"Tackling selenium, or not
Today, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering a "time extension for compliance" to allow the continued direct discharge of selenium-laced agricultural water into Mud Slough, a tributary to the San Joaquin River and about 50 miles as the crow flies to the Southern California drinking water pumps. This toxic water has caused reproductive failure and death in aquatic life, migratory birds, and salmon.
One source of toxic selenium pollution is Westlands, where irrigating 300,000 acres of toxic lands mobilizes selenium into the waters of the state and thousands of acres outside of the Grasslands area where drainage is discharged or seeps into the federal San Luis Drain and the San Joaquin River.
Recent reports estimate up to a 50% mortality in Chinook Salmon exposed to these high toxic discharges. Meanwhile, export interests focus on urban sewage discharges as the main cause of fish deaths.
The only way to deal with selenium-laced water is to dilute it, in this case with water from the San Joaquin and Merced Rivers. RTD keeps saying that we can't solve any of these problems without plenty of fresh water flowing through the whole system.
Flushing compromised Westlands soil with Delta water certainly doesn't help.
The expectation is that the Central Valley RWQCB will continue not to enforce selenium standards. "
restorethedelta.com
Today, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering a "time extension for compliance" to allow the continued direct discharge of selenium-laced agricultural water into Mud Slough, a tributary to the San Joaquin River and about 50 miles as the crow flies to the Southern California drinking water pumps. This toxic water has caused reproductive failure and death in aquatic life, migratory birds, and salmon.
One source of toxic selenium pollution is Westlands, where irrigating 300,000 acres of toxic lands mobilizes selenium into the waters of the state and thousands of acres outside of the Grasslands area where drainage is discharged or seeps into the federal San Luis Drain and the San Joaquin River.
Recent reports estimate up to a 50% mortality in Chinook Salmon exposed to these high toxic discharges. Meanwhile, export interests focus on urban sewage discharges as the main cause of fish deaths.
The only way to deal with selenium-laced water is to dilute it, in this case with water from the San Joaquin and Merced Rivers. RTD keeps saying that we can't solve any of these problems without plenty of fresh water flowing through the whole system.
Flushing compromised Westlands soil with Delta water certainly doesn't help.
The expectation is that the Central Valley RWQCB will continue not to enforce selenium standards. "
restorethedelta.com