Groundwater management in California needs better monitoring and regulation
Posted by: Maven on February 3, 2012 at 8:29 amFrom The Planning Report:
“TPR is pleased to present the following excerpt from a panel, ‘Groundwater Management: Advancing Quality and Quantity’ at the Future of Water in Southern California conference in Los Angeles. M. Rhead Enion, a fellow in environmental law and policy at UCLA, offers a comparative view of the condition of groundwater management in California today and what steps the state may take to improve regulatory mechanisms and mitigate looming challenges.
M. Rhead Enion (Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law): I want to start with a summary of the important characteristics of groundwater, and then I’ll compare and contrast the management scheme in California compared to elsewhere. Then discussing next steps, I want to talk about conjunctive use and where we can go with that.
Ground water and surface water are a connected single functional system in almost all cases. It’s really important to recognize that any time you add groundwater into the groundwater basin, you’re going to affect the surface water. If you take water out of the groundwater basin, it’s likely, depending on the basin, that you’ll decrease surface flows. So it’s really hard to regulate one without the other. And the same goes for pollution. If you have a pollution problem in a groundwater basin, that tends to bring additional problems to surface water. Any kind of other pollution tends to flow between one and another. … “
Continue reading from The Planning Report by clicking here.
Merced: Companies deny groundwater is tainted with fuel additive MTBE
Posted by: Maven on February 2, 2012 at 7:48 amFrom the Merced Sun-Star:
“A lengthy chemical contamination trial pitting the city of Merced against several major oil companies appears to be entering its final chapter.
Merced city officials have accused Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co. and Chevron Corp. of contaminating groundwater at several sites with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive. Attorneys for the oil companies deny the accusations.
Both sides gave closing arguments Tuesday and Wednesday, after more than three months of testimony at Merced County Superior Court in Judge Carol Ash’s courtroom. … “
Continue reading from the Merced Sun-Star by clicking here.
Santa Clarita: Well due to come back online this week
Posted by: Maven on January 31, 2012 at 6:54 amFrom the Santa Clarita Signal:
“Water officials expect to have one of two perchlorate-removing wells back in service by the end of February as they make the last few repairs this week.
In October, officials with the Castaic Lake Water Agency were forced to take Saugus Well No. 2 out of service to repair mechanical problems, including a broken pump shaft.
Once they had a chance to look at the well, they found its liner, or casing, was deteriorating with extensive mineral deposits, corrosion and several holes in the casing. … “
Continue reading from the Santa Clarita Signal by clicking here.
State appellate court ruling gives judge authority to apportion aquifer storage space
Posted by: Maven on January 21, 2012 at 6:46 amFrom the Long Beach Telegram:
“To water managers in thirsty Southern California, the idle space in two of Los Angeles County’s huge aquifers looks tantalizing.
In all, 450,000 of the millions of acre-feet in the Central and West Coast basins are vacant. It’s almost the volume of a comparable number of football fields with a one-foot-deep layer of water.
The Water Replenishment District of Southern California, joined by other agencies and the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Los Angeles, Huntington Park and Vernon, have waged an almost three-year legal battle to tap the groundwater storage. … “
Continue reading from the Long Beach Press Telegram by clicking here.
Southern California: Judge can decide water storage plan
Posted by: Maven on January 20, 2012 at 8:23 amFrom the Whittier Daily News:
“A state appellate court has ruled that a Superior Court judge has the power to consider a plan for water storage in the southeast area of Los Angeles County.
A regional water district, five cities and two water utilities in the southeast area in 2009 proposed a plan to allocate available underground water storage.
But Norwalk Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig in July 2010 ruled she didn’t have the power to consider the plan proposed by the Water Replenishment District of Southern California and the cities of Lakewood, Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Long Beach and Vernon; California Water Service and the Golden State Water Company.
The group of eight appealed the ruling. … “
Continue reading from the Whittier Daily News by clicking here.
Groundwater levels down in Glenn County; Water committee studying ordinance
Posted by: Maven on January 14, 2012 at 6:14 amTwo stories today about groundwater levels in Glenn County. Here’s the first, from the Orland Press Register:
“Groundwater levels are going down in Glenn County and the Northern Sacramento Valley based on eight-year averages examined in wells by the California Department of Water Resources.
Roy Hull, with the state agency, updated Glenn County Water Advisory Committee members Tuesday on the fall 2011 data, as compared to figures from 2004.
He said the data suggest wells throughout the valley are dropping, but many shallow wells still tested within five feet of normal based on 2004 statistics and their location. … “
Continue reading from the Orland Press Register by clicking here.
Also from the Orland Press Register:
“Proposed changes to Glenn County’s groundwater ordinance are in the hands of its Water Advisory Committee for study through February.
The revisions were presented to committee members Tuesday and call for the panel to drop from 22 to 13 members.
The committee is also shifting its primary focus from groundwater level studies to groundwater management, and the establishment of water export guidelines. … “
Continue reading from the Orland Press Register by clicking here.
Drought or glut? Health of water resources depends on how deep you look
Posted by: Maven on January 9, 2012 at 6:54 am
From MinnPost:
“Fascinating new views of Earth popped up over the holidays, drawing on advanced satellite sensing to visualize the state of groundwater resources around the globe.
The picture is not pretty in the world’s drier regions, where aquifers are being drawn down faster than they can recharge. But in Minnesota and much of the north-central U.S., the situation looks pretty good.
The map above compares current levels of groundwater storage to levels going back to 1948, with the results ranked in 11 color-coded tiers.
In areas marked with maroon — like the zones of severe long-term drought in Texas, Oklahoma and elsewhere — groundwater has been measured at levels seen only 2 percent of the time over that 63-year record. … “
Continue reading from the MinnPost by clicking here.
YouTube: Working with farmers to decrease Nitrogen pollution
Posted by: Maven on January 7, 2012 at 8:42 amFrom the Environmental Defense Fund, posted at YouTube:
“Farm policy expert Suzy Friedman partners with farmers to solve an age-old dilemma and protect water quality.”
Research paper: Groundwater storage estimates in the Central Valley aquifer using GRACE data
Posted by: Maven on January 2, 2012 at 8:09 amFrom EarthZine:
“The role of the NASA Applied Sciences DEVELOP student internship program is to use NASA satellite missions to explore Earth-based research questions in collaboration with state and federal agencies. One recent project focused on the use of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), to estimate changes in groundwater storage in the Central Valley aquifer in collaboration with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).
GRACE can be used to measure gravitational anomalies on Earth which are further processed to remove other gravitational effects, and are obtained as measurements of equivalent water thickness, which relate to changes in total water storage (TWS) throughout the world. For this study, GRACE TWS anomalies were obtained from October 2002 to September 2009, for two hydrologic regions, the Sacramento River Basin and the San Joaquin River Basin, including the Tulare Lake Basin, encompassing the Central Valley aquifer.
To calculate monthly groundwater storage estimates, additional variables such as soil moisture, snowpack, and surface water storage were combined with GRACE TWS values to estimate groundwater storage anomalies. The GRACE-derived changes in groundwater storage at the basin and regional level or the two basins combined, were then compared to modeled values calculated using the California Department of Water Resources’ Central Valley Groundwater-Surface Water Simulation Model (C2VSIM) and a Geographical Information Systems Change in Storage Tool (GIS CST).
Groundwater storage estimates from GRACE and C2VSIM were comparable for the entire Central Valley, showing similar seasonal, annual, and long-term trends. This work has the potential to improve California’s groundwater resource management and the use of existing hydrologic models for the Central Valley. … “
Read the paper and check out the graphs at EarthZine by clicking here.
Glenn County’s Water Advisory Committee shifts to groundwater management
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 6:53 amFrom the Willows Journal:
“Glenn County’s Water Advisory Committee is changing its focus from developing groundwater monitoring plans to groundwater management.
It also is thinking of shrinking the size of the committee from 20 to 13 members to streamline it and doing strategic planning as a group.
Adding one supervisor to chair a technical subcommittee of the Water Advisory Committee is another option being explored. He would not vote, but could give the committee the board’s perspective, county officials said. … “
Continue reading from the Willows Journal by clicking here.
Water Wired: California (groundwater management) dreamin’
Posted by: Maven on December 23, 2011 at 6:48 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“So what does California groundwater management have to do with the fabulous anthem by the Mamas and the Papas? Actually, it has more to do with the Mamas and Papas themselves: it’s about as messed up as their personal lives.
What prompted this comparison and the (expected) rant? Actually, it’s just a lame reason for featuring one of the great songs of the rock era.
I just got off the phone with a couple of good folks – Doug Woodcock and Ivan Gall – hydrogeologists from the Oregon Water Resources Department. They interviewed me for a volunteer position on the OWRD’s Groundwater Advisory Committee (GWAC). At one point one of them asked me a question along the lines of what I thought about groundwater management issues.
Well, you might as well wave a red flag in front of a bull. … “
Continue reading from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Groundwater dropping globally: Satellites find supply falling mostly due to agriculture
Posted by: Maven on December 23, 2011 at 6:44 amFrom Science News:
“Groundwater levels have dropped in many places across the globe over the past nine years, a pair of gravity-monitoring satellites finds. This trend raises concerns that farmers are pumping too much water out of the ground in dry regions.
Water has been disappearing beneath southern Argentina, western Australia and stretches of the United States. The decline is especially pronounced in parts of California, India, the Middle East and China, where expanding agriculture has increased water demand.
“Groundwater is being depleted at a rapid clip in virtually of all of the major aquifers in the world’s arid and semiarid regions,” says Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist at the University of California Center for Hydrologic Modeling in Irvine, whose team presented the new trends December 6 at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union. … “
Continue reading from Science News by clicking here.
Debate over groundwater heats up
Posted by: Maven on December 20, 2011 at 7:59 amFrom the Capital Press:
“The debate over what to do about declining groundwater supplies took center stage during a recent water seminar here.
In California, 30 percent of total water usage is provided by groundwater, making the Golden State the biggest user of groundwater in the nation, and 43 percent of the state’s residents obtain drinking water from aquifers, said Kelly Staton, a senior engineering geologist for the state Department of Water Resources.
Studies show that water tables in the Sacramento Valley dropped an average of 5 feet from 2004 to 2010, although they’ve gained back about 2 feet since last year, Staton explained. … “
Continue reading from the Capital Press by clicking here.
Groundwater on Times Square!
Posted by: Maven on December 11, 2011 at 6:50 amFrom Jay Famiglietti at the Water 50/50 blog:
“Congratulations to Richard Vijgen, the winner of the HeadsUp! 2011 visualization contest, announced on December 7th by contest organizers Peggy Weil and Visualizing.org. Contestants, who were design professionals and students, used real groundwater data, including our groundwater depletion estimates derived from NASA GRACE observations, to produce informative and visually-stimulating animations that help drive home the message of widespread groundwater depletion all over the world. Richard’s visualizations, which used our data and USGS data on groundwater depletion from Dr. Lenny Konikow, will be displayed on the Thomson Reuters and NASDAQ signs in Times Square on World Water Day, March 22, 2012. … “
You can check out the winners by clicking here.
National Ground Water Association (NGWA) presents 2011 Ground Water Protection Award to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California for its Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program
Posted by: Maven on December 1, 2011 at 7:47 amFrom PR Newswire:
“Today the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) presented its 2011 Outstanding Ground Water Project Awards with their Ground Water Protection Award going to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) for its exceptional Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program.
For over 50 years, WRD has been managing the groundwater replenishment and water quality activities for the Central Groundwater Basin and the West Coast Groundwater Basin for the benefit of 4 million residents in south Los Angeles County. The analyses of information from the WRD Regional Groundwater Monitoring program helps the District plan and implement projects and programs to increase recycled water use, prevent seawater intrusion and capture and conserve stormwater. … “
Continue reading from PR Newswire by clicking here.
Water Replishment District’s Safe Drinking Water Program and Well Profiling Program: Improving water quality
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2011 at 6:19 amFrom the Water Replenishment District of Southern California’s blog:
“There are currently over 500 groundwater production wells in the Central and West Coast Basins operated by 110 entities delivering water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use to the nearly 4 million people in 43 cities overlying the basins. The groundwater is extracted from sand and gravel Pleistocene aquifers ranging in depth from 50 feet (ft) to over 2,000 ft.
The aquifers are separated by clay and silt aquitards creating both unconfined and confined conditions. Most of the wells are screened across multiple aquifers to maximize groundwater production (Figure 1) [available on click-through].
Although many of the production wells extract high quality groundwater that needs little to no treatment before serving, some wells do face water quality issues that require action before the water can be used. … “
Continue reading from the Water Replenishment District’s blog by clicking here.
Huffington Post: Visualizing respect for groundwater
Posted by: Maven on November 8, 2011 at 7:17 amFrom Robin Madel at the Huffington Post:
“Like Rodney Dangerfield, groundwater gets no respect. So says Michael ‘Aquadoc’ Campana. Groundwater is being depleted at an unsustainable rate and since many people don’t know where their water comes from they’re not aware that this is a problem. Visualizing.org wants to change that with its latest data visualization contest, called Heads Up.
In case you’ve never heard of Visualizing.org, they are a community of creative people working to make sense of complex issues through data and design. They’ve held contests to visualize data from such complex global topics as water footprinting, growing food consumption and food needs, even the future of Facebook. Now, they’ve announced a contest to create a visualization of groundwater trends. The winning entry will be prominently displayed on 19,000 square feet of signboard as a 30-second motion graphic on the TS2 signs in New York City’s Times Square for one month, beginning on March 22, 2012, World Water Day. … “
Continue reading from the Huffington Post by clicking here.
Water Replenishment District receives official designation as Groundwater Level Monitoring Entity for Central and West Coast sub-basins
Posted by: Maven on October 31, 2011 at 6:20 amFrom Water Online:
“The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) was notified today by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that it has received official designation as the Groundwater Level Monitoring Entity for Central and West Coast sub-basins under the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program. The CASGEM program is a statewide groundwater monitoring program that will make groundwater information readily and widely available. … “
Continue reading from Water Online by clicking here.
Water Wired blog: Groundwater: The ‘Rodney Dangerfield’ of the hydrologic cycle
Posted by: Maven on October 28, 2011 at 8:40 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“What if I told you that there was an oil reservoir that contained about 98% of our total proved oil reserves but that it did not get much attention from ‘experts’ at international meetings? You’d probably think I was daft. How could experts ignore such a resource?
Now let’s do that again, except that instead of ‘oil reservoir’,and ‘proved oil reserves’ we substitute ‘liquid freshwater’ and ‘total freshwater’. Your response would be the same, perhaps expressing more incredulity.
But it’s true – provided we are discussing groundwater. Yes, about 98% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater is under the ground in the saturated zone – groundwater. … “
Continue reading from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Opening statements made in Merced groundwater contamination case
Posted by: Maven on October 19, 2011 at 8:01 amFrom the Merced Sun-Star:
“Opening statements began Tuesday morning in Merced County Superior Court in the lawsuit the city of Merced brought against Chevron USA Inc., Shell Oil Co., ExxonMobil Corp. and other oil companies.
The city claims that the oil companies contaminated groundwater at several sites with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a fuel additive that’s a possible carcinogen.
Lawyers for the companies mounted a spirited defense, insisting that they’d done nothing wrong by including MTBE in their gasoline. They claim there was no evidence of harm to anybody’s health in Merced from the alleged contamination. … “
Continue reading from the Merced Sun-Star by clicking here.
PG&E: Cost of replacing Hinkley’s contaminated groundwater to exceed $54 million
Posted by: Maven on October 19, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom Fox Business News:
“PG&E Corp. (PCG) said Tuesday that replacing underground drinking water in Hinkley, Calif., that was contaminated by utility operations decades ago will cost much more than the $54 million the company had set aside for the project.
The town’s underground drinking water supply was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing chemical, after PG&E’s utility used the substance at its natural gas pumping station there to control algae and protect metal equipment from rust. … “
Continue reading from Fox Business News by clicking here.
Glendale: $550K dedicated to removing cancer agent from groundwater
Posted by: Maven on October 15, 2011 at 7:49 amFrom the Glendale News-Press:
“Glendale Water & Power plans to spend another $550,000 on a research project for stripping cancer-causing chromium 6 from local groundwater that already has cost $7.8 million. City officials say they need to make the expenditure because the current removal method has some drawbacks and the state may tighten restrictions.
The additional funding comes from a coalition of stakeholders as California officials consider tightening restrictions on how much of the toxic element — already at 50 parts per billion — is allowed in potable water. … “
Continue reading from the Glendale News-Press by clicking here.
Water Wired blog: NGWA groundwater twofer: 1) Exempt wells a-bounds; 2) Declining water levels virtual conference
Posted by: Maven on October 13, 2011 at 8:40 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“What a joy! Pardon the redundancy (‘NGWA’ and ‘Groundwater’).
1) The current issue of NGWA’s venerable Water Well Journal features ‘Exempt Wells in the West’ by Mike Price. It’s a very good overview article featuring exempt well guru Todd Jarvis and other friends like Alan Eades (NM) and Scott Fowler (WA).
The article highlights the Bounds case in New Mexico, which is being argued before the state’;s Supreme Court this month and could have a profound influence on exempt wells, not only in New Mexico, but around the West as others anxiously wait to see what New Mexico does. … “
Continue reading from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Groundwater heads to Broadway …
Posted by: Maven on October 11, 2011 at 7:51 amFrom Take Part:
“Can fact-backed art save a depleting natural resource? Digital media artist Peggy Weil sure hopes so. The organization she founded, HeadsUP!, challenges designers to visualize critical global issues, like climate change, by creating large-scale signs for public spaces.
The first issue up to bat? Groundwater depletion.
The organization is currently accepting applications for its HeadsUP! Times Square Visualization Challenge, an animated, data-driven indicator that will alert the public to America’s deteriorating supply of groundwater supply. … “
Continue reading from Take Part by clicking here.
Commentary: California’s battle with the tragedy of the commons
Posted by: Maven on October 8, 2011 at 7:31 amFrom Global Water Intelligence, this commentary:
“California may have reached peak water usage, according to Dr Jay Lund of the University of California at Davis, speaking at the National Association of Water Companies meeting in San Diego earlier this week.
It seems that urban usage is already on the way down – due to water conservation measures – while the expansion of water usage in the agricultural sector has been brought to a standstill because real estate development has been steadily eating into the amount of land which is irrigated.
But this does not mean that there is no longer such pressure on water resources, and that the state will not need to take action to increase its water supply. … “
Continue reading this commentary from Global Water Intelligence by clicking here.
USGS releases Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley Groundwater Quality Assessment
Posted by: Maven on October 3, 2011 at 7:10 amFrom the USGS California Water Science Center:
“High concentrations of natural and man-made compounds were found in aquifers used for drinking supply beneath valleys surrounding Monterey Bay, and the Salinas Valley. Scientists determined that concentrations of these substances in untreated groundwater are above state and federal health standards for drinking water. Scientists analyzed untreated groundwater from wells, not treated tap water, which may be disinfected, filtered, mixed, and/or exposed to the atmosphere to create safe levels for consumption before it is delivered to consumers.
Nitrate was the predominant constituent affecting groundwater quality in the study area, occurring in high concentrations in about 8% of the aquifer system at depths tapped by public supply wells. The quality of groundwater at shallower depths can differ from groundwater at deeper depths. The presence of nitrate in groundwater can be affected by both natural and human factors. Nitrate from human sources include fertilizers applied for agriculture and landscape maintenance, and septic systems. Concentrations are considered “high” if they are above Federal and California regulatory benchmarks for protecting human health. … “
Continue reading from the USGS by clicking here.
New USGS science: Groundwater study of the eastern Great Basin
Posted by: Maven on September 29, 2011 at 7:21 amFrom the USGS:
“Groundwater pumping, which has been increasing since the 1940s, now accounts for about one third of the estimated annual flow from the aquifers of the eastern Great Basin. In parts of this region, groundwater pumping exceeds the rate of natural discharge, leading to land subsidence and declines in water levels and spring flow.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists recently published a report examining groundwater recharge (replenishment) and discharge for the eastern Great Basin. The study examined 110,000 square miles across Utah, Nevada, California and Idaho, and the report covers groundwater conditions from Death Valley in the southwest to Cache Valley in the northeast.
“Groundwater resources are not only a critical part of present water supplies in this area, but are likely to increase in importance in the future because the region is facing population growth and limited surface water supplies,” said Kevin Dennehy, coordinator for the USGS Groundwater Resources Program. “The results of the study have the potential to aid state and local agencies to better manage their future water supplies.” … “
Continue reading from the USGS by clicking here.
Draft SWRCB Water Quality Coordinating Committee concept paper: Development of strategic work plan for groundwater
Posted by: Maven on September 26, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom the State Water Resources Control Board, this draft document on groundwater that will be discussed at a Water Quality Coordinating Committee meeting being held today & tomorrow:
“This concept paper presents an overview of the major groundwater problems and challenges in California and a description of the Water Boards’ current efforts to address these challenges. Further development of the concepts and draft strategies for future will be discussed at the September 2011 Water Quality Coordinating Committee meeting and will form the basis of a statewide strategic work plan for groundwater.
Background Groundwater represents a significant and growing portion of the State’s water supply.Californians use about 15 billion gallons of groundwater a day, more than any other state in the country. Approximately 35 percent of the water supply* comes from groundwater during average water year conditions, with groundwater accounting for nearly 80 percent in some regions. On a statewide scale, the majority of groundwater extraction occurs in the Central Valley, especially for agricultural use, and in the urbanized areas along the South and Central Coasts. … “
Continue reading this draft document by clicking here.
Nipomo: Report says groundwater supply ‘potentially severe’
Posted by: Maven on September 24, 2011 at 6:40 amFrom the Adobe Press:
“Although the level of the Nipomo Mesa Groundwater Basin rebounded slightly in spring 2010, the water supply remains in a potentially severe condition, according to a technical group report delivered last week.
However, there is no indication saltwater is intruding on the subsurface pool, the Nipomo Mesa Management Area Technical Group said in its third annual report.
“We look at this as analogous to a yellow light,” group chairman Robert Miller told about two dozen people who gathered at Nipomo High School last week to hear a summary of the 2010 report. … “
Continue reading from the Adobe Press by clicking here.
San Diego County: Water rustling riles neighbors in Boulevard as groundwater pumping continues despite County ban
Posted by: Maven on September 19, 2011 at 7:42 amFrom the East County Magazine:
“The Live Oak Holding Company is in hot water with the County of San Diego after it allegedly took part in unlawful groundwater sales for the construction of a new Border Patrol complex off of Ribbonwood road in Boulevard.
Yet despite numerous work stop work orders and public outcry, water removal has continued–and the grading process for the project remains on pace to be finished by the end of the month.
The groundwater being used for the project, which is being overseen by Straub Construction and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), is being pumped from the Live Oak Springs Resort. The water is then being transported to the site where it is used for the grading of the 31-acre property laid out for the building. … “
Continue reading from the East County Magazine by clicking here.
Can pumping too much groundwater raise sea level?
Posted by: Maven on September 16, 2011 at 8:40 amFrom Ars Technica:
“The overuse of groundwater is a concern that looms over discussions of water supply in many regions around the world. Many groundwater aquifers are pumped more quickly than they can be replenished, meaning wells have to be drilled deeper and deeper to reach an ever-diminishing resource.
The Ogallala Aquifer, which extends from Nebraska to Texas, is a prime example. There, groundwater irrigation has made productive agriculture possible in an otherwise dry region. The rate of water use, unfortunately, is not sustainable. In some places, groundwater is pumped over 20 times faster than it is recharged by precipitation, and water levels have steadily dropped. Some refer to this as “groundwater mining” because it took some 30,000 years to fill the aquifer—once it’s pumped dry, it won’t soon refill. … “
Continue reading from Ars Technica by clicking here.
NASA Mars research helps find buried water on earth
Posted by: Maven on September 15, 2011 at 8:21 am
From the Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
“A NASA-led team has used radar sounding technology developed to explore the subsurface of Mars to create high-resolution maps of freshwater aquifers buried deep beneath an Earth desert, in the first use of airborne sounding radar for aquifer mapping.
The research may help scientists better locate and map Earth’s desert aquifers, understand current and past hydrological conditions in Earth’s deserts and assess how climate change is impacting them. Deserts cover roughly 20 percent of Earth’s land surface, including highly populated regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, west and central Asia and the southwestern United States. … “
Continue reading from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by clicking here.
Northrop Grumman to pay $20 million to decontaminate groundwater
Posted by: Maven on September 15, 2011 at 7:58 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered defense contractor Northrop Grumman to pay $20 million for a system to clean up contamination in shallow groundwater that originated years ago from a factory in the City of Industry.
Northrop Grumman will install wells and a treatment plant to contain the contamination, according to an EPA statement released Wednesday. The treated water will be discharged back into the underground aquifer. … “
Continue reading from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Water Wired: Protect Your Groundwater Day!
Posted by: Maven on September 13, 2011 at 8:06 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“Yes, it’s Protect Your Groundwater Day!
Here is some information from the National Ground Water Association:
Everyone can and should do something to protect groundwater. Why? We all have a stake in maintaining its quality and quantity. … “
Continue reading from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Bill to make well logs public opposed
Posted by: Maven on September 1, 2011 at 8:49 amFrom the Capital Press:
“Farm groups are lining up against a bill in the California Legislature that would make landowners’ well logs available to the public.
Since 1949, the state has required notification from well drillers whenever a well is created, deepened, reperforated or destroyed. The well completion reports include details about the well’s depth, the type of soils encountered at each elevation and depth to water, according to a state Assembly bill analysis.
Until now, the information provided to the state Department of Water Resources has not been readily accessible to the public. State Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, wants to change that, reasoning that the geophysical data is important to groundwater managers, consulting hydrologists and others. … “
Continue reading from the Capital Press by clicking here.
Arsenic, uranium and other trace elements a potential concern in private drinking wells
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:20 amFrom the USGS:
“About 20% of untreated water samples from public, private, and monitoring wells across the nation contain concentrations of at least one trace element, such as arsenic, manganese and uranium, at levels of potential health concern, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
“In public wells these contaminants are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and contaminants are removed from the water before people drink it,” said Joe Ayotte, USGS hydrologist and lead author on the study. “However, trace elements could be present in water from private wells at levels that are considered to pose a risk to human health, because they aren’t subject to regulations. In many cases people might not even know that they have an issue.” … “
Continue reading from the USGS by clicking here.
Walking the tightrope of groundwater management
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 8:03 amFrom Columbia Institute’s State of the Planet blog:
“Mark Kram is a surfer, which is why he became a scientist. Since junior high school, he’s been exploring California’s Coast in search of waves. His love for being in the water eventually led him on a lifelong scientific quest to keep water clean. One day when we were surfing together near Faria Beach Park in Ventura, California, a solemn look crossed his face. “Ben, man. I’m gonna be real busy pretty soon, and probably won’t be able to surf much anymore,” he said in his laid back SoCal surfer drawl as we bobbed atop our surfboards, waiting for the next set of small, crumbly waves to arrive. “I’m working on something that’s gonna change the way people look at water.”
He wasn’t talking about the ocean, specifically, but the type of water he had honed in on–groundwater–is definitely linked to the sea. Coastal water districts all over the state have to be careful how much water they extract from groundwater aquifers. A full aquifer keeps seawater from leaching in through the soil. If enough sea water enters a depleted aquifer, it can spell the end of a community’s local underground storage capacity, putting them at the mercy of state and federal suppliers that aren’t always able to supply enough water. The Goleta Water District, an agricultural and suburban area located just outside Santa Barbara, California, narrowly avoided seawater contamination a few decades ago. Luckily, a thin layer of clay kept salty water from ruining the aquifer. A bit further north, in Los Osos, seawater has already begun to seep into the groundwater basin there, exciting a number of different judicial, executive, and legislative agencies into a flurry of self-preservatory action. … “
Continue reading from the State of the Planet blog by clicking here.
Virginia earthquake could affect some water wells
Posted by: Maven on August 26, 2011 at 8:04 amFrom Water Online:
“What happens above the Earth’s surface was dramatically apparent recently in places from Mineral, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., but what’s not so obvious are impacts beneath the surface to groundwater, said the National Ground Water Association.
While it’s too early to assess in Virginia and surrounding environs, earthquakes commonly cause fluctuations in groundwater levels and damage to water wells systems, said NGWA Public Awareness Director Cliff Treyens.
“Since aquifers are water-bearing subsurface formations, it makes sense that water levels and wells would be affected,” Treyens said. “One well driller after a California quake cited a well that produced 60 gallons per minute prior to a moderate earthquake slowing down to ‘practically nothing’ after.” … “
Continue reading from Water Online by clicking here.
$4.4-million settlement reached for San Gabriel Valley cleanup
Posted by: Maven on August 26, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom the Los Angeles Times Greenspace blog:
“Four companies have agreed to pay a total of $4.4 million in cleanup costs at a contaminated groundwater site in the San Gabriel Valley.
Aerojet-General Corp., Mammoet Western Inc., Time Realty Investments and Tonks Properties consented to the payments — but admitted no wrongdoing — under the terms of two settlements announced Thursday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The money will help fund treatment of drinking water supplies tainted with the industrial solvents PCE and TCE and other chemicals, including perchlorate. … “
Continue reading from the Greenspace blog by clicking here.
MORE: U.S. EPA settlements to provide more than $4 million for drinking water at San Gabriel Valley Superfund cleanup, press release from the EPA
Commentary: The relation between public health and water quality
Posted by: Maven on August 14, 2011 at 8:02 amFrom the Woodland Daily Democrat, this commentary by Dr. Christian Sandrock, the Yolo County Public Health Officer:
“As I watered my tomatoes, my neighbor informed me that I will not be able to afford this in the future.
“We are going to pay through the nose so our city can transition from ground to surface water,” he said, adding though, that our “appliances” will last longer and the “fish should feel better” when our wastewater adheres to Clean Water Act requirements. As I listened, I realized few are talking about the public health opportunity of this water project. And as I responded, he quickly replied, “this isn’t Africa man; our water is just fine.”
Now, he does have a point. The U.S. has the safest drinking water in the world, regardless of source. Historically, ground water provided safer drinking water than surface water as the sediment and depth of aquifers provided a natural filter. This distinction, however, has largely dissipated. … “
Continue reading from the Woodland Daily Democrat by clicking here.
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