AUDIO: Workshops to address Central Valley’s salinity problem

SACRAMENTO
March 26, 2010 12:01am

Two workshops are scheduled for April to present and gather information on one of the Central Valley’s most daunting issues – salt water contamination of soil and water.

Planning, management and regulatory approaches to the issue of salinity and nitrates in the region and the Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability program are to be discussed at the two meetings sponsored by the Central Valley Salinity Coalition.

“It’s a long-standing problem and it continues to get worse,” says Daniel Cozad, executive director of CVSC. “It’s really a problem that’s throughout the western U.S.”

The contamination problem stretches from the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta southward to the now-dry Tulare Lake basin, where until it was drained in the 19th Century, Tulare Lake was the largest body of fresh water in the United States west of the Great Lakes. In the Central Valley, it’s most pervasive on the west side, Mr. Cozad says.

The problem increasingly threatens food production, the local economy, drinking water quality, public health and the environment, says the CVSC.

(Daniel Cozad talks about the problem and the two upcoming meetings in a CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the play button to listen:)

The workshops are part of an effort to develop the science and policy needed for the Regional Water Quality Control Board to set “reasonable yet effective” water quality regulations for salts and nitrates within the Central Valley.

Anyone concerned with water quality impacts such as rising water and sewer rates, possible restrictions on water use, water recycling and land use, and other regulatory outcomes that may affect the cost of living and of doing business in California is urged to attend.

“We are hoping for strong attendance at both workshops,” says Mr. Cozad. “The more input we receive, the more comprehensive our efforts will be in identifying management alternatives to this long-term and growing problem.”

Next month’s Woodland and Tulare workshops will provide:

• An introduction to CV-SALTS, opportunities to get involved and a summary of the problem and the planning process

• Breakout sessions in which groups will discuss the issue and develop goals and processes

• A group discussion

• Reports from leaders in area industries

• A plan of action for upcoming steps

Here’s the where and when:

• In Woodland: 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, April 26 at the Yolo County Farm Bureau, 69 West Kentucky Ave., Woodland

Register at http://cv-salts-4-26.eventbrite.com/

• In Tulare: 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, April 27, at the Tulare AgTac, 4175 South Laspina Street, Tulare

Register at http://cv-salts-4-27.eventbrite.com