter, said Dirk Marks, Castaic Lake Water Agency water resources manager.
The Sanitation Districts’ solution is an increased local sewer assessment to pay for $250 million to upgrade two SCV water treatment plants to remove the salt. The proposed sewer assessment rate hike could take the price from $14.92 per month to $47 per month during the next six years.
Part of the problem is that the water that comes to the Santa Clarita Valley is salty when it begins its journey, long before it is used by residents here.
What’s interesting to me is that Colorado River water is way saltier than Delta water; in fact, Metropolitan blends water imported from the Delta with its Colorado River supplies to bring the salinity into an acceptable range. So it’s interesting to see complaints about Delta salinity.
Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal by clicking here.
The government says it’s good, so Nevadans say no to fluoride
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 7, 2009 at 6:03 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
Unless it’s the gold standard, few issues draw out the hard-core libertarians like the issue of fluoride in the water. And Nevada, particularly the older and more settled northern part, has a strong contingent of those individuals who tend to liberally connect the dots on issues.
So the hearing room for testimony on Senate Bill 311, which would require the fluoridation of water in Washoe County, filled up quickly Monday.
The story goes back to 1999, when the Legislature introduced a bill that required fluoridation of water. Then-Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani (now a Clark County commissioner) recalls the John Birch Society coming after her and people leaving messages accusing her of trying to poison them. “It was not pleasant,” Giunchigliani testified Monday.
To get the bill passed, she changed it to require only Clark County to add fluoride. That was done starting in 2001.
Clinging to a persistent mistrust of the natural mineral, the rest of the state has not gone to fluoride.
Read more from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
San Bernardino County must come clean on groundwater pollution
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 31, 2009 at 6:45 amFrom the San Bernardino Sun, this commentary by Anthony Araiza, general manager of the West Valley Water District in Rialto:
We are unfortunately compelled to call public attention to the inaccurate information about San Bernardino County’s role in contaminating local groundwater provided to you a few days ago by the office of Supervisor Josie Gonzales.
In a point of view (”County is cleaning up perchlorate,” March 26), Supervisor Gonzales stated: “Before the county purchased property in north Rialto for the future expansion of the Mid-Valley Landfill, the county hired an expert to test the land for hazardous materials. Those tests did not find significant contamination in the soil.”
We strongly disagree with these statements. It is time for the County of San Bernardino, and its elected supervisors, to honestly and openly talk about the illegal conduct associated with the county’s Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill expansion, and the serious harm these activities have inflicted on the citizens of the county, the environment and our precious local drinking water supply.
With all due respect to Supervisor Gonzales, the facts now being disclosed about the Mid-Valley Landfill clearly demonstrate that county officials acted, and continue to act, in complete and utter disregard of applicable state and federal laws.
Based on reports provided by the county, it now appears that county officials knowingly - and with reckless disregard of the law - demolished contaminated bunkers at a state-permitted hazardous waste site, and spread the contaminated waste debris onto adjacent parcels and unknown locations offsite. Much of this hazardous debris was improperly used to construct noise berms on the perimeter of the county’s property. The hazardous chemicals in this debris included lead, arsenic, mercury, asbestos and perchlorate - the chemical currently contaminating groundwater and the region’s drinking water wells.
Read more from the San Bernardino Sun by clicking here.
Can water fountains fight fat?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 30, 2009 at 7:33 amFrom Scientific American:
Here’s something to drink to: easy access to water fountains and a nudge from teachers to use them might help kids stay lean. A new study published today in Pediatrics suggests that installing fountains in elementary schools and pushing students to drink more water may reduce their risk of being plump by as much as a third.
“Drinking fountains won’t solve the obesity epidemic, but they could be effective components of the solution,” says study co-author Rebecca Muckelbauer, a nutritionist at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany.
Muckelbauer and her colleagues studied the water-drinking habits of nearly 3,000 second and third graders attending schools in the neighboring cities of Dortmund and Essen during the 2006-2007 academic year. At the beginning of the school year, the researchers had water fountains installed in 17 of the schools and worked with teachers to implement educational programs to promote water drinking. (In contrast to U.S. schools, few German schools actually have water fountains, according Muckelbauer). The researchers surveyed the children about their drinking habits and measured their heights and weights at the beginning and end of the school year.
Read more from Scientific American by clicking here.
Coverage wrap-up: Huge public lands bill gets final congressional approval; expands wilderness protection, provides for San Joaquin River Restoration and perchlorate clean-up
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 26, 2009 at 7:49 am
From the Los Angeles Times:
Reporting from Washington — In the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 15 years, Congress today sent President Obama legislation that would conserve a wide swath of the West, including stretches of California from the desert to the Sierra.
The lands bill, which passed the House 285 to 140, is expected to be signed by the president this year. It would give the highest level of federal protection to more than 2 million acres in nine states — prohibiting new roads, the use of motorized or mechanized vehicles, most commercial activities, logging, new structures, new mining claims and new grazing. That is almost as much land as was designated for protection during George W. Bush’s entire presidency.
In California, which currently has 14 million acres of wilderness (second only to Alaska, which has more than 57 million acres), the bill would protect 700,000-plus acres. The measure also would authorize $88 million to fund restoration efforts on the San Joaquin River and provide $61 million toward cleanup of polluted groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley area.
More from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
From McClatchy Newspapers:
Dubbed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the bill is stuffed with provisions ranging from designating a Wyoming wild-and-scenic river and honoring Bill Clinton’s birthplace to creating a national institute for the study of caves.
The bill will be expensive, over time. It authorizes projects expected to cost more than $5.5 billion over five years if Congress provides the money, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also adds an additional $900 million in spending after 2013, the nonpartisan budget office estimates.
Most controversial may be the expansion of federally designated wilderness areas — the highest level of federal protection.
“The federal government already owns 30 percent of the total land area of the United States,” said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa. “I don’t think we need any more.”
Radanovich and his fellow Republican from California’s San Joaquin Valley, Rep. Devin Nunes, voted against the bill. Nunes insisted the bill’s provision diverting San Joaquin River water from farms to environmental protection “will ensure higher unemployment” in the Valley.
But by including upward of 170 different provisions affecting many different states, Democratic legislative tacticians secured majority support. The omnibus packaging also meant Radanovich ended up voting against a bill that included provisions he authored and still supports, including the Madera County groundwater bank and the San Joaquin River restoration.
Read more from McClatchy Newspapers by clicking here.
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
In one of the boldest river restorations in the Western United States, a 63-mile stretch of the San Joaquin River will be transformed from a dusty ditch into a fish-friendly waterway under legislation approved Wednesday that ends a decades-long dispute between farmers and environmentalists. The $400 million project, approved by Congress as part of a landmark wilderness bill, will increase the amount of water released from the Friant Dam near Fresno into the San Joaquin River. The flows are intended to resurrect the river’s salmon fishery, decimated in the years following the dam’s construction in 1942.
The 15,000 farms in the region will receive between 15 and 19 percent less water from the reserves stored behind the dam. Funds from the measure will help water districts offset that loss with new storage facilities and repairs to existing canals.
President Obama is expected to sign the legislation, sponsored by California Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. It seals a settlement reached in 2006 that followed two decades of battles between environmentalists and fishing groups - who filed a lawsuit in 1988 - and agricultural interests.
Both sides praised the bill, which spells out funding for the program and authorizes a timetable for water releases beginning this fall. “After recent dry years and a collapsing salmon fishery, passage of this bill is good news for fisherman, farmers, and the more than 22 million Californians who rely on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for their water supply,” said Monty Schmitt, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the plaintiffs in the 1980s suit.
More from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
But not everyone is happy, according to Mike Taugher and the Contra Costa Times:
For farmers and a couple of cities, including Fresno, that are served by Friant, the settlement was a way to make the best of a bad situation when a 2004 court decision found that the federal government was illegally depriving the San Joaquin River of water.
Rather than putting their fate in the hands of a judge with the ability to do little more than cut off water supplies to those farmers and cities, they worked out a deal with environmentalists and government agencies.
The settlement means Friant water users give up 15 percent to 20 percent of their water supply by sending it down the river but they also have a chance to get it back. The San Joaquin River flows into the Delta, and massive pumps take water from the Delta back down the San Joaquin Valley. So, in theory, water that is released by Friant down the San Joaquin River could be delivered back to farms through those pumps and canals. “The ability to get this water back was one of the reasons farmers support it,” Jacobsma said, adding that environmental problems in the Delta will make that difficult.
Still, animosity toward the agreement runs strong in places. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, said the agreement would force 300,000 acres of farmland out of production. “The officials responsible will be remembered as architects of the economic and environmental catastrophe that follows,” he predicted.
Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
The legislation also provides for providing funds to cleanup perchlorate-contaminated groundwater basins in the San Gabriel Valley:
The Water Quality Authority will use the $50 million increase in federal funds to help remove perchlorate - a chemical in rocket fuel and fireworks - from the aquifer that lies below the San Gabriel Valley and provides drinking water to the area.
The legislation is the first step of a two-step process to get the federal funds. It allows federal funding to be used for the cleanup; lawmakers must still actually budget the funds annually. “Today we have taken a big step forward … each year we are going to have to be back at it … to ensure this happens,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who cosponsored the original legislation by Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas.
The federal government has already contributed approximately $79 million to the cleanup effort, estimated to cost $1 billion to complete. Additional funds have come from the state and from the parties responsible for the contamination.
Before its dangers were known, the aerospace and defense sectors freely dumped perchlorate. The San Gabriel Valley is one the nation’s largest Superfund sites in part because of this contamination. The chemical has been found to reduce the production of thyroid hormones, which are critical for growth and brain development, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Though the Water Quality Authority does not have the federal dollars in hand, the government’s renewed commitment helps leverage “much more money” from private parties, including those responsible, by bringing them to the negotiating table, Kast said.
Read more from the Whittier Daily News by clicking here.
Sorry, I’m pressed for time this morning, and can’t incorporate everyone this morning; You can hear from Trout Unlimited (IndyBay.org) by clicking here, and from Friends of the River (YubaNet.com) by clicking here.
San Bernardino County is cleaning up perchlorate, says commentary
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 26, 2009 at 6:22 amFrom the San Bernardino Sun, this commentary by San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, representative of the 5th District, which includes Rialto, Bloomington and parts of Colton, Fontana and San Bernardino:
The County of San Bernardino will clean up any perchlorate in local groundwater for which it is found responsible. It is that simple.
The county has already spent $13million over the past several years treating perchlorate and supplying clean water to Rialto residents. The county’s treatment system is in place to capture any perchlorate determined to be emanating from county property purchased in 1993 for the future expansion of the Mid-Valley Landfill. Over the next several decades, the county will likely spend more than $60 million on the operation of the treatment facility.
Perchlorate was first detected in groundwater in the Rialto Colton Basin in 1997. But to date, the county is the only potentially responsible party to start a groundwater cleanup.
From day one, the county has focused its resources on fixing the problem, rather than litigation. That is why the county has settled with the cities of Rialto and Colton.
That is why the county has a draft settlement with the State Regional Water Quality Control Board to memorialize the county’s ongoing efforts to capture and treat the western perchlorate plume. That is why county lawyers are playing an active role in settlement negotiations between the state and the other potentially responsible parties on finding a solution to the eastern perchlorate plume.
The county is leading this cleanup even though the county never manufactured any perchlorate-containing materials and never introduced any perchlorate into the soils. It is just the right thing to do.
Read more of this commentary by clicking here.
Funds filter down to clean up water: Castaic Lake Water Agency receives more than $1 million to fight groundwater pollution
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 19, 2009 at 2:37 pmFrom the Santa Clarita Signal:
When President Obama signed off on a $410 billion spending bill last week, he kept the money flowing for Castaic Lake Water Agency’s efforts to clean up polluted water here in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Included in the wide-ranging bill is $1.148 million for cleanup at the former Whittaker-Bermite property in the middle of the city.
The water agency has been receiving federal cleanup funding annually for “a number of years,” according to Dan Masnada, general manager of the water agency. “It’s nothing new but it’s very helpful in at least covering some of the costs,” he said.
More from the Santa Clarita Signal by clicking here.
Everyone heads back to negotiating table as county perchlorate settlement is tabled
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 14, 2009 at 6:45 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
A proposed settlement between San Bernardino County and state water-quality regulators that would require the county to clean up much of the perchlorate contaminating Rialto’s drinking water has been put on hold.
The settlement was scheduled to be considered by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board at its April 24 meeting. But it has been taken off the calendar, said the board’s assistant executive officer, Kurt Berchtold. Renewed effort will now be put into global settlement talks among all the parties involved in the matter.
“It appeared that various (suspected polluters) would spend considerable effort challenging the county settlement and that would potentially disrupt the global settlement talks,” Berchtold said.
The proposed settlement would hold the county responsible for continuing its cleanup of a portion of the contamination. But other suspected polluters - and there are dozens of them - seemed uncomfortable with the county’s getting its own settlement deal. Some polluters also alleged that most of the board members had conflicts of interest because of contacts about the case with staff, who act as prosecutors against suspected polluters.
Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
EPA testing local water to find out if problematic chemical is in drinking supply
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 12, 2009 at 5:19 amFrom the Visalia Times Delta:
The sidewalk in front of a downtown Visalia law office may seem an odd place to look for environmental contamination. But for years, starting in 1959, long before the Sullivan and Sullivan Law Corp. occupied this West Oak Avenue building, it was Van Dusen’s Cleaners, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report.
A group of EPA- contracted workers broke up the sidewalk Wednesday and began pounding stakes into the dirt. They were looking for a not-so-pleasant memento of the former dry-cleaning business — perchloroethylene, or PCE, a chlorinated solvent used for decades in dry cleaning because of its ability to remove stains from clothing.
It’s also capable — when ingested or inhaled in vapor form — of causing neurological, liver and kidney damage, as well as cancer and other medical problems.
Since the early 1990s, traces of PCE have been found in some of the drinking-water wells beneath downtown and other parts the city. It’s potentially a big problem, not only in Visalia but for communities throughout the country where it has shown up in groundwater, often around the sites of current and former dry-cleaning operations.
Adding to the problem: Once the chemical is in the water table, it can be difficult to get out. “One of the properties of PCE that make it difficult to detect and clean up is that it is heavier than water,” said Chris Skelton, Visalia branch manager for BSK Associates, an environmental consulting firm that has worked on PCE cleanup operations. “PCE that finds its way to groundwater will sink to the bottom of the water-bearing zone and potentially into pockets that may be difficult to find.”
Read more from the Visalia Times Delta by clicking here.
EPA drills wells in Visalia, hunts toxic chemical
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 4, 2009 at 5:37 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
The federal Environmental Protection Agency will begin drilling monitoring wells around downtown Visalia today to look for the source of a dry cleaning chemical that has contaminated drinking water supplies.
The six wells will allow the EPA and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to search for perchloroethylene, or “perc.” The chemical is used in dry cleaning, and has shown up in drinking water in Visalia.
Exposure to the man-made substance, especially through breathing vapors, can cause liver and kidney damage, and is believed to increase cancer risk.
California Water Service said it has four wells in Visalia that have water contaminated with perc.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here. Central Valley Business Times covers this story here, and the Visalia Times-Delta article is here.
California City to face chloramine water controversy
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 24, 2009 at 6:01 amFrom the Antelope Valley Press:
The city is the latest local community that receives water from the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency to learn about the agency’s plans to use chloramines to disinfect its water supply. The process, which uses a mixture of chlorine and ammonia to remove compounds deemed toxic by regulators, has become controversial in other communities that AVEK serves.
AVEK General Manager Russ Fuller addressed Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council about the agency’s plans.
AVEK’s water has been found to exceed standards for trihalomethanes. These compounds, known as THMs, form when chlorine comes in contact with organic materials, such as decaying plant life, in surface water like that in the California Aqueduct. Based on reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, THMs have been correlated with an increased risk of contracting certain types of cancer.
Another means of treating the water to remove THMs is by filtering it through granular activated carbon, a process that is effective but very expensive, Fuller said.
The water agency is preparing its water treatment plants to use a combination of chloramines and granular activated carbon.
Read more from the Antelope Valley Press by clicking here.
Merced City Council moves to increase safety of water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 20, 2009 at 6:20 amFrom the Merced County Times:
A grant for water treatment for arsenic and nitrates is something the Merced City Council would like to see awarded by the California Department of Public Health’s Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
“One of our wells is on the cusp of not passing the lower standards,” said Michael Wegley, Merced’s Acting Director of Public Works.
The Federal standards for drinking water were recently tightened from 50 parts per billion of contaminants to 10 parts per billion, citing the risk of cancer from long-term exposure as the reason.
One project proposed to be funded by the grant would be water treatment for arsenic at Well Site # 2.
Besides arsenic, another groundwater contaminant causing concern is nitrates. The source of Merced’s water supply is groundwater. Cow manure from dairies can leak nitrates into the soil and contaminate the groundwater. Nitrates in drinking water can cause serious problems for babies and small children. Infants are particularly vulnerable to nitrates interfering with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Unsafe levels of nitrates in water can cause symptoms like shortness of breath and bluish skin.
Read more from the Merced County Times by clicking here.
Chromium carcinogenic in water; new standard in the works
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 20, 2009 at 6:10 amFrom Environmental Health News:
A controversial water contaminant made famous by Erin Brockovich and a small California desert town is carcinogenic. That conclusion by federal scientists, culminating more than a decade of debate, is likely to trigger new, more stringent standards limiting the amount of hexavalent chromium allowable in water supplies.
It’s been known for about 20 years that people can contract lung cancer when inhaling hexavalent chromium, also known as Chromium 6. But until now, toxicologists have been uncertain whether it causes cancer when swallowed.
National Toxicology Program scientists reported that their two-year animal study “clearly demonstrates” that the compound is carcinogenic in drinking water. Mice and rats contracted malignant tumors in their small intestines and mouths when they drank water containing several different doses of hexavalent chromium. “I think it’s resolved, as much as it can be resolved,” said George Alexeeff, deputy director of scientific affairs at California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
Based largely on the new cancer findings, California and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials are re-evaluating what concentration is safe in water supplies. Within a few weeks, California is expected to announce a proposal to set a new health guideline.
The Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, population of around 1,900, has the highest levels of hexavalent chromium reported in U.S. ground water. The compound seeped into water there from a Pacific Gas and Electric facility that used it to inhibit rust in cooling towers and discharged it into holding ponds in the 1950s and 1960s.
Read more from Environmental Health News by clicking here.
Drinking water in the West could become more corrosive, study says
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 18, 2009 at 7:57 amFrom the Discovery Channel:
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 United States, he found that acidity and dissolved metals in water skyrocket after rain hits an area that had been dry for months.
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.
Read more from the Discovery Channel by clicking here. Hat tip to the Water Sisweb for this one!
Police: Don’t flush drugs unless you want to drink them; Huntington Beach police launch prescription medication disposal service to encourage residents not to flush or throw away pharmaceuticals
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 18, 2009 at 6:12 amFrom the O.C. Register:
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 [Huntington Beach] Police Department lobby for residents who want to get rid of their medications.
Huntington Beach is the first Orange County beach city to launch the ongoing program, said Sgt. Guy Dove. Some cities, such as Cypress, hold annual or bi-annual collections of prescriptions.
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.
Read more from the O.C. Register by clicking here.
In Pleasanton, that white stuff on your glass? It’s minerals; Official said water supplier has had to tap into well water, which has more minerals, buildup
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 14, 2009 at 5:59 amFrom Pleasanton Weekly:
Pleasanton residents who have unloaded their dishwashers recently have probably noticed a white film on glasses and other cookware. That’s due to well water, according to the general manager of Zone 7 Water Agency.
Residents reported a noticeable coating on their dishes on the Weekly’s online Town Square forum. Some thought it may be a problem with their dishwasher, but it appears the culprit is the well water.
Zone 7 supplies 80 percent of residents in the city with water. The other 20 percent receive water from city of Pleasanton wells.
A few reasons are attributed to the increase in pumping from wells. One is that this time of year, Zone 7 crews are performing regular maintenance on pumping stations, leading them to use more groundwater, or well water, in the interim. Normally, water is a blend of surface water and groundwater. Also court-ordered reductions in pumping from the Delta and a drought has led Zone 7 to use its well reserves.
Read more from Pleasanton Weekly, which includes tips on how to deal with the harder water, by clicking here.
Regional water quality board to weigh San Bernardino County deal to clean up tainted groundwater
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 14, 2009 at 5:44 amFrom the Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
A regional water quality board will consider approving a settlement calling for San Bernardino County to continue cleanup of a landfill that leaked toxic perchlorate into the groundwater of Colton and Rialto.
Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the April 24 hearing is a technicality growing out of the tentative settlement between San Bernardino County and the two cities nearly a year ago.
The earlier settlement called for the county to pay Rialto $4 million and Colton $1 million for the perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate is a chemical found in rocket fuel and fireworks.
“I thought we would have had it (the settlement money) a year ago,” Rialto City Councilman Ed Scott said by phone Friday. “Who knows when we’ll get it? I’m hoping by mid-summer that everything will be finished and we’ll have our settlement with the county.”
Read more from the Press Enterprise by clicking here.
Justices to weigh cleanup liability
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 7, 2009 at 5:39 amFrom the National Law Journal:
For years, businesses large and small viewed as unfair but unchangeable their potential liability for the entire cost of a Superfund site cleanup, no matter how tenuous their connection to the site.
But an oil company and two railroads, on the hook for a $40 million cleanup, will urge the U.S. Supreme Court this month to limit how most courts and the federal government approach liability for cleaning the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites.
Although the federal Superfund law has been on the books for nearly three decades, there were 1,258 uncontrolled hazardous waste sites on the so-called National Priorities List as of last September, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and more sites await listing.
“You’d think eventually Superfund would fade in importance because we have addressed these problems, but thousands of these sites are in the pipeline and being discovered all the time,” said environmental law scholar Jerry Anderson of Drake University Law School. “It’s going to be relevant for quite a while.”
The two Superfund cases that the high court has consolidated for argument on Feb. 24 are among six potentially significant environmental cases to be decided this term under a number of different environmental laws.
Read more from the National Law Journal by clicking here.
Railroads pay to relocate city of Arvin’s drinking water well
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 5, 2009 at 5:39 amGood news for the people of Arvin from the Environment News Service:
The Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway have agreed to pay nearly $1 million in cleanup costs at a Superfund site in the town of Arvin, California, the U.S. EPA announced today.
Located in an industrial, agricultural, and residential area of Kern County, the five acre site was used by Brown & Bryant Inc. for the formulation of pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, and fertilizers from 1960 to 1989, when the company went out of business. In 1981, the site was licensed by the federal government as a hazardous waste transporter.
The EPA says contamination of soil and groundwater resulted from inadequate procedural controls, chemical spills during operations, and leaks from a surface wastewater pond and sumps.
In 1989, the site was placed on the Superfund List. Later, a series of removal actions cleared contaminants from surface soils which posed the most immediate threat to human health.
The settlement funds totaling $985,000 will be used to relocate a drinking water well, Arvin City Well No. 1, as a precautionary measure. The well is located just 1,500 feet from the site in the direct path of slow moving contaminants migrating from the site.
The well is tested monthly by the City of Arvin and is not currently contaminated, according to the city and the EPA. “This action is a safeguard to ensure that the people who rely on Arvin’s water system will continue to receive clean, safe drinking water,” said Keith Takata, the Superfund Division director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region.
Read more from the Environment News Service by clicking here.
Fluoridation: 64-years-old & must retire, says article; fluoride may also be affecting salmon, study says
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 27, 2009 at 3:50 pmFrom Best Syndication:
Sixty-four years ago, on January 25, sodium fluoride was slowly poured into Grand Rapids, Michigan’s public water supply to prove that fluoridation reduces children’s tooth decay. Five years into the experiment, things weren’t going as expected. Cavities declined equally in the non-fluoridated control city of Muskegon, too. So to blur the truth or prove their expectation, Muskegon was fluoridated also.
So what’s happening today?
Ingested fluoride is not stopping cavities and is causing dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth.
For example, according to data presented at the 2006 American Association for Dental Research’s annual meeting:
– Researchers following children from birth found almost twice the amount of dental fluorosis in children drinking fluoridated water but no less decay than children drinking non-fluoridated water. (1)
Read more from Best Syndication by clicking here.
Could flouride be impacting the salmon? Here’s the summary from a study done in 1994 that says yes:
A review of 1iterature and documentation suggests that concentrations of fluoride above 0.2 mg/L have lethal (LC50) effects on and inhibit migration of “endangered” salmon species whose stocks are now in serious decline in the US Northwest and British Columbia. Fluoride added to drinking water,”to improve dental health”, enters the fresh water eco-system, in various ways, at levels above 0.2 mg/L. This factor, if considered in “critical habitat” decisions, should lead to the development of a strategy calling for a ban on fluoridation and rapid sunsetting of the practice of disposal of industrial fluoride waste into fresh water.
Read the full text of this study by clicking here.
Thanks to Ray Walker for sending me the links!
After admitting faults at hearing, new EPA head starts work
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 24, 2009 at 7:05 amFrom Pro Publica:
With little scrutiny or controversy, Lisa Jackson was confirmed by the Senate late last night to head the Environmental Protection Agency after a confirmation hearing where criticisms of Jackson’s tenure as head of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were given short shrift.
In her first move as EPA chief, Jackson pledged to make science “the backbone for EPA programs [1].” In a memo sent to EPA employees today, Jackson said that reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing chemical risks, cleaning up hazardous waste and protecting America’s water would receive her personal attention.
As ProPublica reported, Jackson’s approach to virtually all of these goals was criticized when she was head of the New Jersey’s environmental department [2]. In the run-up to her confirmation, Jackson’s critics accused her of being cozy with industry, failing to act on a three-year-old recommendation to regulate perchlorate in drinking water [3], and not fulfilling a promise to fix the state’s hazardous waste program.
Questions about these aspects of her record were only briefly addressed at her confirmation hearing. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, saved these questions for what she called a “lighting round” that took place in the final minutes of Jackson’s confirmation.
Read more from Pro Publica by clicking here.
Chloramines clamor brings out cross crowd in Antelope Valley
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 24, 2009 at 6:32 amFrom the Antelope Valley Press:
A crowd of roughly 160 people filled Lancaster’s City Council chambers to hear a presentation about a proposed change in the process of disinfecting drinking water, with some questioning that switch and voicing concern about possible health risks and higher water prices.
At one point, the crowd’s hostility escalated significantly, prompting Adam Ariki, assistant deputy director of Los Angeles County Public Works, to tell a few speakers he hadn’t been rude to them, so he expected them to stop interrupting him, in order to regain control of the meeting.
Wednesday night’s meeting was one of four scheduled between this week and next by Los Angeles County 5th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to inform people about the proposed switch from chlorine to chloramines as a water treatment. Chloramine, a chemical compound, is derived by adding ammonia to chlorine.
Because of the controversy that chloramines roused, county officials said they likely will send out a survey to L.A. County Waterworks customers for their input on whether they approve or disapprove of using that compound to treat their drinking water. The district serves about 54,000 customer connections in the Antelope Valley, or about 165,000 people.
Ariki said the Board of Supervisors will vote on sending out a survey at the recommendation of Antonovich.
“We believe we use the best approach, the most cost-effective approach,” Ariki told the crowd, explaining that Waterworks customers in Malibu have received water treated with chloramines for more than 25 years.
Read more from the Antelope Valley Press by clicking here.
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