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Groundwater nitrate issue dumped in agriculture's lap by ferujkll sdff
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Groundwater nitrate issue dumped in agriculture's lap |
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Fewer than 10 raised their hands. It was obvious the packed meetingroom had heard enough from the University of California expertsreporting on their recent nitrate-in-groundwater findings. What drew a crowd of about 200 to the UC Kearney Ag Center inParlier, Calif., was a recently released UC study of nitrates in drinking water in the central San Joaquin ValleyTulare Lake Basin and the Salinas Valley in Monterey County. The study has created a statewide media buzz since it says aquarter of a million Californians are hooked to unsafe drinkingwater wells and agriculture should pay for cleaning it up. It"s no secret that nitrates in groundwater are a problem.
Asthe study indicates, 250,000 people within the two basins arecurrently at risk from nitrate contamination in their drinkingwater. This is out of 2.6 million people who live in the fourcounties (Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern) Tulare Lake Basin and theSalinas Valley, the focal point of the study. Most of these peopleare on public water systems, not individual wells. The population of the study area represents only about 7 percent ofthe state"s population; however, 40 percent of thestate"s irrigated cropland is in the study area and over halfthe state"s dairy herds.
With those statistics, it is not surprising that the nitrate issuewas not just deposited on agriculture"s doorstep, it washeaped on agriculture"s back for blame and draconianmitigation recommendations to be paid for by agriculture. Some ofthe regulatory measures researchers are recommending could reducefarming in the region and the production of food in two of the mostproductive farming areas in the world. The study said 96 percent of the nitrates in groundwater aretraceable to agriculture. Several in the audience challenged that,and principal investigator Thomas Harter, UC Davis groundwaterhydrologist, acknowledged that figure may not be"precise." However, chief investigator Jay Lund,director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at Davis, reiteratedthe overwhelming majority of the nitrates are from agriculture.
The study was ordered by the State Water Resources Control Boardbased on a legislative mandate in Senate Bill SBX2 passed in 2008that ordered a study on nitrates in groundwater. Harter admittedthat the two-year timeline for the study was a "relativelyshort research project.". I am an expert from Laptop Coolers, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as fur trooper hat , john hardy earrings.
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