Water Wars in Sonoma County
With California drifting into a long drought, the state is poised for a series of political water wars.
Who gets the limited supplies of water will be an ongoing struggle of immense proportions.
In the midst of this, I would like to point out that the county/city of Santa Rosa pump over 11 million gallons of highly treated waste water to the geysers every day, water that could be used for irrigation, wetlands and other uses. When this project was constructed at a cost of over $200 million to rate payers, there were only a few people who raised the flag for reuse of the water in the Santa Rosa plain. Needless to say, they were ignored.
The city of Santa Rosa website boasts that up to 2012, they have pumped 35 billion gallons of water to the geysers. The rational for this project was that the city was running out of winter storage for treated waste water and that it would be cheaper to pump it to the geysers than to build more and bigger holding ponds. Also, the geysers were running out of natural steam, having been overdeveloped long before. It all sounded sweet to city officials who operate the treatment plant but as usual, none of them thought about the long term need for water for agriculture and other uses, especially in an extended drought.
With more and more solar being installed, (which works best in the summer,) I think a deal should be struck to lower the water deliveries to the geysers in summer and extend the offer to our agricultural community to use this water for irrigation instead of ground water. The pipeline passes through many ag areas that could use this water and additional piping could be added to reach other areas. We also know that wetland cleaning of this water is a viable option that would restore some native habitat.
Another point I would like to make is that for all the years I can remember, government has been busy designing storm systems that cause the water to run off as fast as possible. This has meant channelizing streams, paving large areas, and requiring developers to grade property for fast runoff. Only recently has there been any thought of ground water recharge as an option but the county is still stopping people from building seasonal ponds and other water catchments that recharge ground water.
We need to wake up to the fact that the recharge of our water tables and the conservation of water is critical to a sustainable future. Attacking our ag community is more than shortsighted when our policy makers are really to blame for most of the misuse of water.
At French Garden Farm, we are planting lemon trees instead of grapes because they take very little water once established and drip irrigation puts the excess water back into the water table. We are also cover cropping and running rows with the contour to slow water and increase ground water absorption in the winter.
While ag practices can be improved to increase water recharge, we should remember that 'the farmer is the [one] who feeds us all.'
When the farmer comes to town
With his wagon broken down,
The farmer is the man who feeds them all.
If you'll only look and see,
I am sure you will agree,
The farmer is the man who feeds them all.
The farmer is the man (x2)
Lives on credit till the fall,
Then they take him by the hand,
And they lead him from the land,
And the middleman's the man who gets it all.
When the lawyer hangs around
While the butcher cuts a pound,
The farmer is the man who feeds them all.
And the preacher and the cook
Go a-strolling down the brook,
The farmer is the man who feeds them alt.
The farmer is the man (x2)
Lives on credit till the fall.
With the interest rate so high,
It's a wonder he don't die;
The banker is the man who gets it all.
When the banker says he's broke,
And the merchant's up in smoke,
The farmer is the man who feeds them all.
It would put them to the test
If the farmer took a rest.
The farmer is the man who feeds them all.
The farmer is the man (x2)
Lives on credit till the fall,
His clothes are wearing thin,
His condition is a sin;
He's forgot that he's the man who feeds them all.
Re: Water Wars in Sonoma County
Great points Dan, but thought I'd add a few. It is important to note that recycled wastewater still contains many of the medicinals that pass through peoples waste: pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds.
Here is a quote from a Water Board staff member:
"The recycled water in question contains heavy metals, organics, bacterias and salt that have the potential to degrade surface and ground water quality..."
-John L. Short, Senior Engineer, Water Quality Control Board
For this reason, extreme care needs to be taken when deciding where to allow recycled wastewater so that it doesn't contaminate drinking water/groundwater:
Special considerations are required in high quality groundwater aquifers, such as those along the Russian River and Dry Creek. Section 22 states, “The quality of some waters is higher than established by adopted policies and that higher quality water shall be maintained to the maximum extent possible consistent with the Anti-degradation Policy.”
Some info from Clean Water Coalition of Northern Sonoma County: https://www.cwcnorthernsonoma.org/projects.html
CONTAMINANTS WILL LEACH INTO WATER SUPPLIES
The many contaminants in municipal wastewater that are not removed by tertiary treatment will leach through the thin layers of coarse-grained, alluvial soil in the area, concentrate locally in groundwater, pass into wells and community drinking water supplies, and increase risks to public health, especially for infants.
WON'T HELP IN A DROUGHT -- NOT A "DEPENDABLE" SUPPLY
Wastewater recycling and reuse are helpful in a drought only when drinking water quality is protected. Additional treatment can address these risks and such alternatives must be considered. Sonoma County should look to other counties that are investing in advanced treatment facilities to enhance drinking water supplies.
Reverse Osmosis is the only way to remove these pollutants.
Secondly, you refer to those "attacking ag" and then go on to state: "we should remember that 'the farmer is the [one] who feeds us all."
I think most people who complain about water use/ag in Sonoma County are not complaining about the farmers who grow our food. The complaint is with the 60,000 acres of vineyards that profit from our water supply, and ship it oversees in the form of alcohol. There's a big difference between food farmers and alcohol farmers. Also, now that Round-up has been noted to be a probable carcinogen, we have heightened concern with the massive amounts of it used in vineyards. Every time you see a brown row of dead grass between vines, you can be certain Round-up has been applied. This accounts for the majority of the 60,000 acres and is also contributing to groundwater contamination.
I know French Garden Farm is organic and you are certainly doing all the right things there! If only the wine industry would follow suit. With their big PR machine working to claim that they will all be 100% sustainable in the next 4 years, it is up to us to define sustainability for them. The use of Round-up is certainly not sustainable, nor is using water for frost protection while drying up our streams and sucking water straight from the Russian River (for free!). You are right: water wars are coming!
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by farmerdan:
With California drifting into a long drought, the state is poised for a series of political water wars...
