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The California State Water Boards are a unit of the California Department of Environmental Protection. They cover designated regions [1] and regulate waste water discharges to surface water which include riparian and ocean ecosystems. This system of review boards are essential to maintaining a healthy aquifer for purposes of drinking water and agriculture as well as the state's endangered fisheries. Another area of regulatory attention includes storm water discharges which tend to carry fertilizer residue and bacterial contamination from domestic and wild animals. [2] They have the authority to make orders which are binding upon private actors such as international corporations [3] and do not hesitate to exercise the police powers of the state. The Water Boards have statutory mandate which is resilient to pressure from constituents and lawmakers in which they on occasion stand their ground despite heated opposition from agricultural interests[4]
On the other hand, the Boards enjoy strong support from environmental concerns such as Heal the Ocean and Channelkeeper.[5]
Regulatory scope
Aside from residentially zoned parcels, the sites of greatest concern are as folloows:
- construction,
- industrial,
- municipal activities,
- discharges from irrigated agriculture;
- dredge and fill activities;
- alteration of any federal water body under the 401 certification program;
- and several other activities with practices that could degrade water quality.
Programmatic subdivisions
The agency categorizes its work into the following programs.
- Biosolids
- Dredge/Fill (401) Wetlands
- Irrigated Lands
- Land Disposal (landfills, waste piles, etc.)
- Non-subchapter 15 (WDR)
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) (surface water)
- Recycled Water
- Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO)
- Storm water
- Timber Harvest
Areas of concern
Stormwater runoff
Surface runoff is water that flows when heavy rains do not soak (infiltrate) soil; excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flowing over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle.[6][7] Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source. Such sources often contain man-made contaminants, the runoff is called nonpoint source pollution. When runoff flows along the ground, it can pick up soil contaminants including, but not limited to petroleum, pesticides, or fertilizers that become discharge or nonpoint source pollution.[8][9]
Wastewater
Wastewater is water which has been discharged from human use; "water that has been adversely affected" by anthropogenic influence. [10] The primary sources are discharge from the following sources:
- domestic residences,
- commercial properties,
- industry,
- agriculture
Potential contaminants exist in varying concentrations and new ones are found on an ongoing basis . Sewage is technically wastewater contaminated with fecal and similar animal waste byproducts, but is frequently used as a synonym for waste water. Origination includes cesspool and sewage outfall pipes, some of which are unpermitted {{Citation needed|date=June 2011}
See also
Channelkeeper
Marine Protection area
External links
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Water - Water Quality - Information on water quality, water testing, and understanding consumer confidence reports on water contaminants
- U.S. National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC) - Partnership of federal and state agencies
- U.S. Geological Survey - National Water Quality Assessment Program
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Water Quality Monitoring
- U.S. National Agricultural Library
- American Water Resources Association
- Global Water Quality online database
- Beaches 911 - U.S. Beach Water Quality Monitoring
References
- ↑ http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/waterboards_map.shtml
- ↑ http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ciwqs/who_is_regulated.shtml
- ↑ http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17612147
- ↑ http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_18314090?nclick_check=1
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/notes/heal-the-ocean/hilary-spoke-to-regional-water-quality-control-board-today/10150089482817928
- ↑ Robert E. Horton, The Horton Papers (1933)
- ↑ Keith Beven, Robert E. Horton's perceptual model of infiltration processes, Hydrological Processes, Wiley Intersciences DOI 10:1002 hyp 5740 (2004)
- ↑ L. Davis Mackenzie and Susan J. Masten, Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science ISBN 0-07-235053-9
- ↑ Adapted for this section, including citations herein, from open source CCL 2.0 main article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormwater
- ↑ Section adapted from main topic Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastewater CCL 2.0 Originating editor TakuyaMurata
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