A new EPA policy addressing pollution that moves through groundwater was intended to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act but may serve to further complicate matters, at least in the near term.
Trump appointees released the memo last week, declaring that any pollutants that travel through groundwater before reaching a surface waterway are beyond the purview of the bedrock environmental law.
All water leads to a recycling center so even it’s going down the drain, there are some things San Diegans can do to ensure our region’s water is as clean as possible. Water is always in high demand in California, so it’s necessary to take care of it in any way possible. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department says one easy thing to protect the county’s waterways is to avoid dumping perscription pills. Tossing prescription medication down the drain or toilet contaminates the water system, which can cause bigger problems when it drains back into the ocean and threatens the environment, SDSO said.
California’s climate change efforts can be spotted all over the Bay Area in the growing number of electric cars and solar panels. But now, California is enlisting people from a more conservative part of the state even if they don’t think climate change is much of a concern. California’s farmers are receiving millions of dollars to pull carbon out of the atmosphere, something the state says is crucial for meeting its ambitious climate goals.
In California, the amount of water exiting aquifers under the state’s most productive farming region far surpasses the amount of water trickling back in. That rampant overdraft has caused land across much of the region to sink like a squeezed out sponge, permanently depleting groundwater storage capacity and damaging infrastructure. The trend—and a 2014 mandate for sustainable groundwater management in the state—has ignited interest in replenishing aquifers in California’s Central Valley through managed flooding of the ground above them. But until now there has been no reliable way to know where this type of remedy will be most effective.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is taking unprecedented steps to combat President Donald Trump’s efforts to ship more water to his agricultural allies in the San Joaquin Valley. Saying Trump’s water plans are scientifically indefensible and would violate the state’s Endangered Species Act, the state Department of Water Resources on Friday began drawing up new regulations governing how water is pumped from the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta to the southern half of the state.
Last month the U.S. Drought Monitor declared California drought-free for the first time since 2011, thanks to a series of winter storms. But the long term prognosis is for more droughts and severe weather, which will profoundly affect state agriculture. While farmers and lawmakers are taking notice, few see an immediate threat. However, a 2018 report published by Agronomy, a peer-reviewed, open access scientific journal, laid out a stark future for California agriculture, predicting it will be vastly different by the end of the century.
In court, the California Environmental Quality Act is a familiar obstacle to projects large and small — housing developments, solar projects, even bike lanes. It’s also lately become a weapon in the state’s major water conflicts. Last week, the Imperial Irrigation District filed a CEQA lawsuit trying to block a deal among seven states that could lead to further rations of the Colorado River in the near future.
Drought isn’t the only danger to our water supply, as we have discovered in the last few weeks. Deep under the ground, our life-saving aquifers have been filling up from the rain. But on the Oxnard Plain, oil drilling threatens what we’re working so hard to protect. A recent U.S. Geological Survey report found petroleum-related gases in two groundwater wells sited directly over cyclic steam oil recovery operations, and possibly a third.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has issued a notice that it will seek an updated environmental permit to operate the State Water Project through a state-based approach in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The department’s notice that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Report for long-term operation of the SWP is available here. “The State Water Project provides many benefits from flood protection to water supply and is operated to ensure the health of California’s ecosystem,” said Karla Nemeth, DWR Director.
In a sea of grassy lawns in Long Beach’s Rose Park neighborhood, Susan Moffett’s yard is a drought-tolerant retreat dotted with lavender, rosemary and pink-flowered abutilon plants. Originally from the Midwest, Moffett grew up with suburban green lawns, but as a landscape designer, she said drought tolerant plants are the necessity in Southern California. “A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of our water shortage,” she said. “We all have a responsibility to conserve water.” One particularly perilous effect of climate change is the fact that Southern California is expected to become much hotter and drier in the coming decades.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
