Central Valley groundwater pollution

Contaminated groundwater in the Central Valley of California is a growing problem in many of the agriculture-based communities based in the area. Combined with the overdraft of the underground aquifers, groundwater contamination is becoming increasingly worrisome as the amount of clean groundwater dwindles down.[1] Near-term solutions to this growing problem are often costly and hard to implement in a timely manner while also clearing the water as safe to use. Currently nitrates are the most abundant of these pollutants in the Central Valley due to the copious amounts of agricultural runoff that comes from the numerous farms in the valley.[2]

History

The pumping of groundwater has been happening in the valley since 1850 when residents began to construct pumps to help make up for the lack of surface water in the area. The valley has an estimated 7 million of the state’s total 9 million acres of cropland, many of which depend on groundwater to sustain its crops. Furthermore, over 80% of California’s dairies are located within the Central Valley with an estimated 1.8 million mature cows in the area.[2] This makes these aquifers extremely important because groundwater supplies much of the water needed for agricultural purposes and serves as the only source of water for several communities throughout the valley.[3]

However, there is not a reciprocal amount of water available to recharge the aquifers and recent years have seen an increase in wells drying up. This overdraft of groundwater is causing numerous problems for farmers throughout the valley and is only made worse with the effects of climate change.[2] The Californian Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 was the first of its kind to specify how to manage groundwater in way that would not harm or endanger future generation's access to clean groundwater.[2]

Before this act, there were no regulations surrounding groundwater management other than the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. Even these acts do not totally protect Central Valley residents. For example, if aquifers are thought to already be contaminated, under the Safe Drinking Water Act, that aquifer can now accept wastewater from drilling projects because no residents should be receiving water from these wells. However, this results in low income communities potentially losing the majority of their water source.[4]

References

  1. ↑ T, Harter, (2015-07-01). "California's agricultural regions gear up to actively manage groundwater use and protection". California Agriculture. 69 (3). ISSN 0008-0845.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Groundwater Nitrate Sources and Contamination in the Central Valley". California WaterBlog. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  3. ↑ "Groundwater in California - Public Policy Institute of California". Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  4. ↑ "How Much Drinking Water Has California Lost to Oil Industry Waste? No One Knows". KQED. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
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