Public Release Workshop

SBX2 1 UC Davis Study

The University of California, Davis, Center for Watershed Sciences will publicly release its independent study of nitrate in groundwater for the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley on Tuesday, March 13. A public event will be held to present the study results.

Workshop Presentations

The event was held at

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.,
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
CalEPA Building, Byron Sher Auditorium, Sacramento.
see: SWRCB SBX2 1 Nitrate Study 

An archive of the live video stream of the event will be featured here later. Also check
 http://www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/
under the title "Public UC Davis Nitrate Report Release." 

The UC Davis report examines sources of nitrate contamination, impacts and costs, as well as promising funding and policy options. The public release event will provide an overview of the study. At the event, a panel discussion will reflect on the problem of groundwater nitrate, safe drinking water, promising solutions, and how this report might contribute to ongoing policy discussions in defining the issues and promising directions.

UC Davis is under contract with the State Water Resources Control Board to conduct its independent investigation and report on the findings and potential solutions for nitrate in groundwater in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley. The findings and promising options in the UC Davis report will be used to inform the State Water Board in its development of recommendations to be outlined in a report to the Legislature that will be submitted later in 2012. 

Public Release Event Agenda 

• Introduction/Overview of the SBX2 1 Process, State Water Resources Control Board
• Summary of Findings, Thomas Harter, UC Davis
•    Questions and Answers
• Supporting Technical Reports
•    Sources of Nitrate and Source Reduction
•    Groundwater Nitrate and Groundwater Remediation
•    Treatment, Vulnerable Population, and Water System Option
•    Policy and Funding Options
•    Questions and Answers
• Panel Discussion “Addressing Nitrate in California's Drinking Water”
•    Robert Gore and Jay Lund, UC Davis, Moderators
•    Paul Boyer, Self-Help Enterprises
•    Celeste Cantu, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
•    Laurel Firestone, Community Water Center
•    Thomas Harter, UC Davis
•    Paul Martin, Western United Dairymen
•    David Orth, Southern San Joaquin Valley Water Quality Coalition

Information on the SBX2 1 Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley Nitrate Pilot Projects can be found at www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/nitrate_project/index.shtml 

Also see the archives of the USGS Water Resources Division Seminar Series:
Thomas Harter et al., April 5, 2012, "Nitrate in California Drinking Water: Understanding Sources,Groundwater Pathways, and Drinking Water Impacts" (70 minute technical presentation with a focus on groundwater quality).