Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program History and Studies 1983—2012

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program History and Studies 1983—2012 State of California The Resources Agency Department of Water Resources Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program History and Studies 1983—2012 November 2013 Edmund Brown Jr. John Laird Mark W. Cowin Governor Secretary for Resources Director State of California The Resources Agency Department of Water Resources State of California Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor California Natural Resources Agency John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources Department of Water Resources Mark W. Cowin, Director Laura King Moon, Chief Deputy Director Office of the Chief Counsel Public Affairs Office Security Operations Cathy Crothers Nancy Vogel, Ass't Dir. Sonny Fong Gov't & Community Liaison Policy Advisor Legislative Affairs Office Kimberly Johnston~ Dodds Waiman Yip Kasey Schimke, Ass't Dir. Deputy Directors Paul Helliker Delta and Statewide Water Management Gary Bardini Integrated Water Management Carl Torgersen State Water Project John Pacheco California Energy Resources Scheduling Kathie Kishaba Business Operations Division of Environmental Services Dean F. Messer, Chief Office of Water Quality Stephani Spaar, Chief Municipal Water Quality Program Branch Municipal Water Quality Investigations Section Cindy Garcia, Chief Rachel Pisor, Chief Ofelia Bogdan, Staff Services Analyst Prepared By Sonia Miller, Project Leader Otome J. Lindsey Foreword The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is a major source of drinking water for 25 million people of the State of California. Therefore, the quality of Delta water is an important consideration for its use as a drinking water source. However, Delta water quality may be degraded by a variety of sources and environmental factors. Close monitoring of Delta waters is necessary to ensure delivery of high quality source waters to urban water suppliers. The Municipal Water Quality Investigations (MWQI) Program, within the Department of Water Resources, is responsible for the monitoring and research of drinking water quality in the Delta. Among all State and local agencies monitoring the Delta and its tributaries, MWQI conducts the only monitoring program to investigate the quality of source waters in the Delta with respect to its suitability for the production of drinking water. Since 1983, the MWQI Program has been conducting comprehensive and systematic source water monitoring in the Delta region. Data and findings are presented for major water quality constituents, including organic carbon, bromide, salinity, regulated organic and inorganic constituents in drinking water, and a few unregulated constituents of current interest. The Real Time Data Forecasting-Comprehensive Program (RTDF-CP) focuses on providing a single location that compiles and disseminates real-time drinking water quality data gathered across agencies. This data enables water managers to make operating decisions based on observed and forecasted changes in water quality. The RTDF-CP includes a network of real-time water quality monitoring stations and a modeling component intended to allow greater predictive ability of water quality in real-time and the future. This and other MWQI Program reports are available online at the MWQI website: http://www .wq. water.ca.gov/mwqi/pubs.cfm For more information about the MWQI Program, please visit our homepage at http://www.wq.water.ca.gov/mwqi/mwqi index.cfm A Summary of the MWQI Program History and Studies 1983-2012 The Municipal Water Quality Program (MWQP) Branch currently consists of four sections. Three of these sections, MWQI, Water Quality Special Studies, and Field Support, constitute the Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program funded by the State Water Project Contractors Authority (SWPCA). Municipal Water Quality Section Rachel Pisor, Chief Marcia Scavone-Tansey, Environmental Scientist Shaun Rohrer, Environmental Scientist Jason Moore, Environmental Scientist Sonia Miller, Environmental Scientist Jeffrey Potter, Scientific Aid Water Quality Special Studies Section Theodore Swift, Senior Environmental Scientist Mark Bettencourt, Senior Environmental Scientist Quality Assurance/Quality Control Section Murage Ngatia, Environmental Scientist Field Support Section Steven San Julian, Chief Travis Brown, Environmental Scientist Arin Conner, Environmental Scientist Jeremy Del Cid, Environmental Scientist Richard Newens, Scientific Aid Editorial review, graphics, and report production Under direction of Supervisor of Technical Publications Patricia Cornelius Research Writers Mike Durant Frank Keeley Charlie Olivares Carole Rains Sarah Sol Marilee Talley Jeff Woled iii A Summary of the MWQI Program History and Studies 1983-2012 Contents Foreword ...................................................................................................................................... i Contents .................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. viii Formation of Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program ......................................... viii Drinking Water Quality Monitoring ...................................................................................... ix Real Time Data and Forecasting Comprehensive Program ............................................... ix Emergency Response ......................................................................................................... x Program Management ........................................................................................................ x Chapter 1 — Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2 — Formation of Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program ............................... 3 The Need for a Drinking Water Monitoring Program ............................................................ 3 Interagency Delta Health Aspects Monitoring Program ....................................................... 4 Delta Island Drainage Investigation Study ........................................................................... 4 MWQI Program ................................................................................................................... 4 MWQI Mission Statement ................................................................................................... 6 Program Structure and Organization ................................................................................... 6 Chapter 3 — Drinking Water Quality Monitoring .......................................................................... 8 Discrete Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 8 MWQI Real Time Monitoring ............................................................................................... 8 Chapter 4 — Real Time Data and Forecasting Comprehensive Program .................................. 12 Real Time Monitoring ........................................................................................................ 12 Data Dissemination ........................................................................................................... 12 Forecasting and Modeling ................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 5 — Emergency Response .......................................................................................... 15 Emergency Response Elements ....................................................................................... 15 Ongoing Efforts ................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 6 — Program Management ......................................................................................... 17 Program Sections ............................................................................................................. 17 Funding ............................................................................................................................. 17 Committees ....................................................................................................................... 17 Achievements ................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 7 — Discrete Monitoring and Supporting Reports ........................................................ 19 Public Health Aspects of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Water Supplies, A Panel Report for the California Department of Water Resources ................................................ 20 Interagency Delta Health Aspects Monitoring Program Project Report 1983-1984 ............ 22 Interagency Delta Health Aspects Monitoring Program Project Report 1985-1986 ............ 24 Interagency Delta Health Aspects Monitoring Program Monitoring Results 1986-1987 ..... 26 Project Report of the Interagency Delta Health Aspects Monitoring Program (Municipal Water Quality Investigations Program) Summary of Monitoring Results January 1988–December 1989 ........................................................................................... 29 The Delta as a Source of Drinking Water Monitoring Results 1983-1987
Recommended publications
  • 0 5 10 15 20 Miles Μ and Statewide Resources Office
    Woodland RD Name RD Number Atlas Tract 2126 5 !"#$ Bacon Island 2028 !"#$80 Bethel Island BIMID Bishop Tract 2042 16 ·|}þ Bixler Tract 2121 Lovdal Boggs Tract 0404 ·|}þ113 District Sacramento River at I Street Bridge Bouldin Island 0756 80 Gaging Station )*+,- Brack Tract 2033 Bradford Island 2059 ·|}þ160 Brannan-Andrus BALMD Lovdal 50 Byron Tract 0800 Sacramento Weir District ¤£ r Cache Haas Area 2098 Y o l o ive Canal Ranch 2086 R Mather Can-Can/Greenhead 2139 Sacramento ican mer Air Force Chadbourne 2034 A Base Coney Island 2117 Port of Dead Horse Island 2111 Sacramento ¤£50 Davis !"#$80 Denverton Slough 2134 West Sacramento Drexler Tract Drexler Dutch Slough 2137 West Egbert Tract 0536 Winters Sacramento Ehrheardt Club 0813 Putah Creek ·|}þ160 ·|}þ16 Empire Tract 2029 ·|}þ84 Fabian Tract 0773 Sacramento Fay Island 2113 ·|}þ128 South Fork Putah Creek Executive Airport Frost Lake 2129 haven s Lake Green d n Glanville 1002 a l r Florin e h Glide District 0765 t S a c r a m e n t o e N Glide EBMUD Grand Island 0003 District Pocket Freeport Grizzly West 2136 Lake Intake Hastings Tract 2060 l Holland Tract 2025 Berryessa e n Holt Station 2116 n Freeport 505 h Honker Bay 2130 %&'( a g strict Elk Grove u Lisbon Di Hotchkiss Tract 0799 h lo S C Jersey Island 0830 Babe l Dixon p s i Kasson District 2085 s h a King Island 2044 S p Libby Mcneil 0369 y r !"#$5 ·|}þ99 B e !"#$80 t Liberty Island 2093 o l a Lisbon District 0307 o Clarksburg Y W l a Little Egbert Tract 2084 S o l a n o n p a r C Little Holland Tract 2120 e in e a e M Little Mandeville
    [Show full text]
  • Setback Levee and Habitat Restoration Project on Twitchell Island Project Goals: 1
    Subsidence Mitigation Through Rice Cultivation Research Project Goals: 1. Determine the viability of different rice growing methods within the Delta. 2. Determine the rates/amounts of subsidence reversal/land accretion through rice farming. 3. Determine the air and water quality impacts of rice cultivation. 4. Determine the per acre costs/benefits to farmers of different methods of Twitchell Island rice growing area rice cultivation. 5. Provide recommendations for Delta-wide implementation. Project Description: Rice is a wetland crop with an existing agricultural market that has the potential to accrete land mass and sequester carbon. The Subsidence Mitigation Rice Cultivation Research project will determine whether growing rice reverses subsidence, can be grown without deleterious effects to the environment, and is economically feasible in the Delta. The project area consists of a 300 acre parcel on Twitchell Island. Propositions 84/1E provides the funding sources for this project, which will total $5,450,000 from 2008-2013. Agriculture and infrastructure Delta rice potentially fulfills improvements will cost $2,450,000 and research activities will cost economic and ecological goals $3,000,000. A Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) was issued in March 2008 and a public meeting was held in April 2008. One proposal has been awarded to Reclamation District 1601 (Twitchell Island). Twitchell Island is collaborating with a team of private consultants as well as experts from the University of California and the USGS. A Project Funding Agreement
    [Show full text]
  • Workshop Report—Earthquakes and High Water As Levee Hazards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
    Workshop report—Earthquakes and High Water as Levee Hazards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Delta Independent Science Board September 30, 2016 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Workshop ........................................................................................................................................ 1 Scope ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Participants and affiliations ........................................................................................................ 2 Highlights .................................................................................................................................... 3 Earthquakes ............................................................................................................................. 3 High water ............................................................................................................................... 4 Perspectives....................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Draft Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation
    Draft Feasibility Report Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation Prepared by: United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation January 2014 Mission Statements The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitments to island communities. The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. Executive Summary The Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage This Draft Feasibility Report documents the Investigation (Investigation) is a joint feasibility of alternative plans, including a range feasibility study by the U.S. Department of of operations and physical features, for the the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation potential Temperance Flat River Mile 274 (Reclamation), in cooperation with the Reservoir. California Department of Water Resources Key Findings to Date: (DWR). The purpose of the Investigation is • All alternative plans would provide benefits to determine the potential type and extent of for water supply reliability, enhancement of Federal, State of California (State), and the San Joaquin River ecosystem, and other resources. regional interest in a potential project to • All alternative plans are technically feasible, expand water storage capacity in the upper constructible, and can be operated and San Joaquin River watershed for improving maintained. water supply reliability and flexibility of the • Environmental analyses to date suggest that water management system for agricultural, all alternative plans would be urban, and environmental uses; and environmentally feasible.
    [Show full text]
  • Structured Decision Making for Delta Smelt Demo Project
    Structured Decision Making for Delta Smelt Demo Project Prepared for CSAMP/CAMT Project funded by State and Federal Water Contractors Prepared by Graham Long and Sally Rudd Compass Resource Management Ltd. 604.641.2875 Suite 210- 111 Water Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6B 1A7 www.compassrm.com Date May 4, 2018 April 13th – reviewed by TWG and comments incorporated Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... i Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... iii Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Approach .......................................................................................................................... 1 Problem Definition ........................................................................................................... 4 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 5 Alternatives ...................................................................................................................... 9 Evaluation of Trade-offs ................................................................................................. 17 Discussion and Recommendations ................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Historic, Recent, and Future Subsidence, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
    UC Davis San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Title Historic, Recent, and Future Subsidence, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7xd4x0xw Journal San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 8(2) ISSN 1546-2366 Authors Deverel, Steven J Leighton, David A Publication Date 2010 DOI https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2010v8iss2art1 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7xd4x0xw#supplemental License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California august 2010 Historic, Recent, and Future Subsidence, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA Steven J. Deverel1 and David A. Leighton Hydrofocus, Inc., 2827 Spafford Street, Davis, CA 95618 AbStRACt will range from a few cm to over 1.3 m (4.3 ft). The largest elevation declines will occur in the central To estimate and understand recent subsidence, we col- Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. From 2007 to 2050, lected elevation and soils data on Bacon and Sherman the most probable estimated increase in volume below islands in 2006 at locations of previous elevation sea level is 346,956,000 million m3 (281,300 ac-ft). measurements. Measured subsidence rates on Sherman Consequences of this continuing subsidence include Island from 1988 to 2006 averaged 1.23 cm year-1 increased drainage loads of water quality constitu- (0.5 in yr-1) and ranged from 0.7 to 1.7 cm year-1 (0.3 ents of concern, seepage onto islands, and decreased to 0.7 in yr-1). Subsidence rates on Bacon Island from arability.
    [Show full text]
  • A Century of Delta Salt Water Barriers
    A Century of Salt Water Barriers in the Delta By Tim Stroshane Policy Analyst Restore the Delta June 5, 2015 edition Since the late 19th century, California’s basic plan for water resource development has been to export water from the Sacramento River and the Delta to the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. Unfortunately, this basic plan ignores the reality that the Delta is the very definition of an estuary: it is where fresh water from the Central Valley’s rivers meets salt water from tidal flow to the Delta from San Francisco Bay. Productive ecosystems have thrived in the Delta for millenia prior to California statehood. But for nearly a century now, engineers and others have frequently referred to the Delta as posing a “salt menace,” a “salinity problem” with just two solutions: either maintain a predetermined stream flow from the Delta to Suisun Bay to hydraulically wall out the tide, or use physical barriers to separate saline from fresh water into the Delta. While readily admitting that the “salt menace” results from reduced inflows from the Delta’s major tributary rivers, the state of California uses salt water barriers as a technological fix to address the symptoms of the salinity problem, rather than the root causes. Given complex Delta geography, these two main solutions led to many proposals to dam up parts of San Francisco Bay, Carquinez Strait, or the waterway between Chipps Island in eastern Suisun Bay and the City of Antioch, or to use large amounts of water—referred to as “carriage water”— to hold the tide literally at bay.
    [Show full text]
  • C a S E S T U D Y R E P O R T Sherman Island Delta
    C A S E S T U D Y R E P O R T SHERMAN ISLAND DELTA PROJECT November 2013 Written by Bradley Angell, Richard Fisher & Ryan Whipple a project of Ante Meridiem Incorporated with the direct support of the Delta Alliance International Foundation © 2013 Ante Meridiem Incorporated ABSTRACT This report is an official beginning to a model design for Sherman Island, an important land mass that lies at the meeting point of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers of the California Delta system. As design is typically dominated by a particular driving discipline or a paramount policy concern, the resulting decision-making apparatus is normally governed by that discipline or policy. After initial review of Sherman Island, such a “single” discipline or “principle” policy approach is not appropriate for Sherman Island. At this critical physical place at the heart of California Delta, an inter-disciplinary and equal-weighted policy balance is necessary to meet both the immediate and long-term requirements for rehabilitation of the project site. Exhibiting the collected work of a small team of design and policy specialists, the Case Study Report for the Sherman Island Delta Project outlines the multitude of interests, disciplines and potential opportunities for design expression on the selected 1,000 acre portion of Sherman Island under review. Funded principally by a generous grant from the Delta Alliance, the team researched applicable uses and technologies with a pragmatic case study approach to the subject, physically documenting exhibitions of each technology as geographically close to the project site as possible. After study and on-site documentation, the team compiled this wealth of discovery in three substantive chapters: a site characterization report, the stakeholders & goals assessment, and a case study report.
    [Show full text]
  • Sherman Island Wetland Restoration Project (Project) Is Composed of Two Phases
    Section 5: Project Description 1. Project Objectives: The Sherman Island Wetland Restoration Project (Project) is composed of two phases. The first phase includes constructing a 700 acre wetland restoration area on the west side of the Antioch Bridge and the second phase includes constructing a 1000 acre wetland restoration area on the northeast side of the Antioch Bridge. This Project also incorporates elements of uplands and riparian forest, on the perimeter and on upland areas, including berms and islands. There are no aspects of this project that are required by law or permit condition, thus this project is truly “Additional”. Furthermore, since Sherman Island is significantly subsided, with land elevations between 10 and 25 feet below sea level, all sequestered GHG will be “Permanent”. Subsided Delta islands are like bowls and if tule wetlands are constructed and permanently flooded, these bowls over time will fill up with rhizome root material (or Carbon). And if these lands are flooded permanently, and agricultural activities do not subject the peat material to oxygen or fertilizers, the underlying peat will not continue to emit GHG into the atmosphere and allow subsidence. Some potential risks to “Permanence” would include fire and land management changes that would convert these wetlands back into agricultural fields. However, fire risk is greatly diminished since these projects will be permanently flooded and since DWR owns this property, the likelihood of returning these lands to agriculture is remote. Lastly, the flood risk on Sherman Island is significant but if this were to occur, the carbon sequestered would be under water and essentially capped, with very little GHG release.
    [Show full text]
  • Subsidence Reversal for Tidal Reconnection
    PERFORMANCE MEASURE 4.12: SUBSIDENCE REVERSAL FOR TIDAL RECONNECTION Performance Measure 4.12: Subsidence Reversal for Tidal Reconnection Performance Measure (PM) Component Attributes Type: Output Performance Measure Description 1 Subsidence reversal 0F activities are located at shallow subtidal elevations to prevent net loss of future opportunities to restore tidal wetlands in the Delta and Suisun Marsh. Expectations Preventing long-term net loss of land at intertidal elevations in the Delta and Suisun Marsh from impacts of sea level rise and land subsidence. Metric 1. Acres of Delta and Suisun Marsh land with subsidence reversal activity located on islands with large areas at shallow subtidal elevations. This metric will be reported annually. 2. Average elevation accretion at each project site presented in centimeters per year. This metric will be reported every five years. Baseline 1. In 2019, zero acres of subsidence reversal on islands with large areas at shallow subtidal elevations. 2. Short-term elevation accretion in the Delta at 4 centimeters per year. 1 Subsidence reversal is a process that halts soil oxidation and accumulates new soil material in order to increase land elevations. Examples of subsidence reversal activities are rice cultivation, managed wetlands, and tidal marsh restoration. DELTA PLAN, AMENDED – PRELIMINARY DRAFT NOVEMBER 2019 1 PERFORMANCE MEASURE 4.12: SUBSIDENCE REVERSAL FOR TIDAL RECONNECTION Target 1. By 2030, 3,500 acres in the Delta and 3,000 acres in Suisun Marsh with subsidence reversal activities on islands, with at least 50 percent of the area or with at least 1,235 acres at shallow subtidal elevations. 2. An average elevation accretion of subsidence reversal is at least 4 centimeters per year up to 2050.
    [Show full text]
  • Delta Region Drinking Water Quality Management Plan
    DELTA REGION DRINKING WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN DRAFT FINAL June 2005 Funding for this project was made possible by a CALFED Grant through the Drinking Water Quality Program This document was funded by the CALFED Water Quality Program as an initial effort to create Regional “Equivalent Level of Public Health Protection” Plans and to assist in establishing a uniform framework in such planning. It is not intended to be a final document. California Bay-Delta Authority and CALFED WQP Implementing Agency staff have not had the opportunity to review and comment on this document, and any opinions or interpretations of the CALFED program expressed within the document are solely those of its authors. The CALFED WQP is committed to working with these and other parties to continue development and refinement of Regional Plans. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2004, the CALFED Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) commissioned a pilot program for development of regional drinking water quality management plans (i) to identify the drinking water quality issues and needs of drinking water agencies in different regions of California and (ii) to develop solutions to address those needs. This Delta Region Drinking Water Quality Management Plan (DRDWQMP) was developed jointly by Contra Costa Water District (CCWD), the city of Stockton (COS), and Solano County Water Agency (SCWA). Figure ES-1 shows the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) region, with an outline representing Delta boundaries as defined in California Water Code Section 12220, along with the service areas of the three participating agencies. These three agencies represent the largest urban water users within the Delta region.
    [Show full text]
  • Delta Cross Channel Fact Sheet
    U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation California-Great Basin Region Delta Cross Channel Overview The Delta Cross Channel (DCC), located near Walnut Grove, California, is a feature of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project (CVP) Delta Division. The facility is a gate-controlled diversion channel on the east bank of the Sacramento River, about 30 miles downstream of Sacramento. The DCC facilitates the diversion of fresh water from the Sacramento River into the interior Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the CVP and State Water Project (SWP). Background Reclamation completed the DCC in January 1951. The facility is key to maintaining water quality in the central Delta during controlled releases from northern CVP storage reservoirs, such as Shasta and Folsom, through the Delta to the headworks of the CVP’s Delta-Mendota and Contra Costa canals and SWP’s California Aqueduct. The DCC, pictured above, is 6,000-feet long with a bottom width of 210 feet, and a capacity of 3,500 cubic feet per second (cfs). The gates extend about 245 feet across the channel at its mouth on the Sacramento River. Reclamation closes the DCC gates during high water to prevent flood stages in the San Joaquin section of the Delta. After flood danger passes, Reclamation opens the gates to allow Sacramento River water through to the federal and state pumping plants. During certain periods, When the gates are open, the DCC diverts fresh Sacramento River water to Snodgrass Slough. From there it flows through natural the DCC gates can operate frequently and boaters are channels to the CVP’s Jones Pumping Plant and SWP’s Banks advised to check gate status, especially around holidays.
    [Show full text]