Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Introduction: Kesterson as an Example of a Broader Problem
Introduction: Kesterson as an Example of a Broader Problem
Pages 11-36
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From page 11... ...
They must decide how to clean up the contamination at Kesterson NWR, how to prevent similar problems throughout the San Joaquin Valley where Kesterson is located (Figure 1.1) , and how to address this generic type of problem in the West and elsewhere.
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From page 12... ...
The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Irrigation Water Quality Program has surveyed a number of other refuges that receive irrigation drainage water and has identified at least
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From page 13... ...
\,0.; ~ . ~ \ · Reconnaissance studies completed in FY 1987 ·~\.1 Reconnaissance studies under way, FY 1988 to FY 1989 O Detailed studies under way FY 1988 to FY 1989+ Ok These sites were also reconnaissance study sites FIGURE 1.2 Sites being studied for potential irrigation drainage problems lay the U.S.
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From page 14... ...
This chapter introduces the setting and the participants involved in the search for solutions to the irrigation-induced water quality problems found in California's San Joaquin Valley. It begins by reviewing the role of water development in the West and then focuses on the San Joaquin Valley and the selenium contamination discovered there.
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From page 15... ...
In California, 83 percent of all consumptive water use is accounted for by agriculture (California Department of Water Resources, 1987~. The scale of irrigation has grown impressively in the United States: in 1890, the nation had about 4 million irrigated acres; by 1977, it had 60 million acres, with about 50 million acres located in the 17 western states.
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From page 16... ...
The Colorado River basin provides an example of the scale of the problem: agriculture there is estimated to have lost between $113 million and $122 million per year between 1976 and 1985 because of salinity (Lohman et al., 1988~. THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY The San Joaquin Valley lies in the southern half of California's great Central Valley and extends approximately 250 miles from the Tahachapi Mountains to the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.
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From page 17... ...
Ibday, the San Joaquin Valley contains 4.7 million acres of irrigated farmland, the largest concentration of irrigated land in California (California Department of Water Resources, 1987~. It is still a fertile region that supplies the nation with a great variety of agricultural products.
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Heavy rains can cause major flood peaks beginning as early as November. The native ecological communities of the San Joaquin Valley reflect this blend of climate, terrain, soil, and hydrology.
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From page 19... ...
State and federal agencies have estimated that these areas need a water supply of more than 500,000 acre-feet annually to sustain them adequately; at present, average annual water deliveries total about 380,000 acre-feet (California Department of Water Resources, 1987~. Differences Between the East and West Sides of the San ,Ioaquin Valley The hydrology and agricultural economies of the east and west sides of the San Joaquin Valley are markedly different.
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From page 20... ...
KESTERSON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kesterson NWR is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. At the time the selenium contamination was discovered there in 1982, the refuge was made up of 12 evaporation ponds collectively called Kesterson Reservoir with an average depth of 3 to 4 ft and a total water surface area of about 1200 acres when filled.
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From page 21... ...
A feasibility study was completed in 1956, and in response to these requests, Congress authorized construction of the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project in 1960. This project was ultimately to deliver 1.2 million acre-feet of water each year to Westlands Water District.
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From page 22... ...
California releases plans for federal-state San Joaquin Valley Master Drain. Congress authorizes San Luis Unit, including the San Luis Drain, to carry irrigation waste water out of the Central Valley and discharge it into San Francisco Bay.
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From page 23... ...
SJVDP continues to develop alternative solutions to deal with irrigation-induced water quality problems in the San Joaquin Valley. Work to fill and grade the ponds at Kesterson is completed.
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From page 24... ...
As planned, the San Luis Drain was to conduct drainage water to the ponds at Kesterson NWR and then on to the
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From page 25... ...
Although the statement supported the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta outlet, law suits were filed, and a task force was established to review the San Luis Unit. Meanwhile, subsurface drains continued to be installed on farms in the region, and by 1981 the drainage water volume reaching the ponds at Kesterson NWR had increased to approximately 7000 acre-feet/yr the upper limit that could be evaporated or otherwise disposed of at Kesterson.
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From page 26... ...
The main California state agencies involved with the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program are the Department of Water Resources (DOOR) and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
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From page 27... ...
The DWR has conducted drainage research, including the construction of a pilot plant for treating drainage water, and has monitored the quality of subsurface drainage water in the San Joaquin Valley. It routinely monitors surface water and ground water in many parts of California, and it serves as a repository for information on water distribution and quality in the state.
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From page 28... ...
Sustain productivity of existing farmlands on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources.
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Geological Survey Interagency Study Team I Program Manager I Deputy Program Manager . Agency Representatives Staff FIGURE 1.3 San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program organization chart.
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From page 30... ...
This boundary on the SJVDP's activities limits the potential effectiveness of the planning process and imposes a short-sighted view of the causes and consequences of irrigation-induced water quality problems. THE NATIONAL IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY PROGRAM As mentioned earlier, the events at Kesterson NWR alerted the nation to the potential for irrigation-induced water quality problems.
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From page 31... ...
Bosque del Apache NWR, NM Malheur NWR, OR Angostura Unit, SD Belle Fourche Project, SD Riverton Unit, WY (Planning to be com pleted by end of 1 990) FIGURE 1.4 The National Imgation Water Quality Program's five-step process.
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From page 32... ...
Department of the Interior's National Imgation Water Quality Program. No significant problems were identified, but the site will be monitored over the long term to ensure that fish and wildlife are protected from possible imgation-related problems.
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From page 33... ...
Activity Westwide investigations Kesterson cleanup San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program Total 1.0 0.9 3.6 4.2 2.8 0.5 3.7 9.6 18.4 10.9 3.7 7.5 9.6 7.9 11.2 13.0 8.0 14.3 18.4 33.2 28.1 6.5 SOURCE: U.S. Department of the Interior.
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From page 34... ...
. 1 · Kesterson · SJVDP ~ \ \ Public Information Officer/Media National Research Council Committee on Irrigation-l educed Water Quality Problems FIGURE 1.5 Participants in the National Irrigation Water Quality Program.
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From page 35... ...
1988. Reconnaissance Investigation of Water Quality, Bottom Sediment, and Biota Associated with Irrigation Drainage in the Middle Green River Basin, Utah, 1986-87.
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From page 36... ...
U.S. Geological Survey.
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