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Coalition received an apparent commitment from the Board to conduct a hearing on the outcome of the Literature
Review and Recommendations Report assessing appropriate levels of chloride affecting Ventura area crops. To
follow-up, the Coalition sent a letter to the Regional Board on July 14th to update the Board on two developments
that the Coalition believes warrants their immediate attention.
The first involves action taken by the Central Valley Regional Water Board to control pollution of groundwater
resulting from the discharge of wastewater from the City of Dixon’s treatment plant. In that case, the City was
recently issued a Cease and Desist Order to control pollution of groundwater by mid-2009. The City of Dixon
discharges to percolation ponds and the groundwater, which is high in chloride (among other pollutants) seeps into
the ground and has contaminated local groundwater supplies. The action by the Central Valley Regional Water
Board is significant since there are strong similarities in the source and nature of pollution but the actions of the
two Regional Water Boards differ dramatically.
In the City of Dixon case, the Regional Board’s Order imposing strict requirements contrasts with the lenient and
ineffective TMDL issued by the Los Angeles Regional Water Board (which allows chloride discharge until 2017) even
though the threat of contamination has a much greater economic impact in the Santa Clara River watershed.
Additionally, the chloride protection level for groundwater in the Dixon case is 106 mg/l (not too different from that
already in place for Santa Clara River surface water) and which was not contested as being inappropriate despite
the absence of sensitive crops in that area.
Our letter informed the Los Angeles Regional Water Board of this case with the intention of conveying a greater
understanding of how a similar situation is being addressed by a “sister” Regional Board. The Dixon example
provides a clear path for the LA Regional Board to pursue - which is to move expeditiously to protect groundwater
from further degradation. The City of Dixon is facing a short time frame to solve this problem. The Los Angeles
County Sanitation Districts should be held to a similar standard.
The Coalition also advised the Regional Water Board that the latest water quality monitoring data, provided by
Coalition member United Water Conservation District, shows that groundwater chloride levels have not reversed
their upward trend and, in one well, has reached a new historic high value. This data clearly emphasizes the
importance of acting to control this source of contamination as soon as possible.
During the summer months, the Coalition is active and is taking steps to ensure that contamination of the Santa
Clara River watershed from upstream sources remains a high priority for the Regional Water Board. Also, Coalition
Co-Chair Rob Roy is attending today’s (July 19th) Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting on Goundwater/Surface
Water Interaction Studies to be conducted for the Santa Clara River watershed Both Rob Roy and Co-Chair Rex
Laird will be participating in the TWG meetings over the next 12 months.