By Lois Henry, SJV Water
The main topic at the January 2024 meeting of the North Kern Water District was the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program Central Valley Salinity Alternative for Long Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS), discussion only.
Salt and nitrate levels have increased in groundwater. This is due to population increases, fertilizer on crop land and other industrial/municipal activities.
Nitrates are a serious health concern for babies and pregnant women.
CV-SALTS was created in 2006 to fund studies to determine how best to regulate nitrate and salinity levels.
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has subsequently established “management zones” in the San Joaquin Valley, paid for by nitrate polluters, to test wells and provide clean drinking water to residents who’s water contains high nitrate levels.
Report: Stephanie Hearn, consulting district engineer for North Kern Water Storage District informed the board that the nitrate control program notice to comply went out in December 2023 to landowners.
Landowners who received this notice have two pathways. Pathway A is to address nitrate levels on their own. Pathway B is to join the Kern Watershed Coalition Authority (KRWCA).
Hearn said that most landowners would likely choose pathway B because it is more expensive to address the problem on their own. Additionally there is greater liability because if there are any nitrate problems within a five-mile radius of a landowners’ discharge, the landowner could be liable for mitigation.
With pathway B, landowners will receive an annual invoice from KRWCA to cover costs of the studies CV-SALTS does for all members of the coalition.
Hearn gave a sample plan of what the water district will be doing across four years to help mitigate the nitrate groundwater levels.
Year one, is finding forms of mitigation for residents who exceed nitrate contamination levels in their water. That could include signing them up for a bottled water delivery service.
Year two, a preliminary zone management plan is submitted to the Water Quality Board that shows how the program will be administered over the next 20 years, and how nitrate groundwater levels will be mitigated.
Year three, studies are done to find the source of nitrate contamination. This research then is incorporated into the preliminary zone management plan along with mitigation measures.
Year four, would be labor efforts on mitigation. Hearn noted that there are no known sources of public funding to aid in the costs of mitigation.
One board member questioned why someone would choose pathway A. Hearn speculated that food processors may choose pathway A because they may think they aren’t contributing to nitrate contamination.
Another board member added that the district has two different areas in which it needs to comply: Agricultural sites and oilfield produced water that the district blends with other sources for irrigation.
