Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on Down the Drain: ‘Treated Sewage’ or ‘Recycled Water’?

Down the Drain: ‘Treated Sewage’ or ‘Recycled Water’?

Brenda Adelman, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

Words have the power to conjure up all kinds of feelings for good or ill, such as “treated sewage” or “recycled water”. Most people would never dream that these disparate terms represent the same product.

Over the years, there has been this subtle and intentional shift in language to persuade the public to accept exposures to treated wastewater in everyday life. After all, it looks and smells the same as potable, and even experts can’t tell the difference. Some officials and politicians have even tasted the local chemical concoction to certify it’s high quality. Over the years, what used to be ‘treated sewage’ became ‘treated effluent’, then ‘wastewater’ or ‘treated wastewater’, and finally ‘recycled water’, this latter having entirely removed the ‘yuk!’ factor. Yet little has changed in the content of the product.

Current treatment of the raw sewage is better than it used to be, and probably the term ‘treated sewage’ is no longer fair, but ‘recycled water’ is very misleading, since of the approximately 80,000 chemicals on the market, only 125 are regulated. We have a long way to go before we should agree to drink the stuff. What we are learning about endocrine disrupting chemicals (most pesticides are in that category, for example) is that children are more vulnerable than adults and low dose exposures can have major impacts on the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.

via Down the Drain: ‘Treated Sewage’ or ‘Recycled Water’?.

Posted on Categories Sustainable Living, WaterTags , Leave a comment on Laguna de Santa Rosa clogged by litter, debris

Laguna de Santa Rosa clogged by litter, debris

Sean Scully, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

If you’ve ever littered in or around the Santa Rosa plain, there is a reasonable chance that the object you threw away is now lodged in one of several garbage-strewn accidental dams clogging up the Laguna de Santa Rosa.

And it’s causing serious headaches for nearby landowners, environmentalists, and county water officials.

“Eventually all that garbage that comes out of Santa Rosa, out of Rohnert Park, out of Cotati, that comes down Mark West Creek, winds up here,” said Mike Thompson, assistant general manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency, on Monday as he surveyed a series of cleanup sites along the Laguna near Guerneville Road.

via Laguna de Santa Rosa clogged by litter, debris | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on Sonoma Valley Draft Salt and Nutrient Management Plan Release

Sonoma Valley Draft Salt and Nutrient Management Plan Release

Ann DuBay, SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY

The Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District will hold a public workshop on the Draft Salt and Nutrient Management Plan (SNMP) at 3:30 pm on July 18th. The purpose of the SNMP is to promote local sustainable water sources and manage salts and nutrients to ensure water quality objectives are met and beneficial uses of groundwater are protected.

In 2009, the State Water Resources Control Board established the Recycled Water Policy, requiring local water and wastewater entities to collaborate with stakeholders to develop a SNMP for each groundwater basin in California.

via Press Releases | Sonoma County Water Agency.

Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on Workshop Scheduled on Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Study

Workshop Scheduled on Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Study

Ann DuBay, SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY

Santa Rosa, CA – A public workshop will be held on July 11th to discuss a significant groundwater study completed by the US Geological Survey,(USGS). The study’s purpose is to characterize the surface water and groundwater resources of the Santa Rosa Plain Watershed and develop tools to better understand and manage the groundwater system. The workshop will take place at 6:00 pm at the Santa Rosa Finley Center (details below).

The Santa Rosa Plain Watershed is home to approximately half of the population of Sonoma County. The groundwater system beneath the Santa Rosa Plain provides numerous benefits to the region, including rural residential and municipal water supplies, irrigation water for agriculture, and water that supplies creeks, streams and the ecosystem.

via Press Releases | Sonoma County Water Agency.

Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on Sonoma County converting flood control channels to healthy ecoystems

Sonoma County converting flood control channels to healthy ecoystems

Sean Scully,THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Life in Santa Rosa and surrounding cities is made possible by a vast fortress, the product of more than a century of civil engineering projects that hold at bay the floods that nature is trying to send sweeping across the vast plain of central Sonoma County.

The Sonoma County Water Agency, the inheritor of that enormous but largely invisible system of streams and reservoirs, is now engaged in an epic engineering project of its own: trying to create a healthy, natural-looking ecosystem in the network without unleashing serious flooding in the cities.

via Sonoma County converting flood control channels to healthy ecoystems | PressDemocrat.com.

Posted on Categories WaterTags , Leave a comment on Finally – the USGS study of the Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin is out!

Finally – the USGS study of the Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin is out!

Sonoma County Water Agency
A public workshop will be held on July 11th to discuss a significant groundwater study completed by the US Geological Survey of the Santa Rosa Plain Watershed. Groundwater in the Santa Rosa Plain is a critical resource for its residents, agriculture, businesses and ecosystem. In recognizing the important link between surface water and groundwater, the study characterizes the current state of the entire hydrologic system within the watershed. Come hear U.S. Geological Survey scientists present the results of this comprehensive study.
When: 6 pm – 8 pm, Thursday, July 11th
Where: Santa Rosa Finley Center, Person Auditorium
       2060 W College Ave, Santa Rosa, CA
What: 6:00 Open House
       6:30 Presentation by the US Geological Survey on the findings of the study
       7:45 Questions and discussion
Summary of the USGS Santa Rosa Groundwater Basin Study

Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on What you should know about river flow in the Russian River

What you should know about river flow in the Russian River

Brenda Adelman, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

Please attend the Monte Rio meeting June 6 on low flow and demand mandatory conservation by urban water users!

Russian River flows at the Hacienda Bridge recently dropped from 300 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 140 cfs.  For this time of year, that’s a trickle.  And there’s more to come. Here’s the latest on the County’s inaction plan for dealing with low summer flows…..

via What You Should Know About River Flow in the Russian River.

Posted on Categories WaterTags Leave a comment on Agreement on future of Russian River projects signed

Agreement on future of Russian River projects signed

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Tuesday signed an agreement intended to bring together a broad array of government, farming and environmental interests on science and stream restoration projects in the Russian River watershed.

The pact, which officials are calling the Russian River Compact, is largely a set of principles spelling out how public agencies and private groups with a stake in the river can best collaborate to improve it for wildlife while maintaining its supply for drinking water and farms and preventing damaging floods.

via Agreement on future of Russian River projects signed | PressDemocrat.com.

Posted on Categories WaterTags , Leave a comment on Santa Rosa Creek Master Plan community meeting

Santa Rosa Creek Master Plan community meeting

The City of Santa Rosa’s Creek Stewardship Program will be holding a community meeting on June 12 to make a presentation on a proposed update to the Citywide Creek Master Plan, answer questions and explain the public review process. The update will be heard at the City Council in August 2013.
Community Meeting details:
Meeting Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Location: Finley Community Center – Willow Room
2060 West College Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
If you have any questions or comments on the plan, please contact Erin Morris, Senior Planner, at emorris@srcity.org
Hard copies of the plan are available at City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, in:
Room 3 (Community Development) Monday – Thursday: 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Room 10 (City Manager’s Office) Monday – Thursday: 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Friday (Closed alternating Fridays): 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
A hard copy is also available at the Sonoma County Public Library at the corner of E Street and Third Street.
The plan, maps, and other information is also available on the web at:
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/communitydev/pages/creekmasterplanupdate.aspx

Posted on Categories Land Use, Water, WildlifeTags , , , , Leave a comment on Sonoma County Updates Stream Protection Zoning

Sonoma County Updates Stream Protection Zoning

Press Release, County of Sonoma

The Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department announced it will hold an informational public workshop in Santa Rosa to seek input on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code to incorporate existing General Plan policies. Stream setbacks were established in the adopted Area and Specific Plans and in the General Plan 2020. Zoning code changes will not result in any new setbacks, not previously adopted.

What: Informational Public Workshop to seek input on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code to incorporate existing General Plan Policies

When: Wednesday, May 22, 20134:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Where: Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department
2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa CA 95403

Zoning requirements for properties with streams will be amended to be consistent with the Sonoma County General Plan 2020, any applicable Area Plan and the County’s existing Building and Grading ordinances.

via Sonoma County Updates Stream Protection Zoning For Consistency with General Plan 2020 | Press Releases | County of Sonoma.