State eyes area water
County must share, Garamendi tells officials
Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/14/2008 10:10:52 PM PDT
As the state wrestles with what could be a years-long water crisis, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi had some grave words for public officials from across San Bernardino County on Thursday. He told them that the county's plentiful underground water supplies will need to be shared with the rest of California in the future.
"We're going to have to be a community to solve this problem," Garamendi said at the second annual San Bernardino County Water Conference, held in Ontario. "We cannot just have our community or region in mind. We are going to have to think broader."
About 450 people attended the conference, including business leaders, developers and representatives from cities and water districts in Chino, Ontario, Upland, Fontana,
San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Highland, Victorville and Apple Valley, among others. Garamendi said a "pending disaster" has arrived, involving shrinking reservoirs, periodic droughts and diminishing snowpack in the Sierra Nevada - all a result of global climate change that is impacting the state water supply.
The problem has been compounded by a judge's order dramatically cutting the water channeled to Southern California from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Garamendi called the county's water basins "an extraordinary asset" and said the water districts managing the underground reservoirs will play a central role in deciding how they are used. He also said money could be made available to clean up contaminated basins in the county.
"These basins are so important in overall planning that we cannot ignore them," Garamendi said.
The conference focused on collaboration between land developers, businesses and municipalities to meet growing water demands. State legislation requires that developers prove that adequate water supplies exist before housing projects can be approved.
That requirement along with estimates that the county's population is expected to grow by 20 percent by 2015 have fostered concerns that dwindling water supplies could hurt economic growth in the county.
Kirby Brill, general manager of the Mojave Water Agency, one of the county's major water providers, spoke with optimism of meeting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's goal to reduce per capita water use by 20 percent by 2020.
In June, the governor declared the state officially in drought. Rebates and incentives to replace lawns with drought-tolerant plants and to install water-conserving fixtures in houses is having an impact in the district, Brill said.
"These numbers to us are not scary," Brill said. "They are doable, and they are essential."
Paul Biane, Board of Supervisors chairman, urged cooperation among all stakeholders.
"We all need to work from the same playbook," Biane said. "By working as a team, we can solve the county's challenges."
lauren.mcsherry@
inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 386-3875
1.5 Tons Of Arsenic Introduced Upstream Of Mohave Water Agency In Aqueduct
Lancaster, CA
Saturday Jul 12-2008
AV Press: Well water's arsenic content becomes bone of contention
PALMDALE - Well water pumped into the California Aqueduct has raised the level of arsenic in the waterway, but water officials differ over how much arsenic was introduced.
Russ Fuller, general manager for the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, said 1.5 tons of arsenic were introduced into the aqueduct by Wasco-based Semitropic Water Storage District through a two-year "pump-in" program that ended in the spring. "We're concerned because arsenic is an issue everywhere in the Antelope Valley, and especially in communities like Rosamond, Boron and other (places) in the Valley," Fuller said.
Will Boschman, general manager for Semitropic, acknowledged that some wells from which his agency pumps water have higher levels of arsenic than the 10 parts per billion standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but questioned Fuller's assessment of the volume of arsenic. "I have no clue where Russ gets 1½ tons," he said. Although some Semitropic wells contain arsenic levels as high as 50 to 60 parts per billion, he said, "Those are not being used." Arsenic readings at certain Semitropic wells measure as low as 5 or 6 parts per billion while others run between 15 and 20 parts per billion, Boschman said. After the well water is blended with aqueduct water, the "worst case" scenario is an arsenic level of 12 or 13 parts per billion, he said. "It's no different than two streams running from somewhere into the aqueduct. Each stream is made up of different constituents," Boschman said.
Last year, Semitropic pumped roughly 85,000 acre-feet of groundwater into the aqueduct, Boschman said. An acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons, the amount of water used in the average Antelope Valley single-family home in one year. That's where Fuller sees a problem. "Background arsenic level in the aqueduct is 1 or 2 parts per billion," he said. Water pumped in by Semitropic can raise the arsenic level to 3 or 4 parts per billion, he said. "It almost doubles the arsenic level in the aqueduct."
Although that is still below the EPA and public health department standard, Fuller said water suppliers in communities like Boron need aqueduct arsenic levels to be as minimal as possible because they blend that water with groundwater that contains high concentrations of arsenic. "What we try to do in the Antelope Valley is use imported State Water Project water (the aqueduct), to blend down the arsenic level of our local supplies," he said. "As the arsenic level rises, just the same as (with) salt levels, the water becomes less valuable to us," Fuller said. "Arsenic is a conservative and stable element," he said. "The more we bring in, the bigger the problem in eventually getting rid of it. It reduces the effectiveness of the blending operation in places like Boron, and the groundwater table for agricultural users."
Semitropic's pump-in program was approved by a facilitation group made up of water purveyors downstream, Boschman said. Fuller said that group comprises 10 or 12 state water contractors including AVEK, Palmdale Water District, Littlerock Creek Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Castaic Lake Water Agency and Mojave Water Agency. "There's a disagreement among the facilitation group about whether this is acceptable water quality or not," Fuller said. "Some of the contractors benefit because they're receiving water supply from the program. They already have an agreement with Semitropic. They're participants in the Semitropic water bank.
They feel there are trade-offs, benefits that offset the negative impact of the arsenic." "I have talked to Mojave Water Agency," Fuller said. "They use all their water for spreading. They have no treatment plants, so the arsenic level will be a definite problem for them."
Fuller said the State Water Contractors on the east branch of the State Water Project are "encouraging (Semitropic) to install arsenic removal equipment before pumping in the groundwater." Boschman said if the slight elevation of arsenic in the aqueduct shows negative impacts and creates extra costs in the water treatment process, Semitropic officials would be willing to sit down and talk about mitigating factors to defray those costs. "We'd be prepared to talk about it." The EPA has linked arsenic with certain health risks. Long-term arsenic exposure has been correlated with cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidneys, nasal passages, liver and prostate. "There's no minimum safe level of arsenic," Fuller said. "Any amount has health consequences." However, people are not drinking water directly from the aqueduct, Boschman noted. "This is not drinking water," he said. "It's not treated yet."
