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Sonoma County Gazette, March 2007

Update on water supply and low flow issues

By Brenda Adelman

The low flow issue has become a very complicated subject, but we will attempt to address it as clearly as we can.  First, Randy Poole, chief engineer of the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) stated at a recent meeting that “low flow” (minimal summer dam releases) would not be considered in the Biological Opinion due out from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in a few months.  That document, for the time being, will only address current operations.

This document defines Federal concerns about the water system’s operational impacts on threatened and endangered fish species.  New “low flow” requirements, were they to occur, could diminish summer flows so greatly that it would have a major impact on recreational activities in the lower river.

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Sonoma County Gazette, June 2007

Search for Environmental Truth

by Brenda Adelman

Many people claim to be environmentalists who care about nature and then do little to protect it. They want clean water, but oppose riparian setbacks. They want clean air, but they drive SUVs. They mean well, as long as it is convenient.  They don’t intentionally mess up, but fail to realize that, nature is part of us, and ultimately has the last word.  It is complex and resilient, but can be irrevocably altered so that our future and our way of life may be at stake.  We can’t live without clean water and clean air.  That is the truth!

The food and water we eat and drink is a reflection of the respect, or lack of it, that we show to the natural world.  If we put pesticides in our gardens, and if those poisons leach into our water and fly through the air, we are exposing ourselves, our neighbors, our community, and the world to potentially harmful toxins. Theo Colburn documented in “Our Stolen Future” that pesticides used in the United States have been found in the remote Arctic wilderness in areas totally unexposed to human activity. These toxins have been found to disrupt the endocrine system, causing many life-altering problems for humans and wildlife. That is the truth!

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Sonoma County Gazette, September 2007

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly…. Wastewater news…

Brenda Adelman

The good news is that Santa Rosa intends to get most of their wastewater out of the river between October 1st and May 15th each year, by sending almost all of it to the Geyser’s steam fields.  The bad (and ugly) news is that they are promoting the allowance of “incidental” discharges during summer when flows are low, human use is high, and waterways are more vulnerable to pollution.

Santa Rosa wants to eliminate the summer wastewater discharge prohibition because their goal is to offset water supplies needed to serve new development in the Southwest part of the City.  New urban homes, schools, parks, businesses, etc. will be irrigated with as much as 2 billion gallons a year, the same amount now used for agricultural irrigation. Water customers will be charged the same price for “reused” water as for potable water since Santa Rosa assumes that people will be grateful to use their wastewater.  On the surface of things, it seems like a good idea.

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Sonoma County Gazette, December 2007

Water and Wastewater Review: 2007

By Brenda Adelman

Year 2007 has been an extremely active year for water and wastewater issues in Sonoma County.  Russian River Watershed Protection Committee (RRWPC) has tracked numerous issues and written about them in the Gazette this year.  Here’s a year-end summary.

Santa Rosa Wastewater:

  • Discharge:  Santa Rosa has been actively developing a Russian River direct discharge.  Early in the year they eliminated studies of indirect discharges along with the direct discharge immediately downstream of their water intakes.  Remaining are two discharges in the Healdsburg area and one just downstream of Steelhead Beach in Forestville (near Russian River Utility’s well).  The City recently released 3 of the 6 documents containing studies of these projects on their website.  Remaining documents will be released by early spring of 2008.
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Sonoma County Gazette, September 2008

“Incidental Runoff”

by Brenda Adelman

Wastewater discharged into local streams by sewage treatment plants is subjected to lengthy and complex State permit requirements that can run as much as a 100 pages long.  The permits include directions on water quality limits, monitoring, receiving water standards, and protections of beneficial uses, among other things.  They describe when and where discharges can occur and penalties to be imposed when compliance fails.  As treatment systems age, and pipeline replacement lags, the opportunities for failure (and fines) increase.  The Regional Water Quality Control Board is charged with overseeing this very complex process.

Yet, of more than 80,000 chemical pollutants on the market, discharge permits regulate only about 126 of them. Currently, no regulations exist to monitor and limit the discharge of either personal care and cleaning products or pharmaceuticals, especially hormones, steroids, and anti-bacterial products, recently accused of causing bacterial illnesses to become more resistant to treatment.

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