Out of Sight, California’s Groundwater Disaster is Also Out of Mind

[marmar]

Out of Sight, California’s Groundwater Disaster is Also Out of Mind
Food & Water Watch Report Finds Regulators Turn Blind Eye to Central Valley Pollution from Large-Scale Dairies, Fail to Keep Groundwater, Communities Safe


San Francisco – Today the consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch released a report showing serious contamination of groundwater around large-scale dairies in California’s Central Valley. The report details how the agency charged with protecting groundwater in the Central Valley has been negligent despite knowing there are serious problems and calls on the Governor to nominate strong appointees to the Water Board.

The Report, What’s in the Water? Industrial Dairies, Groundwater Pollution and Regulatory Failure in California’s Central Valley, was jointly written by Food & Water Watch and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Using new data that had not been previously analyzed, it demonstrates that public and environmental health may be at serious risk due to groundwater contamination near dairies in the Central Valley, and finds evidence that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) has not effectively enforced regulations.

“Half of the Central Valley’s drinking water comes from groundwater sources, but Governor Brown has been more focused on high-tech tunnels to siphon the Delta’s water to Southern California than groundwater that means life or death to Central Valley residents,” said Elanor Starmer, lead author of the report and Western Region director of Food & Water Watch. “Under the watch of the Water Board, we’ve seen harmful levels of nitrates in the groundwater around most dairies and virtually no effective steps to fix the problem. We’re calling on the governor and state legislators to step up and protect people’s health.” .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/pressreleases/out-of-sight-california%E2%80%99s-groundwater-disaster-is-also-out-of-mind/