The value of vernal pools: Upcoming conference explores whether they can be conserved and restored

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 19, 2010 at 6:36 am

From the Chico Enterprise-Record:

“Vernal-pool landscapes are found in few places around the world and threatened where they do exist. We are fortunate in Butte County to have some of the last remaining vernal-pool landscapes in California.

Vernal pools are formed when winter rains fill puddles, temporary creeks and pools atop impermeable, hard-clay soils. The spring (vernal) colors show us that plants blooming across the fields are different from plants in drainage channels and those along drying pool edges that are replacing the last surface water as it evaporates in summer’s heat. Other plants grow only in dry summer basins, long after migrating ducks and geese are only memories. … “

March 19, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Tap water contaminant ‘castrates’ frogs

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 2, 2010 at 7:18 am

From the USA Today:

“An herbicide that contaminates the tap water consumed by millions of Americans has been found to produce gender-bending effects in male frogs, “chemically castrating” some and turning others into females, a study shows.

Frogs in the experiment were exposed to amounts of the weedkiller atrazine that are comparable to the levels allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, says lead researcher Tyrone Hayes of the University of California-Berkeley.

The study was released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Hayes’ earlier studies, atrazine caused male frogs to begin growing eggs in their testes. In this experiment, 10% of the males exposed to atrazine — one of the most commonly used herbicide in the world — actually changed sex; some were able to breed and lay eggs. Nearly all of the other males had low testosterone and sperm levels, which made them unable to reproduce, Hayes says. … “

Continue reading this story from USA Today by clicking here.

March 2, 2010 · Filed Under Water & Wildlife, Water & the Environment

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Keep waterway pollutants from where the flow goes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 28, 2010 at 7:13 am

From the Ventura County Star:

“What do gardens, pets and automobiles have in common? They have distinct personalities and can inspire passionate responses, including dedication, fervor and love.

We do what we can to make them the best they can be. Sometimes, however, we overlook the need to look out for our health, community and environment in the process.

The Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program has produced a series of brochures on ways to help keep the objects of our affection healthy without causing unintentional harm to our watersheds.

A watershed is the total land area, including yards and driveways, from which stormwater drains into bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and the ocean. It includes the networks of gutters, pipes and open channels that direct untreated runoff away from our communities and into waterways. … “

Continue reading this article at the Ventura County Star by clicking here.

February 28, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Check this out: Waterfall “on fire” at Yosemite National Park

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 17, 2010 at 7:56 am

Go to the Merced Sun-Star and check out the picture of the waterfall at Yosemite that looks as if it is on fire. Apparently this is an annual event in February, dependent on a number of factors. It’s an amazing illusion!

Click here to check out the ‘Firefalls’ at Yosemite from the Merced Sun-Star.

February 17, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Less fog puts redwoods at risk, scientists say

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 16, 2010 at 6:52 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“A gradual decrease in summer fog along the California coast over the past century may be endangering the region’s giant redwoods and affecting the ecology of the area surrounding the trees, according to a study by UC Berkeley scientists.

“The redwoods along our coast are highly dependent on fog as a source of water during the summer when water in the ground is scarce,” Todd E. Dawson, one of the study’s two authors, said in an interview. “Foggy nights are needed to rehydrate the trees that can’t tolerate long droughts.”

Mature redwoods are unlikely to die if the decrease in fog persists, he said. But fewer seeds are likely to sprout, take root and grow to maturity. … “

Picture of redwoods in fog by flickr photographer mercurialn (Creative Commons).

February 16, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Pure water for Haiti, Afghanistan: Just add bacteria

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 11, 2010 at 7:50 am

From Wired Magazine:

“Scientists at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) have successfully designed portable, efficient, bacteria-based water treatment units. Two of the devices are on their way to Army bases in Afghanistan, and the research team is in talks with the Pentagon about sending a working prototype to help relief efforts in Haiti.

The systems, called “bio-reactors,” clean putrid water using the same bacteria you’d find in a handful of dirt. The bacteria filter the water, then eat up the sludge that’s a common byproduct of waste treatment. It’s all done in less than 24 hours, and from devices smaller than a standard shipping crate.

To put that into perspective, an average waste-water treatment process can take up to a month, and produces toxic sludge as an inevitable byproduct. … “

February 11, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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California’s Capitol city get serious about sewers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 10, 2010 at 4:42 pm

From the Building a Smarter Planet blog:

“Sewage and wastewater: not the most appealing things to consider, yet consider them we must, because many of today’s aging water and sewer infrastructures are, quite literally, coming apart at the seams. As with most problems, ignoring this one doesn’t make it go away, either. Spills, leaks and overflows are becoming all too common: wasting water, spewing pollution into rivers, lakes and oceans, harming wildlife and the environment, and presenting an enormous threat to public health.

Yet in many places, water remains an afterthought. Communities often resent water restrictions, not understanding the need to conserve. And while upgrades or repairs to existing systems may seem expensive, the stakes are too high to ignore: this map neatly shows that nearly half of the world’s population faces a water shortage. And this one shows the widespread reach of groundwater contamination. None of this is going to change by itself.

On its website, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water notes that given the scarcity of freshwater supplies and the intrinsic value of our water resources, water should be recognized as a precious commodity and protected…and goes on to say that because water is considered common property that belongs to everyone and no one, it is subjected to exploitation and misuse. … “

February 10, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Plans for some California forests may create foul drinking water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 10, 2010 at 8:21 am

From the Public News Service:

“SONORA, Calif. – “Don’t drink the water!” That’s the possible warning if more California forestland is opened for off-road use, according to conservation groups. As the state’s national forests begin to submit plans for managing their roads and trails in response to a travel management rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they’re being asked to close old, obsolete forests roads and illegal off-road paths.

Jon Sturtevant, a representative of the Sierra Club’s Tuolumne Group, says the outdated forest road systems are falling apart and clouding the rivers that are key to clean drinking water supplies.

“There might be an illegal road crossing a stream. Every time they drive across it, it stirs up sediment, which messes up the water downstream from there, which affects the fish. And ultimately, it affects the water that people in our county drink.” … “

February 10, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Keep fish off drugs: Don’t flush your pills

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 6, 2010 at 7:05 am

From AlterNet:

“Okay, so the image is kinda funny—a bunch of drugged-out party fish swerving all over the place, burping up air bubbles. But really, it’s not cool. Because we’re the fishes’ drug dealers.

It’s true. Around the country, chemists have discovered that fish in the water downstream from water treatment plants absorb chemicals found in antidepressant drugs into their bodies.

Discover puts it like this: … “

February 6, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Household pesticide is finding its way into California rivers, study suggests

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 4, 2010 at 8:42 am

From the New York Times:

“Pyrethroids, a common home pesticide, have been found in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, according to a new study.

The pesticide is often used in California to kill ants and other insects, and has been found in sewage treatment outflow and storm runoff in the Sacramento area. Scientists found the toxin in low levels in the San Joaquin River and the American River, according to research published yesterday in the journal of Environmental Science and Technology.

The scientists found the toxin present at about four parts per trillion, an extremely small amount, but enough to kill small aquatic larvae, the researchers said.

“It probably takes 100 times more to kill a fish,” said Donald Weston, one of the study’s authors and a professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. “The concern would be the invertebrates that the fish depend on for food.” … “

February 4, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Storm runoff and sewage treatment outflow contaminated with household pesticides

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 3, 2010 at 8:45 am

From UC Berkeley:

“Pyrethroids, among the most widely-used home pesticides, are winding up in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, possibly endangering the food supply of fish and other aquatic animals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU).

Pyrethroid insecticides, commonly used in California to kill ants and other insect pests around the home, have been found in street runoff and in the outflow from sewage treatment plants in the Sacramento area. The insecticide ended up in two urban creeks, the San Joaquin River and a 20-mile stretch of the American River, traditionally considered to be one of the cleanest rivers in the region.

Although the pyrethroid levels were low – around 10-20 parts per trillion – they were high enough to kill a test organism similar to a small shrimp that is used to assess water safety.

“These indicator organisms are ‘lab rat’ species that are very sensitive, but if you find something that is toxic to them, it should be a red flag that there could be potential toxicity to resident organisms in the stream,” said study leader Donald P. Weston, UC Berkeley adjunct professor of integrative biology. … “

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Available to view online: Ron Stork from Friends of the River speaking on “Water Policy and the Environment”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 3, 2010 at 8:37 am

Yesterday’s latest seminar in the California Water Policy Seminar series by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences featured Ron Stork from Friends of the River speaking on “Water Policy and the Environment”.

You can view the seminar by clicking here.

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Blog commentary on California water: “Free-market” politics with the public trust

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 3, 2010 at 8:36 am

From the Badlands Journal blog, this commentary:

“California is going into its fourth year of drought and its second year of high-powered water warfare. The state now lives in a state of perpetual water anxiety. We even have a monthly religious rite at the top of Echo Pass, near Lake Tahoe. A priest from the state Water Resources Department, surrounded by reporters stumbling in snow shoes, takes a magic wand onto a field of snow, plunges the wand into the snow, pulls it out, and utters predictions of the state’s water supply. Reporters return to their newspapers and write that there is not enough. Some of the older ones think of the 1974 classic, “Chinatown,” about a local water war in Los Angeles.

There is a drought but there is no long-term water shortage in California. The state’s water comes in different amounts, sometimes in floods, sometimes in drought, most often in some quantity in between. On the other hand, there is an overpopulation problem and an agribusiness problem which, combined with three light-rainfall years, has shut down the King salmon commercial fishery for two years because of over-pumping in the San Joaquin Delta.. This over-pumping the largest estuary on the West Coast has occurred from the two pumps, state and federal, side-by-side on the Delta, during a huge real estate boom and a gigantic expansion of orchards (mostly almonds) south of the Delta. Following a settlement between California and upstream users on the Colorado River, Southern California’s other main source of fresh water, this ruinous over-pumping has made extinction likely for some Delta species and is threatening the existence of a viable salmon fishery. … “

Continue reading this blog commentary at the Badlands Journal by clicking here.

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under General Water Issues, Water & the Environment

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Commentary: Nature violates Clean Water Act

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 29, 2010 at 8:10 am

From Wayne Lusvardi at the Cal Watchdog blog:

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently issued a stop order to the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority in Southern California delaying construction of a water treatment facility to clean up contamination from the local groundwater basin because the clean water produced will be unsafe for wildlife although safe for humans to drink.

The problem is selenium, a naturally occurring element in the soil that humans ingest in trace amounts in vitamin supplements, Brazil nuts and other foods but is harmful to small organisms and fish. The selenium in the San Gabriel Water Basin is naturally occurring and is not added to the water as part of the treatment process, is not a by-product of that process, nor does it come from a chemical spill, agricultural irrigation water runoff, or industrial contamination. As Dan Colby, chemist for the water quality authority explained “Mother Nature is in violation of the Clean Water Act!” … “

Continue reading this commentary at the Cal Watchdog blog by clicking here.

January 29, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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California Bulrush improves wetland water quality

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 16, 2010 at 8:05 am

From Turfgrass Trends:

“As the social demand for a cleaner and better environment grows, more ecological engineering that incorporates phytoremediating plants will be integrated in the architecture and design of better quality human settlements and other social and sport facilities. Blended into the designed landscape, these plants will add aesthetic values of the design while providing a natural way to remove various pollutants and waste.

California bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus), also known as giant bulrush, can facilitate removal of some toxic metals from both municipal and industrial pollutants. In wetland construction and reconversion of degraded marshes, this plant helps improve water quality.

California bulrush is a perennial graminoid plant commonly found in marshes, swamps, seeps, lake, washes, floodplains, along lake and stream margins and in wet meadows. It spreads primarily by vegetative propagation, producing new stems from an extensive system of underground rhizomes and, to a limited extent, through seed dispersal. … “

January 16, 2010 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Court eases brake on park closure: Carnegie OHV gets a few more weeks, but still needs sediment permit

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 29, 2009 at 7:05 am

From Stockton’s Record:

“TRACY – They prayed for divine intervention. A court order worked just as well.

Less than three hours after a sometimes somber, often angry rally attended by hundreds of dirt bike riders on a drippy Monday afternoon, the state’s 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco announced Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area can remain open – at least a few more weeks.

Carnegie had been expected to close today under an earlier ruling by an Alameda County Superior Court judge, who outlawed off-highway vehicle use at the park until it gets a permit for sediment eroding into a seasonal creek.

Such permits usually take six months or longer to write.

“It’s great news,” said Phil Jenkins, division chief for California State Parks. “Our hope is we’ll be able to remain open while we go through all the processes we need to go through.” … “

December 29, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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The plastic bag that dissolves in water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 28, 2009 at 7:21 am

From Environmental Graffiti:

“Vanishing without a trace might not be appreciated in friends and lovers but is an excellent relationship to have with one’s used packaging material. What becomes a pile of plastic garbage is that it should just disappear into thin air, right? Well, a newly developed plastic bag does just that – it completely dissolves in water.

Companies use it when sending their products, magazines for example, to users, who can simply dissolve it at home – no trace of the bag left, less plastic on the environment. Our only question is: Why hasn’t anyone come up with this concept before?

Cyberpac, a UK-based packaging company, has developed a range of products – called Harmless – that use a hydro-degradable plastic that is up to three times stronger than polythene, lighter and leaves no damaging residue after dissolving in water. A bit skeptical of this promise, we’ve taken a look at the dissolving bag’s actual disappearing act. … “

December 28, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Saturday’s top of the scroll: Fast-melting sooty snow may have impact on state’s water supply

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 26, 2009 at 7:45 am

From Stockton’s Record:

“At Yosemite National Park, researchers are sprinkling charcoal on the snow to see if they can speed up the opening of park roads in the springtime.

And several recent studies suggest so-called dirty snow also has implications for the state’s water supply.

The concern is this: Pollution from the Central Valley, Bay Area or Los Angeles blows up into the mountains, where tiny particles of soot come to rest on all that beautiful, white snow.

It might not be visible to the naked eye, but those particles decrease the snow’s albedo, or its ability to reflect sunlight. Darker snow absorbs more heat and melts faster, exposing bare ground, which also accelerates melting.

“It’s like placing tiny toaster ovens into the snowpack,” Charlie Zender, a University of California, Irvine, associate professor of earth sciences, said in 2007 after concluding that one-third or more of Arctic warming can be attributed to sooty snow. … “

December 26, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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“Working for Water” video from the California Water Boards

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 19, 2009 at 3:54 pm

From the California Water Boards:

Working For Water: The California Water Boards have broad responsibilities to protect surface and ground water quality and balance competing demands on our water resources. The complexity of the Water Boards programs are reflected in the number of mandated programs and the regional variation that exists throughout the State. This film tells the stories of a few Water Board employees, what their jobs entail, and why they have chosen to work for the Water Boards.

December 19, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Latest issue of Watershed Wise now online

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 19, 2009 at 3:09 pm

From the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council:

“Our latest issue of our WatershedWise magazine has been posted online. Following up on our two-day conference in September, “Compton Gateway: Symposium for Creekside Community Development,” the magazine includes additional commentary on the visions discussed for the Compton Gateway that incorporates stream habitat, recreational resources, economic opportunities, transportation options.”

Click here for the LASGRWC’s latest issue of Watershed Wise.

December 19, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Not easy being green: MIT historian Harriet Ritvo explains how a battle to save an English lake helped found modern environmentalism — but might worry greens today

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2009 at 8:12 am

From MIT News:

“It was a battle to save a cherished piece of nature from the forces of economic growth. Preservationists formed groups to present their case, and public figures across the country spoke up about the matter. Yet in the end, industry and commerce triumphed, changing the natural landscape.

Offshore oil drilling? Mountain-top coal mining? Actually, this was the controversy in the 1870s over Thirlmere, a picturesque body of water in Britain’s Lake District. The city of Manchester, 100 miles away, wanted to dam Thirlmere and create a reservoir to meet its growing water needs. This infuriated local activists and generated national debate.

If this story sounds familiar, it should: The fight over Thirlmere created a “template for subsequent environmental struggles” we still see today, writes Harriet Ritvo, the Arthur Conner Professor of History at MIT. Ritvo’s new book, The Dawn of Green: Manchester, Thirlmere, and Modern Environmentalism, published this fall by the University of Chicago Press, explores this episode and its long-term impact.

Thirlmere, Ritvo asserts, was the first political battle over nature that involved most of the elements we see in modern environmental confrontations: Most opponents of the dam were not locals directly affected by the project, but instead conservation-minded activists making the novel argument that the public could claim a kind of property right on nature. “Thirlmere was the beginning of a sense that the public could fight to preserve the resources it enjoyed,” says Ritvo. “It is striking how similar the positions held then are to the positions people espouse today.” .. “

December 18, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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EPA releases first-ever baseline study of U.S. lakes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2009 at 8:09 am

From the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency:

“WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.

“This survey serves as a first step in evaluating the success of efforts to protect, preserve, and restore the quality of our nation’s lakes,” said Peter Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Future surveys will be able to track changes in lake water quality over time and advance our understanding of important regional and national patterns in lake water quality.”

The National Lakes Assessment reveals that the remaining lakes are in fair or poor condition. Degraded lakeshore habitat, rated “poor” in 36 percent of lakes, was the most significant of the problems assessed. Removal of trees and shrubs and construction of docks, marinas, homes and other structures along shorelines all contribute to degraded lakeshore habitat.

Nitrogen and phosphorous are found at high levels in 20 percent of lakes. Excess levels of these nutrients contribute to algae blooms, weed growth, reduced water clarity, and other lake problems. EPA is very concerned about the adverse impacts of nutrients on aquatic life, drinking water and recreation. The agency will continue to work with states to address water quality issues through effective nutrient management.

The survey included a comparison to a subset of lakes with wastewater impacts that were sampled in the 1970s. It finds that 75 percent show either improvements or no change in phosphorus levels. This suggests that the nation’s investments in wastewater treatment and other pollution control activities are working despite population increases across the country.

The results of this study describe the target population of the nation’s lakes as a whole and are not applicable to a particular lake.

Sampling for the National Rivers and Streams Assessment is underway, and results from this two-year study are expected to be available in 2011.

The draft study: http://www.epa.gov/lakessurvey

December 18, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Not so private property?: Clean Water Restoration Act raises fears of land grab

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 8:05 am

From Fox News:

“Upwards of 40 percent of all land in the United States is already under some form of government control or ownership — 800 million to 900 million acres out of America’s total 2.2 billion acres.

The government now appears poised to wield greater control over private property on a number of fronts. The battle over private property rights has intensified since 2005, when the Supreme Court ruled in the Kelo v. City of New London case that the government could take property from one group of private landowners and give it to another.

Outraged over that ruling and a series of recent efforts by government to wield greater control over private property, citizens are fighting back. ….

The Clean Water Restoration Act currently pending in the U.S. Senate could reach to control even a “seasonal puddle” on private property. … “

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Judge rules that off-roading ends at Carnegie SVRA; State vows to fight closure

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 6:25 am

From YubaNet.com:

“Oakland, CA Dec. 15, 2009 – A California Superior Court has ordered the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreational (OHMVR) Division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation (Department) to shut down all off-road motor vehicle activity at the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreational Area (Carnegie SVRA) until they file a report of waste discharge (RWD) and obtain a permit for pollutant discharges from the heavily used off-road park. The park discharges prodigious quantities of heavy metals and sediment into Corral Hollow Creek near Tracy, California.

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed the lawsuit on September 17, alleging that the off-road park had failed to request and obtain the legally required permit for pollutant discharges from Carnegie’s numerous off-road trails. Following a December 4th hearing, Judge Roesch of the Alameda Superior Court ordered the Department to “submit a report of waste discharge for water pollution associated with the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area” and to “suspend all off-road highway motor vehicle activity at Carnegie SVRA, including vehicles driving in Corral Hollow Creek” until they “have submitted an RWD and received waste discharge requirements or received a waiver of such WDRs from the Regional Board.” … “

From the Record:

” … Off-roaders feel like they’ve already been railroaded. They are losing access to old roads and trails on national forests throughout the country, making places such as Carnegie all the more important.

“If this thing closes two days before Christmas, it’s going to be even uglier,” said Dave Pickett, who lives in Pioneer and represents the American Motorcyclist Association District 36.

“To me, the environmentalists are using this issue as a way to close down OHV recreation,” Pickett said. “Make no bones about it, they hate OHVs.”

Stockton-based Bill Jennings – head of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which sued along with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER – said the judge was simply enforcing the law. “They (off-roaders) shouldn’t be angry at us,” Jennings said. “They ought to vent their anger at a department that just completely blew off the requirements.”

State-run parks “should be a model for promoting reasonable off-roading,” PEER said in a statement. “Instead, they’ve been polluting the water, allowing unchecked erosion and violating both the law and their own regulations.” … “

From the Tracy Press:

” … Parks officials admit riders contribute to sediment in Corral Hollow Creek, and they restrict crossing the creek during storms to cut what flows downstream. Today, riders were seen riding through the muddy creek bottom, which was already drying out from the weekend’s storm.

Where the heavy metals come from is a bit of a mystery, though neighbors in the watershed who surround the park undoubtedly add to the creek’s pollution problems.

There are two nearby research laboratories that test outdoor explosives, and ranchers in the area have cattle. San Francisco water officials have bored tunnels into hillsides for the pipeline that delivers water from Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Tailings from abandoned mines have been identified. Runoff from a county road is believed to add to the creek’s woes as well. And a massive brick factory once sat in the middle of the creek bed where Carnegie now is.

“What it speaks to is how complicated this issue is, and this watershed is” said Daphne Green, a spokeswoman for the state parks off-highway division. … “

Photo of dirt bike rider by flickr photographer Big Hairy Monkey. Seriously.

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Senator Feinstein: Abandoned mines pose threats

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 6, 2009 at 8:19 am

From the San Bernardino Sun, this commentary by Senator Feinstein:

“On Nov. 1, a 30-year-old woman was exploring an abandoned mine with family members in Kern County. The woman had entered a dark, underground tunnel when the ground gave way and she fell at least 50 feet to her death.

Dangerous abandoned mines like Tungsten Peak, where this tragedy occurred, litter the California landscape. There are 47,000 statewide and 500,000 across the western states. Many have ceased operations a century ago and the owners or responsible parties are long gone.

The Department of the Interior has published a list of recent fatalities related to abandoned mines. Victims range from a 13-year old girl who fell into a shaft while driving an all terrain vehicle to a Vietnam Veteran whose truck tipped into a mine pit. Throughout the United States, at least 37 deaths occurred between the years 1999 and 2007. In the past two years, eight accidents at abandoned mine sites were reported in California.

It’s time for Congress to develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with the safety and public health problems of these abandoned mines.

Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to pay for the cleanup of abandoned mines, with fees and royalties paid by the hardrock mining industry. This consistent source of funding could help pay for basic safety measures, including the installation of warning signs, safety nets and fencing, as well as the cleanup of toxic chemicals that leech into waterways. … “

December 6, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Pacifica rancher in trouble for filling creek with construction debris

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 6, 2009 at 7:46 am

From the Contra Costa Times:

“A ranch owner has run afoul of city, state and federal laws by building several horse structures without a permit and endangering local wildlife habitat by illegally filling a creek with construction debris, according to officials.

Millard Tong founded Millwood Ranch four years ago, a 166-acre horse boarding and riding facility tucked into the hills behind Pacifica’s Linda Mar neighborhood. In the past year and a half, he has received five stop-work orders from Pacifica building officials for illegal construction work, ranging from July 2008 to November 2009. Tong finally halted his construction work on Nov. 4 after city officials arrived with police officers, according to city officials.

The most serious violation at Millwood Ranch involved the illegal dumping of soil in an 85-foot stretch of sensitive creek bed in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. This prompted a cease-and-desist order from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late October and could make Tong liable for serious fines and cleanup requirements. … “

December 6, 2009 · Filed Under Bay Area, Water & the Environment

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Sewers at capacity, waste poisons waterways

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 23, 2009 at 7:50 am

From the New York Times:

“It was drizzling lightly in late October when the midnight shift started at the Owls Head Water Pollution Control Plant, where much of Brooklyn’s sewage is treated.

A few miles away, people were walking home without umbrellas from late dinners. But at Owls Head, a swimming pool’s worth of sewage and wastewater was soon rushing in every second. Warning horns began to blare. A little after 1 a.m., with a harder rain falling, Owls Head reached its capacity and workers started shutting the intake gates.

That caused a rising tide throughout Brooklyn’s sewers, and untreated feces and industrial waste started spilling from emergency relief valves into the Upper New York Bay and Gowanus Canal.

“It happens anytime you get a hard rainfall,” said Bob Connaughton, one the plant’s engineers. “Sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of rain, and you’ve got overflows across Brooklyn.”

One goal of the Clean Water Act of 1972 was to upgrade the nation’s sewer systems, many of them built more than a century ago, to handle growing populations and increasing runoff of rainwater and waste. During the 1970s and 1980s, Congress distributed more than $60 billion to cities to make sure that what goes into toilets, industrial drains and street grates would not endanger human health.

But despite those upgrades, many sewer systems are still frequently overwhelmed, according to a New York Times analysis of environmental data. As a result, sewage is spilling into waterways. … “

Over 9400 of the nation’s 25,000 sewage systems (that’s about 37%) have had such spills into the nation’s waterways, according to the article. Read this latest installment in the NY Times Toxic Waters series by clicking here.

November 23, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Sewage industry fights phosphorus pollution; How flushing the toilet can lead to phosphorus for fertilizers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 10, 2009 at 3:49 pm

From Scientific American:

“Tucked away in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, three massive metal cones could help address the world’s dwindling supply of phosphorus, the crucial ingredient of fertilizers that has made modern agriculture possible. The cones make consistently high-quality, slow-release fertilizer pellets from phosphorus recovered at the Durham Advance Wastewater Treatment Facility, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. By generating about one ton of pellets every day, they are changing the view that such recycling could not be done efficiently. Ostara, the firm that makes the reactors and sells the pellets as Crystal Green, thinks that Durham is one of hundreds of facilities that could use the technology.

Humans excrete some 3.3 million tons of phosphorus annually. In fact, phosphorus from domestic sewage, in addition to fertilizer runoff, has traditionally been a nuisance, because it triggers blooms of algae that deplete local waters of oxygen. In some wastewater plants the element can also bind with ammonia and magnesium to form a mineral called struvite, which keeps phosphorus out of waterways but clogs pipes at the facilities. The growing recognition that cheap supplies of phosphorus will grow scarce in the coming decades has led some nations to consider conservation. Sweden has mandated that 60 percent of phosphate be recycled from wastewater by 2015. In 2008 China slapped a 135 percent export tariff on phosphate. …”

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November 10, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Yuba River accord won’t end West’s water wars, but it’s a start

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 3, 2009 at 7:18 am

From the Christian Science Monitor:

“LOS ANGELES – Jake Gittes would be proud.

The protagonist played by Jack Nicholson in the movie “Chinatown” uncovers one of the most heinous plots in the history of US water wars – the illegal diversion of water to Los Angeles that decimated the Sierra-Nevada paradise of Owens Valley in the 1920s. The story is based on the dirty dealings typical of high-stakes water management across the US West.

Enter a new model for determining who gets how much water in the arid West. The Lower Yuba River Accord, which received the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award at the Global Climate Summit Wednesday, ended 20 years of infighting among 18 agencies and private groups by establishing a way to mete out the water in the California river to benefit farmers, fisheries, and city-dwellers.

“Historically in California, water wars have been the most contentious resource battles imaginable,” says Linda Adams, head of the California Environmental Protection Authority. “The fact that these organizations were able come up with an agreement that met all their needs at once is phenomenal – and an example that sneaky, back-room competition doesn’t have to be the norm.” …”

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October 3, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Rules for clean energy projects in California

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 3, 2009 at 6:43 am

From the New York Times Green Inc.:

“Regulators have a message for companies seeking to build solar power plants in the California desert: Don’t use much water, take good care of endangered species and make sure you have signed a deal with a utility before you submit an application to regulators.

Those are some of the rules laid down this week by a state task force charged with developing guidelines to protect fragile desert ecosystems while accelerating the rollout of dozens of megawatt solar farms and other renewable energy plants in California.

The “Interim Guidance for Desert Renewable Energy Project Development” is a draft report and subject to revision, but it offers some insight into regulators’ thinking. …”

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October 3, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Metropolitan applauds Yuba County Environmental Award as example of statewide cooperation

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 1, 2009 at 4:05 pm

From the Metropolitan Water District:

“An award-winning, landmark accord along the lower Yuba River is an example of the cooperative efforts needed to address the environmental and water supply challenges in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, according to the general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, Metropolitan’s general manager, supported the innovative agreement forged by the Yuba County Water Agency. The agreement was recognized for its ecosystem and watershed stewardship with the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.

“The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award demonstrates the power of partnerships and collaboration in solving the state’s water problems,” Kightlinger said about the award to Yuba County, which was presented to YCWA officials at the Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles Wednesday (Sept. 30).

Reached in 2008, the Lower Yuba River Accord culminated five years of negotiations involving Metropolitan and 18 other agencies and stakeholder groups around the state. The three agreements that form the accord established a framework to enhance the in-stream flows along 24 miles of key salmon and steelhead habitat in a manner that preserved Yuba County’s ability to meet its water supply, hydropower and recreation needs.

Kightlinger said a key component of the accord was a series of water transfers that increase available supplies in the Delta, while providing an important revenue source for Yuba County for projects such as flood control.

“This year alone, the Yuba Accord will produce water supplies that will lessen some of the impacts of the current water shortage facing Metropolitan and other water districts relying on the Delta. This shows the benefits of a partnership approach,” Kightlinger said.

“With a historic package of Delta legislation taking shape in Sacramento, it’s important to realize that a foundation for a cooperative, watershed-based approach to solving these problems is already in place,” he added.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.

October 1, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Mercury rising: Meadow Vista lake yields toxic traces of Gold Rush

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 am

From the Auburn Journal:

“A toxic vestige of the Gold Rush era is getting some special attention at a foothills reservoir near Auburn.

Mercury, a byproduct of the gold-extraction process, is sitting in the mud and sand of countless rivers and streams throughout the Gold Country. Eating fish from mercury-laden waters leads to developmental delays in fetuses, infants and children.

The Nevada Irrigation District’s Combie Reservoir could soon be in the forefront of efforts to clean up mercury with a dredging effort that could process 200,000 tons of sediment and remove an estimated 100 pounds of mercury.

On Tuesday, district officials and the Canadian-based Pegasus Earth Sensing Corp. gave a demonstration of equipment that could separate out mercury without chemicals, also take out gold, and leave much of the cleaned material to be used as aggregate. …”

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September 30, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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State off road vehicle park violating California water quality law

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 24, 2009 at 7:42 am

From YubaNet.com:

“Despite budget cuts that threaten other State Parks, the Department of Parks and Recreation had not planned to close any of their State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs). That may change, now that a Superior Court Judge has ordered Carnegie SVRA either to comply with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act by filing a Report of Waste Discharge and suspending all off-highway vehicle activity until it receives a permit from the Central Valley Regional Water Board, or to attend a December 4th hearing to show cause why it does not need to do so.

Issued on September 22, 2009 by Judge Frank Roesch of the Alameda County Superior Court, the writ is a result of a lawsuit charging the Department’s Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division with allowing sediment from off-road trails and areas to pollute Corral Hollow Creek. The suit was filed on September 17 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) charging the California Department of Parks and Recreation and its OHMVR Division with violating the state’s Water Code and their own regulations by allowing off-road vehicle activities to pollute Corral Hollow Creek at Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation area.

The court agreed with the plaintiffs that the OHMVR Division is violating State law by failing to file required Reports of Waste Discharge for vast amounts of sediment and heavy metals being discharged into the creek from Carnegie’s heavily-used off-road trails and open areas. Moreover, the OHMVR Division is failing to comply with its own regulations, which require annual monitoring of soil loss and damage to wildlife habitat. …”

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September 24, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Closure of contaminated spring prompts criticism

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 24, 2009 at 7:05 am

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

“The U.S. Forest Service’s closure of Bay Tree Spring because of bacterial contamination has caused a flood of objections from fans of the popular water source near Idyllwild.

A forest official said the spring was capped and cemented over because visitors continued to ignore yellow caution tape and signs warning of the presence of coliform, which can cause diarrhea and other intestinal ailments.

The measures are temporary while the agency ponders whether to permanently close and dismantle the site, said John Ladley, recreation officer for the San Jacinto Ranger District. …”

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September 24, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Rain may bring trouble to Southern California’s water supply following Station Fire devastation

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 23, 2009 at 10:20 am

From the Pasadena Star News:

“This year’s first rains – if they come – won’t just bring with them the normal hope that relief from the region’s seemingly perpetual water crisis has arrived.

They will also bring with them soil, debris, and potentially harmful contaminants as they pour down the fire-scorched slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.

While foothills homeowners are worried about potentially destructive mudslides, water managers are wondering how badly the fires that ravaged 163,000 acres earlier this month will hurt the region’s already precarious water supply.

“These fires are just a bad thing in so many ways. Not only does it take away from our water supply… but when we do get rains, the it will push soil, ash, debris into canyon reservoirs and then we really will have a big mess in there,” said Carol Williams, director of the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster. …”

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September 23, 2009 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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