San Joaquin Valley residents learn more about groundwater nitrate problem

Pamela Creedon, executive officer of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the state of California failed to protect San Joaquin Valley residents' drinking water from fertilizer, dairy and septic contamination, according to a report in the Fresno Bee by Mark Grossi.

Creedon spoke yesterday at a conference arranged by Fresno State's International Center for Water Technology. Also on the panel was Thomas Harter, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at UC Davis, who described his recently released research report on nitrates in Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley groundwater.

The conference featured panels and speakers on many of California's water issues, including underground water banking and Southern California's quest for new water sources, Grossi reported. However, no issue was bigger than Harter's study, he said.

Earlier Thursday, Harter and his research team presented details of the report to an audience of about 150 at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Two local television stations, ABC affiliate Channel 30 and CBS affiliate Channel 47, provided their viewers with live reports from the scene.

Read more