Frequently Asked Questions What happens to crops that are exposed to high levels of salts? •        Increasing the salt content of water applied to crops is like slowly applying poison.  A plant may be able to absorb a small amount for an extended time resulting in a reduction in the size of its fruit.  As the salt content in water applied to crops is increased it stresses the plants, so as the amount of salt increases the plant cannot be as productive.  Eventually, a plant will stop bearing fruit when salt levels reach a certain level.  Even higher levels of salt will kill the plant. How much salt is discharged from the Valencia and Saugus sewage treatment plants? •        When common table salt is added to a gallon of water for cooking it dissolves in the water and the weight of the salt is added to the volume of the water.  Similarly, you can measure the weight of salt in the effluent discharge of sewage treatment plants.  When you take into account the large volume of water discharged at the Saugus and Valencia plants the amount of salt discharged is approximately 23,700 pounds per day.  Over the course of a year, more than 8 million pounds of salt is discharged to the Santa Clara River watershed from these two sewage treatment plants.  It would take 216 fully- loaded big rig trucks to haul that much salt.  216 big rigs lined up end to end would form a line nearly two miles long. The amount of salt discharged from the Saugus and Valenica plants has been steadily increasing.   From 1999 to 2002, the amount of salt discharged increased from approximately 20,000 pounds per day to more than 23,000 pounds per day.  This represents an increase from 7 million to over 8 million pounds per year being discharged to the Santa Clara River. Where are the salts coming from? •        The water treated by the two sewage treatment plants in Santa Clarita comes from residential neighborhoods and businesses.  By far, most of the salts come from residences, especially those that have automatic water softeners.  There are two kinds of water softeners:  those that automatically regenerate and those that do not.  When a water softener automatically regenerates it flushes the salts that it has been removing from the unit.  This waste salt which has been removed from water used in the home (to make it soft) enters the sewage line.  With many homes using these automatic softeners the amount of salt entering the sewage treatment plant is significant.  While automatic water softeners are a major part of the problem, all residences contribute salt to one degree or another to the sewage plant’s discharge. Is all of the salt in the discharge from what people add to the water they receive in their tap? •        No, a portion of the salt is already in the water supply that is delivered to homes in tap water.  It represents about 1/3 of the level being discharged from the plants. What is being done to limit the use of water softeners? •        Water softeners that are already in place are not required to be removed making the problem one that is “built-in.”  New automated water softeners are banned in the Santa Clarita area but it is still possible to purchase them and install them if a homeowner wanted to ignore the law.  The number of existing automated water softeners currently in use remains a very significant source of salts to the Santa Clara River. Are strawberries and avocados the only plants that are affected by salts? •        All crops are sensitive to salt to one degree or another but strawberries and avocados are the most “salt sensitive” crops in Ventura County with citrus crops also being adversely affected by salt content.  These would be the first crops to be damaged by higher salt content in water.   What is the amount of salt that is allowed in the Santa Clara River? •        The amount of salt allowed in a river is set by a state governmental agency called the Los Angeles Regional Water Board.  The Regional Water Board has adopted a Basin Plan that sets the amount of many different kinds of pollutants that can be in rivers and streams.  In the Santa Clara River the amount of salt allowed varies depending on location.  Near the sewage treatment plants in Santa Clarita the value of salts (measured as chloride) allowed in the river is 100 milligrams per liter (mg/l).   That’s about the equivalent of 0.013 ounces dissolved in a gallon of water.  As you can see, it does not take very much salt dissolved in fresh water to exceed the allowed standard. Who benefits from the salts being discharged from sewage treatment plants? •        If a treatment plant does not have to remove pollutants then the costs for treatment are less.   Some pollutants, like salts, are harder to remove from a waste stream and the costs are higher as well.    Sewage treatment plants are operated by governmental entities and costs are passed on to those who use the service.  Businesses and individuals in the Santa Clarita area pay a fee for service for sewage collection and they would have to pay for upgrades to provide additional treatment. How important are strawberry and avocado production to the Ventura County economy? •        Crops harvested in 2003 generated over $1.15 billion ranking Ventura County 10th in agricultural production in the state.  There are over 1,100 medium sized farms in Ventura County and their economic health is critical to the well being of all sectors of Ventura County’s economy.  While all crops are sensitive to salt in water supplies, crops in Ventura County are especially threatened when salt levels increase.  Strawberries are a $300 million dollar industry in Ventura County, and avocados add another $100 million in crop value.   Both strawberries and avocados are highly sensitive to salt levels in water.  As salt levels in irrigation supply water increase, production goes down and so does the value of these critical crops that support a significant part of Ventura County’s economy. Is the impact of salts on sensitive crops scientifically established? •        It is a well established fact that salt in water used for irrigation will harm plants.  Studies have been done on many different plant that identify the amount of salt they be exposed to without damage.  For strawberries and avocados, salt levels that reach 120 mg/l are putting the plants under stress.  Higher levels will severely damage the plant’s ability to produce fruit. Don’t pre-existing uses of water have priority to ensure those uses continue? •        Existing uses are protected by California’s water protection laws.  Under a policy established by the State Water Board in 1968, high quality water cannot be degraded to the point where a pre-existing use for the water (such as irrigation) is adversely affected without overcoming some very high hurdles.   In almost every instance, a pre-existing use must be protected.  The obligation on the Regional Water Board is to adopt permits that control discharges from sewage treatment plants so that they are in conformance with this policy.   What can be done to remove salts from the sewage treatment plant discharge? •        A well proven and widely used treatment technology called Reverse Osmosis is available that can solve this problem.  Reverse Osmosis is an elegantly sophisticated yet simple method that, in effect, filters out pollutants.  Clean water is produced and pollutants are concentrated into a much smaller volume of waste water which is then properly disposed.  Reverse Osmosis technology can produce exceptionally high quality water. What happens to the concentrated waste stream after it is separated from clean water? •        The concentrated waste must be properly disposed.  Since the water is now much higher in salt content one of the best options is to discharge the salty water to the ocean where the salt will quickly mix with the much higher levels of salt present in the ocean.  The greatest obstacle to doing this is that the treatment plant is located miles from the ocean and a pipeline would be necessary to convey the salty water to the ocean.  The cost of building the pipeline to move the salt water is the main obstacle. The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts would be obligated to pay for the pipeline and the cost would be passed along to the users of the treatment plants in Santa Clarita. If the salts are not removed from the sewage treatment plant discharge what will the long- term impact be on Ventura County’s water? •        The long term prognosis is not good.  Salt levels have been increasing in the Santa Clarita River and in groundwater that is fed by the river.  Salt levels have also been increasing in the discharge from the sewage treatment plants.  Once salts are discharged they will add to the levels already present and slowly degrade Ventura County’s agricultural water supply. What can I do to help protect Ventura County’s water supply? Understanding that Ventura County’s agricultural production is threatened by water pollution originating from upstream sewage treatment plants is critically important.  Then, ACT on this knowledge. Learn more by visiting our Website www.vcawqc.org Join the Coalition by contacting: Rex Laird, Chief Executive Officer             OR               Rob Roy, President/General Counsel Farm Bureau of Ventura County                                   Ventura County Agricultural Ass’n 5156 McGrath St., Suite 102                                         916 W. Ventura Blvd. Ventura, CA  93006                                                      Camarillo, CA  93010 Send a Letter to: Ms. Susan Cloke, Chairwoman California Regional Water Quality Control Board – Los Angeles Region 320 W. 4th St. Los Angeles, CA  90013      Call your Legislator and express your concern