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What is MCLG
- the maximum level of contaminant in drinking water with no adverse affect on a person health, and which allows an adequate margin of safety. Not enforceable.
- * This is the goal they strive for.
What is Maximum Contaminant level (MCL)
- the maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water, which is delivered to any user of public water system.
- *Enforcable, this they can enforce.
What is SMCL's
National Secondary drinking water regulations set non mandatory water quality standards for 15 contaminants.Establishes only guidelines to assist public water systems, for taste, color and odor.
- * They set contaminants
- * all it does set any health issues.
California State water resource control board
- There are 9 Regional Water quality control boards in the state.
- *states can have laws that replace the federal law only if the state law are more stringent.
- *Bakersfield is Central valley
- * Antelope Valley is Lahontan.
What we have in water is
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
What is TDS (total dissolved solid)
- a measure of the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid in:
- molecular, idonized or micor-granular suspended form.
- *the solids must be small enough to survive filtration (size 2 micrometer).
- water containing tds below 1000 mg/litre is usually acceptable.
- *High TDS is objectionable to consumer in taste, water pipes, heaters, boilers, and household appliances.
- *Under the Federal State Drinking Water act: Low TDS is also unacceptable b/c of its flat
- * TDS is classified as secondary maximum contaminant. recommended max. level of 500 milligram per liter, but not required from public water system. state law may require.
What does EPA stand for
Environmental protection agency.
What are some contaminants that are tested
- Organics, they have carbons, gasoline, pesticides, solvents, degreasers, heat, refining, plastic, and manufacturing.
- *some are hard to detect b/c they dissolve in water.
Characteristic of organic contaminants.
- some are soluble in water such as Benzene, MTBE.
- some like to evaporate into the air-toluene, xylene.
- some are biodegradable if oxygen is sufficient.
- some like to cling to fatty tissues,PCB's, DDT, and DBCP
- gas stations, military bases, and airports.
How to remove organics?
- Pump and treat, skimming, biodegradation.
- treatment includes carbon filters, vaporization and biodegradation.
- Note Filters must dispose at a hazard waste site
How many waste sites are there in Kern Country and Av?
- There are two in Kern County :
- Edwards Air force base superfund sites
- and Arvin.
- One in the AV Edwards Air force Base.
these tend to be more happy clinging to fatty tissues than to dissolve in water. they build up in bodily systems.
What is LNAPL?
Light non-aqueous phase liquids- floats on water table. ex. gasoline and jet fuel. tend to be biodegrade rapidly if they have oxygen.
What is DNAPL stand for
Dense non-aqueous phase liquids- sink through groundwater to the bottom of the aquifer. These form a separate phase too and are very hard to locate and clean up. Many are pesticides and don't biodegrade very rapidly.
Organics combined with chlorine, bromine or fluorine. These tend to persist in the environment along with DDT, PCB's
Types of Metal
Lead, Mercury, Chromium, etc.
Characteristic's of Metal's
- tend to be soluble in water (not a good thing)
- not biodegrade, but some may build up fatty tissues or carbon filters
- may adsorb onto clay or salts
- Rick: cause birth defects, cancers, damage kidneys and central nervous system
What are non metals and anions
Characteristic of non-metal and anions
- tend to be soluble in water,
- very mobile in the aquifer
- deadly to animals
- expensive treatment reverse osmosis to clean out of the water.
- Nitrates is the most deadly to small children and unborn children
risk factor of arsenic
- skin discoloration
- nation affected the most was Bangladesh.
Radionuclides- Radio Contaminants
- Break down over time some quickly some slowly.
- high level pose greater risk then lower level
- can enter the body by ingestion, inhalation absorption and injection.
- can cause cancers, uranium can cause cancer in the bones and effect on kidneys.
- leading cause of pollution.
- sources sewage from human and animal waste- confined animal feedlots.
- can travel from storm water carry feces and bacteria to water supply.
- treated by chlorine.
Disinfection by product (Pathogens)
- common chlorine,chloramine and ozone.
- THM's are formed Tri-halomethanes.
- over counter medicines, cosmetics and personal care product such as shampoos.
- affect changes or hormone systems
- Septic tanks- can leak into the ground, sending nitrogen's or bacteria into the water supply.
- Gas Stations- alway get leaks.
- Salt Pile-from salt in the ground (snow)
- Waster containers- big source of leakage.
- Garbage landfill- can reach the ground water trash.
- Farm animal sewage- smells bad causes damage into the groundwater.
- Fertilizer- apply irrigation and pesticide, will be flush into the water suppy.
non-point sources of pollution the two main are
- refers to both water and air pollution from diffuse sources.
- Agriculture and
- Urban run off-Things that are thrown into the streets and goes into the storm drains.
- this is the leading cause of water pollution.
What is TMDL'S
- total maximum daily loads.
- requires that all sources of pollution and all aspects of a watershed's drainage system be reviewed
Laws that were set up
- 1968 Cuyahoga River in Ohio busted in flames due to chemical in the water.
- & Book release of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1960's. mentions DDT- affects on bird.
National Environment Policy Act
- 1969 Federal government
- had to prepare an environment impact statement.
- California has CEQA California environment quality act.
- requires federal agencies to integrate values.
Clean Water Act
- getting those who would dump thing into the pipes.
- Goals- are fishable, swimmable rivers and lakes and the elimination of pollutant. the sewage had to be treated. and
- San Francisco was the last in CA to get a sewage act.
Safe drinking water act
- EPA set up the maximum contaminant levels
- The setup of MCLS
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- the cradle to grave act
- dealing with the solids waste and illegal dumping.
- anyone that needs to generate waste they need a manifest system RCRA
CERCLA aks Superfund
- 1980- Comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act.
- $8.5 billionto study and clean up.
- Funded 70 percent superfund activities
- total collected 1.6 billion in 2003 ran out of money.
- purpose to identifying and cleaning up contaminated sites
- Edwards and Arvin out of the general fund of taxpayers.
Average annual precipitation
- California is about 200 mm ac ft. precipitation.
- We only capture runoff 25% lost to runoff to the ocean 11%
The majority of California wetlands was
- Central Valley
- California contained over 5 million acres
- 200,000 acres of coastal marshes along SF bay only 35,000 remain
what was the largest lake in california
- Tulare Lake
- followed by Buena Vista and Kern Lay to the south
Vast system of lakes and wetlands that served as discharge areas for the Tulare Aquifer
The San Joaquin Valley
The flowing Artesian well
- one in Bakersfield
- decreased as the underground aquifer was depleted.
What was and still is the largest estuary on the west coast of north america
The Sacrament- San Joaquin Delta
Southern California was
- mostly coastal Marsh.
- the Salton Sink (sea) the largest lake in California. flood in 1906 from the colorado river evaporation of the hot climate cause salinity in the water
- Today Owen's lake is dry
- located east of the sierra nevada mountain.
History Native Americans
- they located where water was located.
- they didn't bring the water to them.
- water and land could not be sold.
The Spanish Era
- Nature was a divine gift to be subjugated and exploited in the name of god and civilization.
- All water belong to the king of Spain.
- located near water
- native work on canals and irruption.
- when the indians were civilized, the mission were then transformed into pueblos with the land given to the inhabitants.
Military Fortifications, expected to grow own food and clothes. goal was to eventually become a pueblo
- Dry land but they couldn't use water to irrigate after 10 years of irrigating and no one complained you could continue to do so.
- They were allowed to take water from the pueblos
inhabitants of presidios and pueblos were given title to their lands, if they met development criteria, but not given title of water. water belong entire community not an individual
Water law Under Spanish Rule
- called Pueblo Right- water rights of the pueblos were superior to any other right.
- pueblos rights were inferior to pueblo rights
The Mexican Era
- 1821 to 1848
- Mexico achieved independence from spain in 1821.
- same water law as the spanish
- land ended up in the hands of the wealthy Mexican families.
The American Era
- 1948- Present
- 1846 US and Mexico went to war
- American victory
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848
American attitude to water
Like Spanish/ Mexican system
- looked at water as a source of wealth.
- legal traditions that sanctioned stream diversions
Attitude to water
Different from Spanish Mexican system:
- stressed individual rights rather than community rights.
- minimal government interference in water matters.
California adopted what law in 1850
California adopted the common law of England which specifies riparian rights
- Derived from ownership of a piece of land adjacent to lake or stream
- The rights are bought and sold with the land
- must be used for a beneficial purposes.
appropriative water rights
- based on practice of miner during the gold rush.
- "first in time=first in right
- applied to water diverters.
- the first person to appropriate is senior water right
- the 2nd and 3rd have junior water rights.
- they can purchase tye are able to be bought and sold.
- rule: they must be used for beneficial use .
- use it or lose it.
Prior to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe
- Pueblo rights
- San diego and Los Angeles are the only pueblos to exercise pueblos water rights in court.
- Pueblo right are superior rights from riparian and appropriative rights.
Homestead act of 1862
- Offered 160 acres of land to anyone willing to clear, improve and reside o it.
- if you were married you got more land.
appropriative rights continue
- can be sold or transferred separately from the land.
- first person to make a claim and put the water to beneficial use has superior rights.
Lawsuit regarding water rights
- Lux vs. Haggin
- they were big land owners.
- Henry Miller(Lux partner) associated bringing boats across the land. They were Riparian.
- James Haggin bought a lot of land.
- Haggin originally won, the higher courts decided that Lux and Miller won.
The California Doctrine
- 1886 Lux v. Haggin
- riparian rights prevailed in all private land
- appropriator could possess a right superior to a riparian only if the appropriator begun using the water before.
- timing decided who prevailed in court
Federal Reserved Rights
- another lawsuit
- Winters (represented Farmer and homestead vs. United State (Indians)
- the reservation had a superior right
- Reservation rights are more superior than any other.
Who doesn't have groundwater laws
California and Texas
- all property owners above a common aquifer posses a mutual right to the reasonable and beneficial use of a groundwater resource on land overlying the aquifer from where the water is taken.
- proper overlying use taking precedence over all non-overlying uses.
appropriative users are entitled to use the surplus water available after the overlying users rights are satisfied.
County of Origin Statute 1931
- You can't divert the county water until the county needs are met and used first.
- Exempt that was the Owens Valley and Mono Lake.
- If this law never would of been placed the Northerners would not agree with the aqueduct.
The Public Trust Doctrine
- very old Roman law.
- Law states any body of water that has fish, recreation, ecology and aesthetic, to the public
- Protect the public, no person has a vested right that when the public trust has interest in it.
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