That’s my sister💕
2
Dear NYT:
If the water is too polluted to drink, why is it o k to use that water on the crops that feed Anerica?
Would a boycott of the specific farmers who pollute the water table be in order? Remove any subsides on the price of irrigation water? And charge the farmers the market rate for water? Those who abuse the land should pay for it.
Hugh
3
Too many people.
Too many greedy people.
Too many selfish people.
Too many people who view their fellow humans as expendable.
This doesn't sound much different than the comments made by Bronn in GOT - at the small council meeting. Seriously, google it.
There is plenty of money to resolve this. It's just not being shared.
Please explain why a state, or a nation that is the richest to have ever existed can't at least guarantee safe water to all it's citizens.
Maybe when the Dem "leaders" and The Liar in Chief sit down today to talk infrastructure, water could come first. After all, who needs a road, a bridge or broadband internet if you are dead from cancer?
Too many greedy, selfish people. Just too many.
1
Governor Newsom is asking for about $300 million to fix this problem, we have over 30 million residents, surely we can pay less than 10 per person to make sure all Californians have safe and clean drinking water. What kind of people are we to allow a million people to not have access to safe water? We truly are just graceless, greedy and disgusting.
2
In East Orosi the people pay $60 per month for 13,000 gallons of water per month. They also pay $50 per month for sewage, which is piped to Orosi for processing.
I pay $146 per month for 6000 gallons and $75 for sewage. In my city you even pay an extra pumping fee, depending on how much elevation you have above the city's water source.
Let these people pay their fair share. Why should they be able to lay off their costs on other people.
When we can no longer drink the water nor breathe the air, nothing else will matter--not position, not wealth, not power. However humans try to pervert nature to our will works for a little while; and then it turns on us. When our species is wiped out, it will have been our arrogance that sealed our inevitable end. My fervent hope is that we do not succeed in taking all other life forms along with us.
3
One reason why I bought a house within 5 miles of Lake Michigan and will stay here till it's over. Because my California cousins get their water through an absurd drinking straw called the LA Aqueduct, a device that could someday fail in that all-too-active seismic territory. California, having famously oversold its land considered water an afterthought, and where are the Mulhollands among us to remedy this lack?
2
I always find it particularly disturbing when I read about this sort of problem in California. How is it that the wealthiest state in the US, home to Silicon Valley and Hollywood, cannot look after their own? And then to read they have a 21 billion surplus... Isn't one of the sensible uses of a surplus to fund infrastructure investment? All I can say is shame on the wealthy of California.
4
Some available solutions include point-of-use filtration systems and also atmospheric water generators ("AWG") that allow people to make their own water through condensation technology (full-disclosure: I have been working in the AWG industry for about 5 years now). The folks profiled in this article could pay as little as $20 per month for financing an appliance that makes up to 5 gallons of purified water per day. Bottom line - this situation can be solved. www.MakeWaterNow.com .
2
It is very strange that this issue is addressed but now. In a nwf magazine I read back in the early 1990s,there was an article reporting that the water at the Kesterson Refuge was so full of cadmium and other toxic metals and elements that many young of water birds were born with deformed beaks and other disorders, and that the water was dangerous to people too. Considering the fact that irrigation leaches natural contaminants out of the soil, and that the runoff has to be stored in holding pools, I wonder that this problem has only just been addressed. I gave a course on ecology in 1996, and my pupils already had some knowledge about the issues so that we had a very rewarding semester. Guess I would have been fired from an American school, had I dared touch this topic....
Seemingly hardly anyone is interested in these issues, reads thothing that could be even remotely disquieting, preferring to live in a haze of entertainment, petty discussions, and considering people who mention these facts freaks and killjoys.
Now that people are feeling the effects, perhaps something will finally be done to solve this dilemma.
1
So what! If you live on a farm and put down a shallow well, the water will be unfit to drink. My grandfather's farm was that way. The town, five miles away, had an unlocked faucet with safe water. We would fill our jugs with drinking water and leave boxes of grapefruits and oranges (because our garden trees produced too many for us to eat). We had six kids drinking water and we managed fine. The faucet still operates in that town.
If you are too lazy for that, you can put in a cistern and have a truck deliver clean water once a month or whatever. It is insane to think you can run delivery pipes out in the country, to give people clean water. The houses are spaced out half a mile or more apart. If you don't want to do that, install filters and reverse osmosis and have clean water. Or declare the homes unfit for habitation. The people who buy these houses, which are no longer attached to the farmland around them, are getting very cheap housing for a reason. They can purchase a filter for house water and a reverse osmosis for drinking water. And they can situate their septic away from their well. Or they can pay for water delivery. Both are common practice in irrigated farm country.
1
Why don't we talk about over population? Sure, we can engineer our way out of this problem for a while, but the truth is, us human geniuses are just not getting the fact that we need to decide to have fewer of ourselves. Freedom from pollution means we use freedom of choice to stabilize population growth.
1
Easy Orosi has 116 houses. Half are rentals, half are owned. The average income is $26,000. These people are complaining that they have to buy another four gallons of water. That costs a dollar at California water machines. It's one five gallon bottle. They have to shop for food and the water machine is usually right outside the grocery store. The rents are the same as at nearby towns. The houses are cheap, a quarter of the price of an average house in California. For that, the landlord can provide water. Or the people can move.
If these people want filtered water they can form a cooperative and build a filtered water facility. It's just sand and diatomaceous earth. Or put their own in the backyard. If they want soft water in the bathrooms and washers, they can install water softeners. If they want reverse osmosis water in the kitchen they can have it for $300 to install and $100 for replacements filters. Or they can use the common solution used in many towns in the US and Mexico and have a water service drop off water bottles. A food grade 400 gallon water container is $500. A steel cistern is $1700. Lots of farm houses have them. This isn't rocket science.
Producing the bulk of the nation's, and much of the world's, fruits, vegetables, rice, nuts, alphalfa, you name it, has caused the problem.
Levy an export tax to all AG products shipped out of State, with the funds to be used exclusively for cleaning up contaminated rural ag water systems.
The nation and the world has benefited from our farms and farm workers, let them contribute in keeping them safe.
2
@Prodigal Son. Taxing “exports” to other states of the US is a nonstarter. It violates the Commerce Clause in the US constitution.
We can live without many things. Water isn’t one of them. The chemicals have got to go-not because organic is more nutritious but because it is less poisonous the people who grow, pick, and package it.
1
Whoever polluted the water should pay to clean it.
If you read Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" you will find his detailed description of Southern Cal. as a desert climate. That has not substantially changed. What has changed is the result of the shenanigans to divert water from the Colorado River as well as No. California to the Central Valley to serve the interests of investors in big agriculture and land value in the valley. Result should be no surprise. You can't fool Mother Nature.
3
The State Water Resources Control Board in CA is a farce. They rarely enforce any of the Legislatively-passed standards, make up their own administrative rules to circumvent clear statutory language, and let small, and/or remote districts "slide" because it's such a long drive from their regional offices.
1
Regenerative agriculture practices would eliminate much of the need for the toxic chemicals while sequestering carbon in the soil AND requiring less water to farm.
Is it a surprise that the U.S. trails other countries in research on and use of regenerative ag practices?
3
I taught a class where graduates students made water their class project After much research they concluded fresh water would replace petroleum as the most politically and economically important resource issue for this century.
Though I was a bit doubtful of such a radical geopoIitical shift I gave them As for their research and vision. They were on the mark. Ahead of predictions, the Panama Canal is now facing water shortages from drought and, as this article makes clear, California needs a Herculean effort to manage downward the expectations of its multiple water users.
Another prediction, water wars, both international and within nations involving both scarcity and up stream pollution like that China is creating in the great Mekong Basin.
1
Please. That "research" must have taken all of 15 minutes as there are dozens of books, many of them decades old, that have long predicted clean water as the more valuable commodity versus oil.
If California's wealthy agricultural economy (produce, dairy products, meats) is responsible for polluted groundwater, aquifers and wells, then they should pay the lion's share of repairing the water delivery systems and construction of water treatment plants.
They have done quite well financially in feeding the nation, polluting water for decades without taking measures to prevent water contamination from pesticides, urine and manure. It's their turn to pay up. Their illegal labor force (which I am glad they hire) costs them very little in overhead, and workers should be paid more.
Big Agriculture, and the State's general fund, should pay for new infrastructure. Other water contaminators -- chemical plants, mines, frackers -- should also be identified and contribute to the Clean Water effort.
Homeowners who use pesticides on their lawns are culpable in a smaller measure, but their pesticides make their way to ground water. Perhaps pesticides should be banned in favor of natural pest eaters, like ducks (yes, they are used here in Europe) -- they love to gobble up insect pests.
Water is a valuable commodity in California, and must be respected and cared for, starting now.
2
California needs to clean this mess up. Unforgivable that people in this state do not have clean water to drink, bathe or cook in. And, all the politicians seem to do is pass the buck here instead of fixing the problem. This isn't rural India or Pakistan. This is part of the U.S.
Outrageous. Once again, another example of poor, working class Americans being ignored. I doubt this would be a worry in Beverly Hills.
4
A map showing affected area(s) would have been helpful here!
4
It's not just the Central Valley either.
In Lompoc, Ca the water is so alkaline and hard that nobody drinks it. I tested it the 80s and 90s and it was 3 times the limit for dissolved solids and really high in nitrates from farming.
The city tried to blame the dam at lake Cachuma but the company they hire at a cost of millions came back and blamed the city and the farmers for drawing too much water and not allowing it to percolate back, plus too much fertilizer.
I had nephews and a niece there who almost never drink water but swilled soda pop instead. The health consequences will be very costly in both costs and lifestyles when they're older.
This year's rains and snow are a blip and the droughts will return. New evidence shows that dams not only make droughts worse they make ground water less drinkable as well.
2
Probably most if not all water sources are now contaminated with potential toxins.The extent of contamination of water throughout the world is a consequence of overpopulation. And obviously, whatever is in our water, including radionuclides, plastics, organic chemicals, nanoparticles, etc. ends up in our food. Nobody can escape exposure, including the politicians of both parties who have ignored what ecologists warned about for many decades. The many excellent comments to this article illustrate how weak our political systems are when it comes to providing for our health and safety. It would be in the interest of all countries to divert resources from permanent warfare to cleaning up the environment.
3
If 80 percent of disadvantaged communities without potable water are less than one mile away from other communities with safe drinking water, it makes more sense to make them move out of the inhospitable area. It would not move them more than a mile more from their place of work. Provide bus service if necessary for less cost than water system extension. LBJ cemented his local constituency when he had the Federal government lower their population requirements to electrify the Texas Hill Country. It would be the perfect opportunity for a California Republican to reform the State.
@John Q Dallas
Or run an overground pipe..
@John Q Dallas
Alas, the California Republican Party would never serve up some "pork" to the poor and disadvantaged, only to their own hogs!
1
If the irrigation water is contaminated with arsenic, which is an element and can not be simple destroyed by something or other, then the food products grown using that water will also be contaminated with arsenic, having absorbed it with the water.
I would like to see a follow-up addressing that. I don't want to eat arsenic laced foods and I am sure others don't either. Maybe if the customers of this agriculture begin to feel wary about the products, and buy less, or complain more, the motivation to clean things up will appear.
To answers you questions
1. Arsenic can be removed from groundwater though filtration methods to make it safe to drink. Also these filters don’t need to be complicated either to achieve safe drinking levels.
2. It depends on the crop if the arsenic will be accumulated in the plant. Rice is a particularly good at accumulating arsenic and levels of arsenic can exceed WHO standards.
2
@Himsahimsa The arsenic talked about here is naturally occurring, and is in such small concentrations, you could never drink enough water in your lifetime for it to have an effect. Too much copper can kill you too.
Everything is toxic at some level, although arsenic is certainly toxic in small amounts. Just not this small.
If the groundwater is so contaminated that it's not fit to drink, then these same chemicals are being absorbed into the fruits, vegetables, and almonds grown in central California.
5
In other words, the "organic food" label doesn't really coverall bases.
1
Where's Dean Kamen and his Slingshot, a vapor compression system that can supposedly provide enough water for 300 people a year? Didn't he take up with Coca Cola to improve his distribution around the world, and why can't this be distributed to communities in California?
4
California Democrats claim to be acting in the interests of people yet more than 300 water systems in the state are unsafe to drink. How can they lock at themselves in the mirror knowing that people are dying because of their craven environmental policies. Both parties disgrace America by their disregard for allowing people throughout our land to drink polluted water.
“Millions of people across the U.S. have been exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals in their drinking water, according to a new report from Northeastern University and the Environmental Working Group. The report found that at least 610 sites in 43 states were contaminated with the fluorinated compounds known as PFAS chemicals as of March 2019, including the drinking water systems for around 19 million people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to PFAS chemicals can lead to increased risk of cancer as well as immune, behavioral and reproductive health issues. " EccoWatch 5-10-19
3
@Dave E
This is happening in RED areas. Where there is resistance and rejection to environmental regulation. Agreed that both parties are a disgrace, but all one needs to do is look at the EPA's changes in policies the past 2 years to know -- without any uncertainty -- that the GOP does not give a hoot about the environment or the negative impacts upon American flowing from poor environmental policy. Drill baby drill!
2
Water, sure. But the people in the family in the photos might also be healthier if they cleaned their house.
2
Obbvously. it's time to get rid of taxes that target the little people... altho a tax on outrageous water usage -- how much to irrigate your golf course?? etc. to me makes much sense. Use more than your fair share pay for it.
According to this article (implicit) is that the pipes are responsible for the poor water-- and in that case this is an infra-structure issue. OTOH perhaps there is a new for new wells? (and fewer people.)
3
There are two parties responsible for this problem: 1) the corporate agricultural industry; 2) the state government. Despite state (and federal) water subsidies the ag bosses refuse to pay their share to provide clean water for their intentionally underpaid and exploited workers. A state government that has coddled the ag business for decades, and now has a massive budget surplus that enables it to address the huge gap between its most impoverished residents, has let this problem become a crisis without committing itself to help solve it. In this respect California is a microcosm of the collusion of the national government with the 1% to impose austerity on those least able to bear it in order to funnel wealth to the top.
2
Farms chose to hire illegal workers, but not to invest in the development of advanced mechanical equipment that could displace farm workers. Even when some robots became available, the agricultural community largely resisted buying them because they could pay illegal workers so little, leaving taxpayers to subsidize the migrant workers’ families’ daily lives. (And now, California taxpayers might end up paying for the infra-structure to bring the workers and their families clean water.)
On 11/9/17, Reuters had an article titled "As Trump targets immigrants, U.S. farm sector looks to automate” which said that now that it was harder to find migrant labor, farmers were finally beginning to buy the computerized equipment that was available and to invest in the development of other machines. The article said, "Farmers and food companies increasingly are moving to automate dairy operations, chicken processing, crop production and harvesting. Even delicate crops such as strawberries and peaches are being considered for mechanization.”
A 5/21/18 Reuters story titled "Robots fight weeds in challenge to agrochemical giants” said robots are being tested that can determine exactly which plants need herbicide and squirt the herbicide only on them, not any neighboring plants, decreasing the amount of herbicide needed.
In the future, fewer farm laborers and less herbicide will be needed.
2
How many so-called organic crops are watered with questionable water? And in what regions?
Would be a good topic for a future story.
4
I've been following this issue in Sacramento and working on it as it winds it way through the State Legislature. Great article, but one point that the reporter understated is that the so-called "water tax" that Newsom is trying to pass is heavily supported by Big Ag because it puts the vast majority of the cost (more than 70%) onto urban water ratepayers. The point can be made that the cost of cleaning up what is essentially agricultural pollution should not be borne by Californians alone. Forcing the ag industry to shoulder the majority of this cost, which would then force consumers of California food all around the world, would be a more equitable approach. As it is, this is a giveaway to the our ag giants. Maybe food should be a little more expensive, Gavin.
8
@Bryan
California is a sanctuary for illegal migrants. Having so many illegal migrants has allowed farmers to hire them at low wages instead of buying computerized equipment, and has discouraged farmers from investing in more advanced equipment.
It is only now that the Trump Administration is trying to cut down on illegal migration that farmers are finally looking at computerized equipment. They are finding robots that can determine exactly which plants need a squirt of herbicide and apply it, without having to douse an entire field with herbicide. This should cut down on the amount of herbicide needed by at least a factor of 10. This and other computerized machines that have been developed (and other robots that are being developed) should be able to greatly decrease the number of farm workers needed.
Had California not protected migrant workers and had farmers not hired them, but instead looked to automate, this problem would not have arisen. California and its farmers are to blame, not those of us who buy the food.
@ann. It’s not a case of blame. You pay for the cost of the food. If that cost includes sums allocated for mitigation of ecological harm resulting from the production of the food, so be it.
2
“The fact that more than a million Californians in 2019 have been left behind is really appalling,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency.”
I’m sorry, but nobody was left behind. These people in the Central Valley have been voting GOP and railing against the EPA as job killing and over-regulating for decades. They have no right to cry foul now.
6
As much as I'm concerned about the contamination of the drinking supply, I just as concerned about the herbicides, pesticides, etc., that are being used on the crops resulting in contaminated water. You drink it or you eat it - either way, it's poisoned.
4
Tom Lehrer song, around 1960 or so; advice to foreign visitors, Calypso style:
When you visit American city-
You will find it very pretty!
Only 2 things of which you must beware:
Don't Drink The Water; and
Don't Breathe The Air!
More than 50 years later- it's worse. American Exceptionalism at it's best.
4
Why is this even up for discussion? The state needs to force Orosi to connect East Orosi and provide those residents with clean water. Of course there is a cost but come on- it's water! Sometimes we make things way too complicated.
6
I live in a small town in N CA. My street just had new water mains put in. I expect that to be done wherever it's needed in my state. Having a budget surplus is sweet, but having clean drinking water for ALL Californians is even sweeter! Do it, and do it now! Meanwhile supply all the problem areas with trucked-in drinking water delivered for FREE, as much as the people need, by railroad if need be!
7
Singapore has shown how dramatically energy efficient and lush ethical gardens on skyscrapers can be.
More LEED buildings in the USA should be growing energy efficient gardens!
3
The central valley benefits from 2 systems: The Calif. aqueduct system that carries water from the Sacramento delta region and Sierras to farmers as far south as Bakersfield. And privately owned rights to ground water in the valley.
The ground water has been pumped and greatly depleted now with less than 30% remaining. The city of Arbuckle, CA, has subsided (fallen) more than 36 inches in the past few decades as the ground water has been mostly depleted.
Farmers are loath to accept reality. They deplete water because it is cheaper than using drip irrigation and non-plowing planting techniques. Broadcast irrigation covering thousands of acres (think huge sprinklers) allows water to evaporate and leave minerals behind. These minerals seep into the shallow water table from which many persons draw potable water. Unfortunately, high levels of some minerals are carcinogenic. Add to this the high levels of nitrates from cattle feeder lots in this region; the ground water in heavy ag communities is unsafe from minerals & nitrates.
The thirstiest crops are nuts (pecans, almonds, pistachio) most of these crops are sold in the export market. 1 gallon of water is required for each almond to grown.
Farmers here are entirely unmoved by reality and care little for their environment or the sustainability of their farms. IF they did, they'd all embrace sustainable agricultural practices. Instead, this region is populated by Trumpanistas who believe regardless.
8
I read an article here and there about the environment or climate and few, if any, really describe our 100+ year Ponzi Scheme. We have been treating air, water, and other natural resources as though they are free. Somehow we think we can use them, in fact, deserve them, and not clean up after ourselves. The crash is beginning and we continue to act as though this or that crash is a minor thing we can just fix with a few patches. We, as human beings, are crashing our Earth. The many ways this impacts us and many other living things has begun and will worsen. We are greedy and want everything. It's not just the billionaires who seem unable to give up their massive greed for more profit at the expense of all, it is us, who follow them in our desire for more stuff. We are in denial about what is really happening. What is wrong with us that "The Game of Thrones" has more coverage than the future of all of our children.
5
Proposed solution: "One solution for expanding potable water access could be for larger systems to absorb smaller systems, which would allow them to spread infrastructure costs across more customers."
Concern: "Often, community members also worry that adding lower-income customers from neighboring communities will leave them to foot the bill."
Sounds as if the concern is warranted. The state of California should either stop subsidizing its citizens to live in sparsely populated (read: more expensive to maintain) areas or simply foot the bill as a whole.
1
This problem can be fixed. The rich people in California simply don't want to fix it. This problem exists in plenty of other areas of the country as well.
2
How much of the water infrastructure has been damaged over the years by age, earthquakes, etc?
How susceptible are the systems to future earthquakes?
2
That explains Mike McCarthey's and Devin Nunez' behavior.
5
This article does not provide any intelligent assessment of what is ‘tainted water’, ‘unsafe water’, failing system. The article does not reveal the data compiled by the state. What are the contaminants and their allowable limits ?
3
The country's entire water infrastructure is outdated and in dire need of overhaul.
Also: Nestle and Poland Springs are benefiting directly from municipal water supplies, which should be outlawed in favor of making potable water available to everyone. We should not be paying for bottled water because our taps are so compromised.
6
Too many people. That is what forces all these extreme methods of farm production and tainting the environment. To feed a population that is out of control . Support birth control of any type and for anyone! That might help the problem. Anyone out there know how to make a model of decreasing population doable with economic models? This growth is killing us all.
I am a white woman, 54 years old, childless and happy, and stand with Planned Parenthood.
5
There are similar water problems in regions of US dominated by Big Gas/Big Coal (extraction), all enabled/worsened by Trump admin.
3
Logging operations long have been among the biggest sources of water pollution in the country after agriculture.
A 2013 Supreme Court ruling said that EPA regulations about water pollution as mandated by the Clean Water Act did not apply to sediment and other pollution from logging operations.
4
California ag is the gateway drug of illegal "immigration". And it creates a multitude of derivative problems, either not paid for, or foisted off on the taxpayer. The reason problems like this aren't dealt with through the political process is because these folks can't vote. The reason employers don't pick up the cost is they don't have to. There are plenty of desperate illegal "immigrants" willing to do the work and put up with the Third World conditions.
4
If the Californians are potentially susceptible to getting sick or poisoned from the polluted water, then I would think that traces of pollutants would also adhere to the produce. Is this not possible?
If California has to tax the farmers and corporations to purify the water, then what inevitably will happen is that the consumer will pay more.
I don't mind paying more if the water purification systems to be implemented will make me feel more at ease.
I just got sick from an American lettuce because I didn't wash it. You can be sure that from now on I'll be washing all American (and Canadian) produce in order to "think" that I have washed away harmful bacteria, arsenic, and who knows what else (fertilizers) is on or in the produce!
3
@Majortrout - washing will only do so much. It can get clean bacteria and molds and such but the lettuce itself will draw up all kinds of wonderful things that do not wash away.
In the cannabis world of hydroponic growers, the rule is to "flush" the plants for the last two weeks of growth. At that point, the plants are only supposed to get water and no other nutrients otherwise one can taste the fertilizer in the final product.
A very simple grow light in a closet or grow tent or even on a kitchen counter can grow all of the lettuce you would ever want and you would never be concerned with what is or is not on it.
3
For the past 10 years I have been deeply involved in this issue. Reading the lively comments I have found many correct and many incorrect statements.
Correct: It is a water crisis of huge proportions impacting both human health and the environment (missed by the article).
Correct: The problem is solvable.
Incorrect: It's an solely an infrastructure problem.
Incorrect: Farming (alone) is the problem.
Please allow me to briefly explain. The contaminants tainting and poisoning our drinking waters are sometimes naturally occurring in the underlying geology, such as arsenic, and sometimes farm related, such as nitrates (fertilizers). Nitrate contamination is a huge and growing problem. If we simply plumb households with tainted water to systems with clean water, but do not halt the farm nitrate pollution problem, the problem will continue to spread and overwhelm, ultimately contaminating the sources much of the "clean" water is being supplied from. Agriculture is one of America's most potent lobbying interests and has resisted regulation for decades. We must find solutions that provide clean water, stop the pollution, and at the same time allow agriculture to continue putting food on the table. Few (and not me) are asking agriculture to stop using chemicals. But the chemicals in our waters have left the farm and are doing no good for the crop; the chemicals are too often the result of over- or carelessly applied chemical, practices that must stop.
10
That may means redirecting much of our energy to smaller producers within driving distance of our towns and cities.
1
it's not just about farmers... if you have a simple under-sink reverse osmosis filter system, you are wasting roughly 30 gal of water to refine a tankful ( perhaps 2 gal ) of RO water under your sink. For a family that is using a lot of RO water, there is a huge waste of good drinkable water. The RO kits / boxes do not disclose how much water is wasted in order to filter a couple gallons of RO filtered water. The drain is tied right to the sewer line, so homeowners often have no idea, unless they actually drain the wasted water into a container to check. Just saying.
4
@Scooter - Is that wasted or does it just go back to the water treatment center? Does it suddenly disappear after the R/O process?
Watering lawns in southern California wastes water because it just evaporates.
Wow! Thank you for posting this comment.
1
California’s Central Valley has the lowest wages, highest illiteracy rates, poorest living conditions and worst air in the country. Did you have to guess that it is solid Republican and opposed to anything called progress—like mass transit, decent wages, schools and housing, health care, clean air, and, potable water. The wealthy landowners (on their billboards on Highway 99 up and down the Valley) proclaim that growing food can’t be wrong. Does using a gallon of water per grown almond sound right? Growing cotton, pistachios and other water consuming items in a desert is hardly a heroic feat. Inventive? Yes. Ingenious? Yes. Hard work? Yes. Destructive? A most emphatic yes! How did they react to the five-year drought? They dug wells and depleted the aquifer, sinking the Valley floor and further poisoning the water by bringing heavy metals to the surface. And then they voted for Trump. This story will have a happy ending when people unite to run the reactionary policies and politicians out of the state.
10
This situation speaks to the reality of contemporary America - a society where exploitation of the poor and vulnerable is rampant. As these stories emerge, it is evident that America is a model of social and political dysfunction.
2
This is an excellent article, thank you.
(Local-parlance point: The article refers several times to oranges growing in "fields," eg "lush orange fields" in third graf.
Having grown up in a California orange town, I'd never heard the word "fields" applied. They exist in "groves," occasionally "orchards" -- though that's more for apples or nut-trees. Obviously this doesn't "matter," but it's as jarring as seeing a reference to "groves of wheat" or "orchards of corn." Can you adjust "fields"=>"groves"?)
Main point: excellent article.
6
The tainted water is a horrific problem in and of itself that affects many people, mostly not readers of this article. But let's make no mistake about it, we are ALL affected by the food grown with the chemicals that are tainting this water, and so indirectly it is a health problem for the entire nation. Greedy corporations, Big Agriculture and corrupt politicians are never going to care. We, the people, must demand that our food, air and water stop posing a mortal risk to our health.
3
Big agri businesses enjoy the corporate welfare system underwritten by taxpayers.
Would we have less pollution if more of the farms were small scale? Even many farmers have told me they believe so.
1
This is an outrage, a health and human rights crisis. I am curious about the produce growing in areas where there is toxic water, is it also affected by the contaminants?
The cost of moving that battle group to rattle sabres with Iran would likely be enough to fix California’s water problems. Come on Trump, start helping Americans instead of your ego.
1
Safe water and adequate sanitation have been the bedrock of environmental health for more than a century. The 80’s was the WHO water and sanitation decade where vast amounts of money went to developing countries to correct the problem. Now the richest country in the world cannot provide its citizens with safe water? This is a no brainer.
4
State funding provides an immediate solution to consolidation obstacles. And since these problems are externalized costs of industrial agriculture...the lifeblood of urban communities...it is appropriate that urban taxes bear the cost.
2
I am a lifelong Californian, and love my state. In my opinion, we need a massive overhaul of our water system, not just to address the topic reported here (which is a horror show), but to also to capture more rainwater and snowmelt. At the same time, we need to find better ways to farm, that are healthier for people, animals, and our natural resources. Solutions are out there but resistance to change is strong.
8
The powerful farm industry in these areas have demanded the state allocate water to them at subsidized rates, but bristle at paying a share so their workers can drink clean water. That is the ultimate commentary on the dysfunction of rural America.
I used to live in California's Central Valley, which is the subject of this article. In my experience, many of the problems affecting my former home were not the result of some conspiracy by liberal big city folks. It was the gaps of wealth, class, and race within the local community. The conservative, relatively well-to-dos often railed against the government in Sacramento and the liberals on the coast for supposed neglect of their town. But as this article shows, the same people show a lot of disregard and neglect toward their neighbors who live on the wrong side of the proverbial tracks.
159
@citybumpkin so true
7
California hasn’t been run properly in many decades. It has so much to offer but extreme factions rule
2
Factories in the field...
2
All of America is eating the fruits, vegetables, and grains that is grown across America using ground water that has become increasingly contaminated by pesticides, industrial waste, fertilizers, and fracking by-products. All of America will suffer as our food supply becomes more and more tainted by toxic water. It is a great tragedy that American oil, gas, chemical, and agribusiness have been permitted to operate unchecked because these industries control the political process, the politicians, and the agencies that were established to protect us. How ludicrous are the cries for free markets and unfettered capitalism when unchecked profit driven interests are permitted to poison us all?
6
@Bill
If only -- half the stuff at the market seems to come from outside the USA. BTW - people should be encouraged to grow their own everything -- including MJ. Zucchini grows like a weed. Lettuce is also easy... All of the rooftops in many a city could be used for an urban garden aka a Freedom garden during WWII.
At the heart of the matter is agriculture run-off, water with heavy minerals and fertilizer is stored below ground rather than cleaned. (To learn more about why water is stored and not merely pooled at the surface see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesterson_National_Wildlife_Refuge)
This has caused ground water to be contaminated and rendered vast tracts of land unusable. Clean the water and the problem gets more manageable.
This is what is called a negative externality, Central Valley farmers and water districts aren’t accounting for the full cost of agribusiness.
4
I’m a former resident of Fresno and lifelong Californian. Thanks to NYT for spotlighting this horror show and the state’s failure to act.
8
California's solution to every problem appears to be raising taxes.
3
I recommend Californians consider voting for more Republicans
1
80 % of the Cali snow melt runs back into the ocean i.e. well educated but little common sense
1
What?! There are problems in the paradise called California? States run by democrats were perfect I thought!
2
The New York Times should also investigate drinking water closer to home. NYC water was once extolled as the best, but now some of the water that comes out of our faucets is no longer from upstate reservoirs, but is used drain water recycled in purification plants such as the one in Greenpoint Brooklyn. and noticeably smells of chlorine.
4
This is a huge problem that some believe will be solved through the implementation of organic farming. I would say the problem is more complicated. California already has more organic farms than any other state and is the largest organic milk producer in the U.S. Nitrogen from manure is the same as nitrogen from chemical fertilizers. It's not about using organic or not - it's about the scale of these farms and the amount of nitrogen needed and generated - both chemical and manure. The E.U. is already seeing nitrogen leaching problems from large, immobile compost piles that produce enormous levels of nitrogen in one area. If anything, this article shows the failure of the organic program to handle this problem. We need a more direct and sustainable solution that includes better nitrogen management through proper manure handling and storage as well as water treatment.
7
I live in a farming community and was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer in 2014. While being treated, I was absolutely shocked at the number of farm workers that had cancer. From infants to adolescents, teens and everyone else, the numbers are staggering. My doctor thinks that it is related to the Nitrates, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides being used in the fields. But we sure have some pretty strawberries.......
218
@BorisRoberts You're absolutely right. I've been living here also for all of my 54 years. The water used to be soft and pure. Now it's loaded with calcium and nitrates. Farmers have total control of local politics. I laugh when I hear how poor they are. Lear jets go by occasionally with "poor" farmers inside. Wine, strawberries, and broccoli all use toxic fertilizer. Who cares about the water and the workers? As usual, the almighty dollar has the final say.
27
@BorisRoberts
I'm beginning to wonder about those American strawberries. Some of them that we receive up here in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) are the size of small apples.
What genetic modifications and plant food are they feeding the strawberries?
13
One word.. Glyphosate.. the chemical found in Roundup.. @BorisRoberts
7
California, which boasts of their $21 billion surplus (due to great management, don’t you know), and constantly says it wants to care for the poor and immigrants, legal or illegal (all very “woke”) somehow cant seem to find any funds or more legislation to address this year’s old problem. Why is that? It’s not the federal government’s primary responsibility, though they may help. California needs to step up and deal with this.
52
@George S So you’ll be supporting Gavin Newsom’s tax to pay for addressing this problem then?
Or...
9
@George S Then find your own food. Also, perhaps if we weren't paying the bills of the Freeloader Belt (Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina etc..) we would be keeping the money we send to D.C. right here in California where it belongs.
24
@George S
Neither can "woke" New York, George. Your state's agriculture and economy would collapse without migrant labor. But you city slickers don't care about what happens in Western New York - out of sight, out of mind.
11
Without clean water there can be no life. Local government needs to be cleaning up it's act and acting as policeman/woman, so businesses don't destroy clean water supplies. You need a whole government department dedicated to monitoring consequences of business practices on the environment.
Most civilised nations have controls and laws to monitor businesses so they can't pollute local water supplies. Make your politicians accountable on this issue and expose the ones who don't care because they take bribes from lobbyists who pollute the water supplies.
People go on about jobs but there are more long term consequences on areas than the jobs that are gone once the big business moves out and the polluted water supplies are still polluted and the jobs gone. No one cares because government has to pay to clean up the mess. Government debt gets bigger and the company that caused the pollution gets richer.
4
The cited "Environmental Health" study is a commentary piece and concludes "Further research is needed to refine the risk and toxicity parameters for specific contaminants and to address the mode of interaction between co-occurring chemicals. As this cumulative risk model goes through future refinements, we anticipate that it would provide information that can help communities and policy makers evaluate different options for drinking water treatment."
In Plain English: "We don't if contaminanets actually affect the health of those drinking it, but it might, and so we ought to do some science on this topic. In the meantime, we'll alert the NY Times and they'll scare the pants off people by implying that we found that bad water would cause 15,500 cases of cancer in California alone over 70 years. The truth is, we really don't now if they willcause any cancers ever....'
2
Cities & towns where people make a living wage don't have this kind of problem. They have enough of a tax base to afford the necessary water systems. Agriculture needs to be required to pay a decent wage to workers. It's immoral that this area of the country is one of the poorest. Sure give them help but the problem will only really get solved when workers there are paid enough.
3
So how do we get those that profited off the fields, where they dumped pollutants into the water system to make a buck, to pay for this mess? The farm workers are the ones suffering. Watch out, California, or the state will turn politically red when those wearing blue tax them instead of help them.
1
Past time to return agriculture to the sun cycle. Michael Pollen laid it out in The Omnivore's Dilemma in 2006.
5
One of the most notable ways that factory farming impacts the environment comes in the form of water pollution.
Animals raised for food produce approximately 130 times more waste than the entire human population combined. When you concentrate these animals in massive factory farm facilities, it is incredibly difficult to keep these giant facilities clean without using a massive amount of water. To run the flushing systems that clean excrement off the floors of dairy farms, 150 gallons of water are required per cow, every single day. This waste ends up being stored in massive open-air lagoons that sometimes stretch the length of several football fields. Unfortunately, these cesspools are not iron-clad, spill proof facilities, but are prone to leaks. Some farmers also routinely drain their cesspools by spraying the waste onto neighboring lands. Between these two factors, there is an extremely high likelihood that factory farm waste will end up in local water supplies. When this happens, the excess nitrogen and phosphorus from manure causes massive algae blooms that take up all the water’s oxygen, killing all other marine life. High levels of toxins found in farm animal waste have also been noted in domestic water supplies which poses a serious risk to public health.
Although factory farms produce an enormous amount of waste and pollution, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, they are largely exempt from standard air and water pollution regulations.
8
@Beverly The chicken lobby is alive and well here in Virginia and they don't want you to know this. I quit eating chicken this year once I read a bit about how these poor animals are raised in huge enclosed "barns." We'd all do ourselves a big favor by looking into this. It is horrifying.
1
@Sarah99 you are so correct! I’ve been inside the “humane” farms and also slaughterhouses. I’ve investigated dairy farms and gone to bear witness. It’s anything but food one is consuming from these horrific places. Please, for your health - go vegan.
How much of the toxic chemicals found in drinking water of California's farmers makes it into the produce that they ship to the rest of the country?
6
There will be wars over water. You can't keep putting people where there is no water or not nearly enough of it. Big metro areas in many cases lack sufficient water. Own a piece of land with water? Get a gun. Not kidding.
7
California has been run by progressive Democrats for years, well before Trump, and lecturing the rest of us how they just do everything better. Perhaps they can turn their attention inwards and solve their problems, and also spare the rest of us from their sanctimony.
7
Those districts are run by Republicans.
7
What the article doesn’t mention is that they’re watering our food crops with the same water, and that is downright scary.
8
California’s surrender to the desires of corporate agriculture has a long, ugly history continuing through today.
Expecting the rest of California’s already overcharged rate payers to cover for the damage these companies do to our environment is a cold slap in the face to every Californian.
5
Should the "greatest country on earth" have the basic necessities? Clean air, water, food. Are we too poor in spirit, are we ignorant, are we lacking in the ability or desire to properly care for "God's" creation, aka Earth.
Are we content to have wealth (albeit cloistered in well guarded and secret bank accounts), military power, and..... I don't know what else we value.
I Care, Do U?
5
I've noticed that much of the produce grown with bad water tastes bad, not to mention all the glyphosate and other nasty chems in the nation's food supply. Pretty weird when food tastes bad and is killing you.
South of San Jose too. My Mom lived in San Martin for a while, and they could no longer drink the well water, so they were on bottled water. That was well over 10 years ago.
2
Farmers need to convert to organic farming and stop polluting the ground and water with nitrates (fertilizers) and pesticides. No small task, but it can be done, especially if the state government could help with financial incentives. See the new film, Dreaming of a Vetter World, to see how conversion to organic can and is being done. If farmers don't change their methods, this water situation will not change.
7
soon will be more than this region. agri-business using rural water systems ( large acquifer systems ) for spraying herbicides and pesticides on their crops, rather than use other well-water or captured-rainwater concepts. the water arrives under pressure and has been treated, so it provides a convenient method for farmers and they pay the water-usage charge. some day the aquifers may well disappear, due to over consumption.
3
The farmers are pumping the central valley dry and polluting the groundwater, while they are making a fortune. The farmers and the State Water Board created a sob story to try and get the public to pay for the damages that farming has caused. What ever happened to the polluter pays approach? If the polluters are held accountable, the poor can be provided with safe water.
39
I think most commenters are missing the main point - the Central Valley is a desert. There is no water there in the first place, and all that agriculture relies on an industrial system of transporting water from hundreds of miles away. Then the produce needs to be trucked to everywhere in the country.. It is a ridiculous system. No-one should be farming the Central Valley, certainly not to the extent that it is now - the humans have been pushed to the far edges of this polluted system, of course they don't have water, they never did, in places like Los Banos, or the far west side of the valley. To complain about the residents not having water misses the whole point - it is a ridiculous model for agriculture, that relies on pesticides, insecticides, and transporting water AND the final product thousands of miles..We can do better!!
51
@grace thorsen
Not sure where you are getting your information as per "there is no water there in the first place". There is a vast aquifer under the 450+ mile length Central Valley. According to the USGS's website, between 2011-2017 well water in the valley largely declined over this period and alarmingly in the southern end of the valley. In many areas, mostly in the north well levels actually increased as the aquifer was replenished from rain. Land subsidence is acute in the southern half of the valley from depletion of the aquifer by farms over the years. Our first major drought in my lifetime was in the late 70's and there have been 5 declared droughts since. In all that time it has been urban users who have had to conserve, retrofit plumbing fixtures, etc. I have yet to hear what exactly the farms are doing to save water, especially big agribusiness. Keep in mind that fracking and utilities like PG&E have fouled water supplies for rural dwellers also, especially in the southern Central Valley.
16
@stevenjv NONE of these farms use the aquifer, unless the state allocation from the Colorado River falls short of what they need, which it has a lot recently because of the drought - THEN they start to draw from the (polluted) aguifer, which has caused tremendous subsidence and soil compaction, by more than 3 ft. over a large part of the central central valley. Don't tell me you are trying to pretend they farm using the aquifer? Of course not. They farm using the Colorado. And try getting to the aquifer if you need to draw from a well - can't be done for the most part. No you comment may be correct as to the existence of the aquifer, but fails to portray where the farmers and towns actually get their water from, and how polluted the aquifer has become. So it is really irrelevant to the issue of water availability in the Central Valley. It is a desert, and they farm using water from the Colorado, and drink from the Colorado, almost universally.
9
@grace thorsen and I meant to include, it is also a ridiculous place to allow population growth to go unlimited. There is no water for agriculture, no water for people, it is a desert. When are we going to learn the lessons of ecology, and try to live with the earth, instead of fighting the natural systems at every turn. Grow your food where you live, and live where there is water. It is not rocket science. The entire Central Valley is a blight on the earth, in a lot of ways..It is just going down the wrong path. Plus, don't forget, if you live there, you are choosing the cheapest place to live in the entire state - it is cheap for a reason- there is NO WATER, for anything. It is a desert.
7
I have often thought eventually instead of piping tar sands oil from Canada, Canada will be using those pipelines to pump water to areas like this at a cost much higher than the oil. Humans are living in large numbers in areas that are unsustainable and in general consuming the produce grown in unsustainable areas as mentioned in this article. Technology can not keep up with the " growth" of human need.
3
@Gail at the rate we are going I agree with you. However, since we give so much of our water to “farmers” also really called factory farming, we’re wasting whats good for us. It takes 660 gallons of water for one burger. Do the math for the weight of a cow and you quickly see the waste here. If we’d switch to a plant based diet it would lessen the water consumption immensely, clean up a health crises of diabetes, obesity, so much more. As you drive through the areas where beef and dairy farmers are located they are swathed in dirt, like a Charlie Brown cartoon of Pig Pen. The smell is wicked, you roll up your windows fast and hit the gas to get through it. Miles to go.... Factory farming is polluting our waterways, torturing animals and of course, it’s approximately half of our climate change crises.
1
Since California is so large and almost no one has heard of East Orosi, it would have been nice to be told this is a town near Fresno.
9
This isn't news in the unregulated toxic America where EVERYTHING is about the money. Cha-Ching!
6
It is great to have this water problem on the front page of the NYT. Now maybe we can begin to clean up our most important resource all over the country. We must take to task all the corporations and their boards who thrive on the agony of others for profit. We are poisoning ourselves with contaminated water and air throughout the country when there are solutions to these problems. But it takes money to push sensible often simple reforms across communities and states. CA should lead the way as we have done before. Gov. Newsom must get cracking on a solution as quickly as he can. We have water wars across the country which must not be flushed down the drain. It's our lives not just the poorest of the poor!
67
@Phyllis Melone I agree! Well said- Go Vegan!
1
@Phyllis Melone. But the problem isn’t all over the country. When has California led the way in anything other than underfunded public pensions? Let them spend their surplus.
7
Doesn’t this also mean the water used to irrigate the “nation’s food” is also toxic? And that toxic chemicals are in the food itself?
18
“Everyone is saying ‘America First,’ but what about us?” she said.”
“America First” actually means Trump and his fat cat oligarchy first plus BFF Vladdie. It most certainly doesn’t mean a poor ag community in rural California.
17
But many in the Central Valley are big supporters of Trump, Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy.
5
Regulations work, people. Perhaps - and this is crazy I know - some fertilisers need to be - wait for it - banned...?
I mean, it depends on your priorities I guess. You can think, “What’s important here are the profits of agriculture!” or you can think “You know, poisoning people is distinctly uncool and morally wrong and inhuman”. Is someone’s Stock Price really worth the sacrifice? Is it right to regress human development, evolution and technological advancement back to a time when water carried disease and illness?
Honestly, I can’t even believe this needs to be stated...
9
Sorry friend but we already have the answer to your question. We are living it. This report is certainly no revelation. Yes, profits are more important than anything for capitalists. Leaving aside the morality of individual capitalists, vile though they may be, the law of anarchic competition that rules capitalism means that any individual who seeks to be better will simply be destroyed by other capitalists. We can certainly fight to improve these terrible conditions now but ultimately we must change the social system that is capitalism.
1
Trump’s EPA is saving us all from “job killing” regulations. Never mind that their absence is killing us slowly......
11
@Bongo
The state of California and it’s Water Board has all the laws and regulations it needs to fix this, without Washington.
3
@Bongo California has the authority to fix their own problems. This has absolutely nothing to do with Trump. After all, their governor is a Dem.
3
California has contaminated water for those who can't buy bottled water. NYC has virtually uninhabitable public housing and segregated, failing schools for its poorest.
Many residents of both places spend much time touting their virtues and moral superiority while describing others as selfish, racist, and generally contemptible.
Does any one of them ever wonder why they are resented and seen as hypocrites?
6
The area of California they are talking about is the most conservative area of the state. This is where Devin NUNES (R) comes from.
4
@whouck. And what they have in common is being run by Democrats.
2
@Jackson - I could move to Michigan (Republican) and drink the water. Or I could get some more Arizona (Republican) grown lettuce which is quite risky these days.
2
Everybody knows the bullet train is far more important to the residents of Central Valley. Liberal priorities, go figure.
7
@John Doe And what are the conservative priorities fixing the water issues?
11
@JImb The conservative response is always the same - build more dams. As though that would bring more rain or clean the water for the people of Orosi.
1
@John Doe Why not both? America is sinking from cancerous conservatism and unbridled capitalism
1
As a water supply engineer for over 50 years, I am shocked at the extent of this "problem" in California. First, this is not a "problem", it is a "public health crisis". Second, it is a completely solvable "problem" using current available technology and methods. Of course there is a cost to upgrade these systems, it is quite modest, probably a fraction of wasteful spending by the Pentagon for one day. These contaminated water supplies reveal a very ugly aspect of American priorities, the health of one million citizens in California (many poor immigrants) put at risk because of greed, corruption and mismanagement.
278
@Paul Robillard The cost is not "quite modest", and fifty bucks says you don't live in CA. You certainly know nothing about the issues. Big Ag has engaged in practices in the Central and Salinas Valleys that have contaminated the ground water aquifers, the canals, the few streams and creeks, and have turned those areas into new dust bowls. There is no cheap fix for a economy that depends on stealing water from Northern California and sending it to Southern California.
17
It’s really a disgrace that California - and probably many other states - has not already addressed this issue. and where was the EPA before this administration? We all depend on water, and everyone should have access to clean and safe water.
11
@Ernest Montague
allowing water to percolate back into the soil, below the vadose zone, doesn't cost all that much
here in Washington rain gardens and retention ponds are built everywhere and along with flood control so ground water renewal happens naturally
California made the choice long ago, remember the movie Chinatown? That was in the 1920s and even then ground water renewal was known
California isn't trying hard enough and health costs will be many times more than the costs of letting water percolate in to the ground when it floods
5
I can't believe this story. In the land of democrats and HIGH taxes how do they not have the best water in the world?
6
@Tom
Points of information:
1. California is divided, not so much North to South as East to West. The coastal areas are mostly Democratic, in population and representation; the major valleys and mountain areas are dominated by Republicans.
2. The low quality of water is mostly a function of large-scale agriculture. Quality is affected by a limited supply in the first place and runoff in the second.
3. Water has always been scarce in California. It's scarcer than ever now, with the increasing demands of growing population, drilling of ever-deeper wells in the Central Valley, and wasteful practices everywhere... not to mention what's needed for fire fighting.
For historical background, see Carey McWilliams, "Southern California: An Island on the Land".
If that's too much trouble -- or just for kicks -- watch "Chinatown" on Netflix.
7
@GPS Or the PBS documentary Desert Cadillac (or the book). Gives you the history of water in the southwest and California.
4
@Tom Californians are busy making food for you to eat and technology for you to use.
Thanks for this article. At base, I think racism is the cause. We haves are so full of ourselves. We do not see our own doom in this fundamental inequity.
4
Water in the West is a precious commodity because it is far more scarce that it is in the East. Groundwater in the West is often more valuable than the land above it. Because so much land here is federally owned, the federal government is by far the largest groundwater owner in the West. And every time new land is dedicated for a national monument, the government's water ownership grows.
The feds have the power to distribute water fairly. Instead, they defer to the states, which defer to localities, which are controlled by the rich and powerful. Local control is an invitation to inequality.
In the East, it is land that is most valuable. The feds don't own much of the land, nor do the states, nor do localities. Virtually all valuable land in the East is privately owned. Such private ownership results in extreme inequality.
Land and water are our most valuable resources. And the underlying facts are much different in the East and West. When people talk about income inequality, they seldom address a pricipal foundation of individual wealth -- land and water ownership. East Orosi has a local problem. That problem is left to the locals to resolve. And therein lies the rub.
5
Since farmers are clearly at fault, they should be paying to clean it up.
8
The issue of poisoned water has been a problem going back generations. The state legislature who is bought and owned by agriculture and developers have known about this issue for years. It's interesting that Senator Feinstein only fought for big ag getting more water and never raised her voice regarding the poisoning of farm workers and their children in the valley. The San Joaquin Valley is the Appalachia of California!
6
Corporate farming has had the same effect all over America, look at the upper Midwest, even Minnesota. Huge sections of "farm countries' " water is poisoned. What a disgrace. "America, America, God shed his grace on thee......."
17
The crazy thing is that water isn't even the worst environmental crisis facing the people in the southern Central Valley. While certainly highly inconvenient, the people in these towns are able to import fresh potable water.
However, the air they breath is the most toxic in the country. Not only do they face local pollution in the form of pesticide drift, particulates from tilling fields, and emissions from dairies and chemical plants, but they also get all of the particulates from San Francisco and the major highways blowing down and settling on top of them. And while the people of Orosi and Seville can import water, they can't import fresh air.
29
@John
Incredibly, China's pollution is so thick that some crosses the Pacific on the jet stream and ends up In the Central Valley. Pollution is a worldwide problem.
5
The title should be reworded: "Because they grow the nation's food, they can't drink the water"
3
@Chris If it was just the nation it would be acceptable, but farmers (big corporations mainly) pride themselves on "feeding the world", so we export our water in the form of nuts and other crops (one almond takes 1 gallon of water) to Asia and other places to meet a demand that has and is being created by what agriculture often refers to as the most successful ag marketing organization in history, the Almond Board.
3
Poison on the food is bad for the people who grow it the people who eat it and the planet
1
I don't want to pretend that I know anything about agriculture, crops or the hard work of farming but, if I may make a suggestion, stop electing the people who are poisoning your water. I expect politicians to respect the constitution, lawyers to respect the law and farmers to respect the environment. When you can't get even one out of three, America is lost.
11
@Rick Gage Very idealistic but the reality is is that politicians are mainly "respectful" of the lobbyists and others who donate to their campaigns.
2
What an appalling statement this article is, that the United States cannot guarantee nor provide clean drinking water for it's own people.
The protection of our environment, the very premise of the EPA and the government it represents is being gutted by greed, corruption and cronyism.
Yesterday I was excited to read of Rick Atkinson's new book telling the story of my, of our ancestors' brave and honourable efforts to forge a more perfect nation, today I am disheartened to be reminded of our failure.
43
@Rosiepi I don't know who Rick Atkinson is but if it was only about the "brave and honourable efforts" he is telling only half (sic) of the story.
1
@G. Atkinson does pull any punches about the despicable conduct by both sides of the revolution. That does not take away from the fact that were courageous and honorable participants on both sides.
Back to Calif water, I agree with those who say factory farming in an arid region is a monumentally stupid idea.
2
@Rosiepi,
It was just a question of time before Public Awareness would come to the fore once more, in safeguarding our water resources, and not only for drinking purposes.
We take a lot for granted in our Country, where so green were our valleys, and of course, it is the Poor once again that have been stricken.
Most likely this life necessity, vital to our health, will be drowned in the News, and to press the point, how many of us are thinking of the Tragedy of Flint.
Outbreaks of cholera and other diseases related to contaminated water are taking place in some developing countries, but 'We do not care because it is not happening Here'.
Skilled water engineers, having spent years in the humanitarian field, are now heading this way with their knowledge and experience, and there are experts such as Ms. De Anda, raising a call, an emergency one, more important than the building of bridges or cathedrals, to a possible cause in the rise of cancer on a national basis.
Thinking of Ms. Sanchez, and others who are in need of a safe living environment, while toiling the soil for those in a better condition to eat strawberries, while reading The Grapes of Wrath.
Start asking how we can help Ms. Corrales, and we may be able to help the skeptics in our midst, to have a clearer understanding that this affects a greater majority than only the farm owners and their laborers in East Orosi, the latter depend on a few gallons of water, surviving to provide us with safe produce.
2
California is no different then the rest of this country.
The infrastructure in this country for water, gas and electric lines, roads and bridges all need to be updated.
However our political people will see that the money gets spent somewhere else.
30
The surplus in California is used to fund disasters such as wildfires, so "surplus" should be in quotes.
I grew up in the Central Valley, and our well was contaminated with a fertilizer chemical. This is a problem that has been growing in plain sight, but with little political will to solve it.
It's incredible how much outsize influence the agriculture industry has in the Valley.
I think the 6th largest economy in the world could adjust its priorities to provide DRINKING water to its citizens, and I think the ag industry has to be part of that solution, yes with fees.
86
California already has very high taxes. What spending priorities come ahead of clean water?
17
@William tax cuts for the rich, most likely.
5
how is there a $21 billion surplus and unfunded water works in the state of California? I'm a doe eyed liberal and that seems incredible. The state should allocate its tax revenue to benefit the citizens. what is CA doing with $21 billion?!
16
@newyorkerva Saving for a "rainy day" i.e. another multiyear drought...or the next 'recession' which is probably closer than any of us suspect. That drought hit us hard, and the '08 recession even harder. But we came back, and the judgment of our conservative governor (Brown) may save us from being caught short again. But, perhaps some of it can be diverted to a major overhaul of our water delivery systems, which are a century old. This story is absolutely disgraceful.
9
@newyorkerva Central Valley water is essentially under Federal Control, and that of regional water districts. Water in the West is a complex interaction of Federal local and State entities. In this case farmers in the valley are massively against the State intervening and regulating the chemicals that are poured into crops there. These chemicals leach into the ground water. We have the same problems were I live. Locally we are buying up the strawberry farms that contaminate the water, and overdraft the aquifer.
10
@newyorkerva There is no such thing as a "surplus", not in the in the sense that you mean it. A budget surplus does not acknowledge nor reflect the massive debt the state has, nor its future ability to pay it off. Ca is going broke, the "surplus" is smoke and mirrors, basically a way of saying: "We can still use our credit card, so everything is fine."
1
I wonder how much the "Wonderful" Company has to do with this problem.
Much more should be made of this. The Wonderful Company (nice name) has essentially hijacked California's water supply, with the support of the California legislature. This should be a public resource. Enjoy your pistachios, almonds and POM.
https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust
I guess we can all just say: "Forget about it jake; it's Chinatown." Or we can boycott Wonderful.
27
Your politicians are for sale. Do something about it.
Driving through the Central Valley, you see political banners everywhere demanding more water for the agra industries. Sure, by all means, please send them more of our water if this is what they do to it. It's bad enough it gets used for lawns and shiny cars in LA but we really don't need to be poisoning our land and our people any more than we already do so Costco can get their shipments of cheap almonds.
20
I read a similar report 15 years ago. What did Democrat politicians in California do? Apparently little.
23
@Robert Borman Ever hear about Proposition 13? Any new taxes blocked by a Republican minority. Get it? Sound familiar??
14
@Robert Borman I could pick out many red states that are ruining their water through neglect and out right corruption. It is an issue that needs addressing but to cast one party as the culprit is as shallow as the groundwater table.
7
@Robert Borman
It would have helped if you had read something between then and now.
7
Maybe sycophant Devin Nunes should be helping his constituents rather than acting as the Presidential wingman.
126
Amen Brother!
7
The cost of irrigation water and urban farming
https://news.berkeley.edu/berkeley_blog/the-cost-of-irrigation-water-and-urban-farming/
4
According to the Californians who constantly
blow their trumpets - California is the closest
we have come to Paradise on Earth since Adam and Eve.
Now it turns out that Silicon Valley, San Francisco,
and LA Liberals don't care about the poor in the
Central Valley as long as they have imported Bottled Water
at every meal in their overpriced restaurants - of course
served to them by Waiters who cannot afford to live
near where they work.
I guess the "Grapes of Wrath" is still as true to day
as it was 90 years ago.
22
What's new in unregulated toxic America?
11
Well ..we have only so much money ...
As an example ...the free health care that we give illegals would more than pay to fix this problem across the country. Each and every year ...
The few Trillion we sent to the Middle East ...that would have made a big dent in it too ...
Don't worry ...all the plastic we sent to China ...and they dumped into the oceans will be a bigger issue soon.
Good thing we didn't build those polluting recycling plants here in the USA ...Protect mother Earth!!!
Go Green ...wait 10 years ...then have a problem disposing of old batteries ...
11
Privatize the gains, socialize the costs.
32
New York Times. One big question for you. Do farmers pay anything for the water? Who is currently taxed? Please specify this. Even better if by county if there are taxes. Water wars are common in California such that LA and Norther California have long disputed. Trucking water down south through aqueducts that farmers use but do they pay for it in the desert they decided to grow in?
Who’s paying for it right now and who isn’t paying for it? Farming is big business down here rarely mom and pop unless you are a dairy farmer.
18
Perhaps Representative Nunes should be working at a national level for help with his constituents water issues instead of wasting over a year of his time trying to protect/ingratiate himself with the Trump administration.
32
Corporate agriculture provides cheap food to feed our nation but at what price? It requires more chemicals to rely less on people to do the job. Drive through the Central Valley and see no one in the fields but one man spraying from a huge tractor. Not only does irrigation polite the water but it salinates the land, making it sterile for future farm use.
9
I am astonished at this quote:
"Her husband, who is a supervisor in the fields, pays for clean water out of pocket for the employees he manages, because the farm does not provide it. "
That a farm could employ these people and not provide clean water to drink while they are under the hot sun in the fields is beyond comprehension. It is this kind of behavior that shows the heart of "free market capitalism" and those who want to eliminate "job-killing regulations". Nobody should have to endure this in any country, let alone the most developed in the world.
152
@Stavros The employees have plenty of water at work, that's required. The supervisor pays for water for them to take home.
2
@Ernest Montague
That's not what the article says, to wit ...
"Her husband, who is a supervisor in the fields, pays for clean water out of pocket for the employees he manages, because the farm does not provide it."
Nowhere in there does it state the water he buys is for home use. By implication, it's water at work.
Just because it may be "required" doesn't mean that happens with Mr. Sanchez's workers.
15
At least the problem has been identified, unlike Flint, MI, where corrupt officials ignored tainted water and postponed fixing the system.
3
Thank you for finally bringing attention to this. When driving through Central California, every stop we made to eat had signs posted to not drink the water due to contaminants. This was several years ago and I was surprised no one was talking about it, but at the same time, not surprised about what farming has done to the groundwater throughout the state.
18
The Association of California Water Agencies should be talking about the large agribusinesses that consume massive amounts of water from the publicly funded water projects that bring snow melt to California's cities and fields.
Due to a historic system of water rights, that growers aggressively defend, subsidized water delivery generates big profits. A single family like the Boswells get cheap water for their 200,000 acre cotton farms while the communities around them struggle to find water for their citizens.
31
@OSS Architect And those big water users, like Resnicks, live in Beverly Hills where the water is fine. Too bad they can't be required to live full time in Orosi.
10
@OSS Architect The answer is a State Constitutional Amendment via initiative to take the water away from those who control it now, and change the way it is administered and controlled.
1
Tax the agriculture industry that is largely responsible for the problem. If they raise food prices it reflects the real cost of production. Right now both the industry and consumers benefit from the exploitation of farm labor.
61
excellent article. clean water is a must.the underprivileged in california, and in this case, those living in the central valley in our state, are extremely vulnerable. govenor newsom's heart is in the right place. we californians can resolve this.
14
This is a water rights issue.
Southern and central CA, in common with many regions in the US, struggles to balance the water demands of rural farmers with those of urban areas, in the face of dwindling water supplies and climate change.
It's a problem that can only worsen as this particular area grows 40-60% of the US's nuts, fruits, and fresh vegetables. In other words, this article covers just one aspect of a developing national crisis, one of not just potable water but mass migration and rising food prices and shortages.
Let California, which prides itself as the bellwether of the nation, serve as a warning for us all.
I live on one of the largest volume rivers in the country, the Susquehanna. My town draws its water directly from it, a seemingly unlimited source for the Cheasapeake Bay. But the river drains large sections of two states -- NY and PA -- before it reaches MD. Farm and industrial chemical pollution, and lawn and commercial development silt and herbicide and insecticide runoff, are sources of concern. And the river forms the upper north of the Bay, contributing 60% of its water.
So the Susquehanna is certainly not an unlimited source of fresh, clean, water.
This is our, the US's and the entire world's, developing water story. Unless we learn to manage and protect the quality and use of our fresh water, it will become a saga of future wars.
93
@maybemd You forgot the biggest problem in CA (and the world for that matter) - too many people!
4
Having grown up in California’s Central Valley 20 years ago, I can assure you Flint level contamination is not a new issue in this region. What’s shocking is that BOTH Democrats and Republicans agree that we need to invest in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and yet no investment projects are underway. Not on a national, state or local level. However California should stop pretending it’s looking to the federal government to save them (not with this administration) and lead by example. Much like the US as a whole, California is composed of different groupings of rich and poor, rural and urban, Democrat and Republican. Can a combination of solutions invested in by the state give access to clean water for everyone? We are a state of innovators, entrepreneurs and risk takers! Why isn’t California’s state government seeking out of the box solutions? If pulling and replacing all pipe work in a rural community is too expensive, could reverse osmosis filters work? Could new pipes be installed without pulling the old ones? California should be running contests to attract researchers, inventors, urban planners, environmentalists, corporates, universities and entrepreneurs into helping the state solve this crisis. If it can be done on a state level, it might change this nation.
74
Excellent article Jose A Del Real, thank you.
"Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a tax of about $140 million on urban water districts and the agriculture industry to pay for redevelopment in districts serving unsafe water. That money would come in addition to $168 million he has allocated toward water infrastructure improvements from a bond proposition passed last year."
While the source of the funds is not as important as the need to fix up these delapidated water systems, it would be approppriate if some of the burden fell on the large growers, and sellers of fertilizer etc. After these small areas are cleaned up, then they should probably be merged with the nearest large water system, unless something more logical presents itself.
David Lindsay Jr. is the author of “The Tay Son Rebellion, Historical Fiction of Eighteenth Century Vietnam” and blogs about the environment at TheTaySonRebellion.com and InconvenientNews.wordpress.com.
10
I have a solution: lets support President Trump's drive to weaken clean water regulations. Less regulation will certainly help those who have to drink and use polluted water.
I'm being sarcastic. The bad water in California is another result of the Trump/Republican drive to weaken anti-pollution laws
20
@Bob please tell me you’re kidding. This isn’t about Trump or party. Take off your blinders and *read* the article. This is the result of decades-long neglect and mismanagement of what was once a sterling public works infrastructure, and the obstacles to making that infrastructure reasonably accessible to all. This is about a State that has squandered its resources and its investments, and let politics that cross party lines generate disastrous water policies. And it’s been going on for decades, long before the EPA and national pollution standards. Your petty party polarization has very little to do with the reality out here. So many commenters here want to cast this problem into convenient little figurines of good and evil. It’s not that simple. But it is fixable. Ironically, even with a supermajority in the Legislature (and dominance for years), a “progressive” Governor, and a budget surplus, we cannot seem to do what needs to be done. Now, who would you blame for that, Bob from bankrupt Illinois? There are plenty of things to blame on Republicans and Trump, but California’s water problem(s) is/are not among them.
59
@Bob, not to mention this adminstration's vindictive behavor towards any individual or group (as in "state") that he thinks isn't "loyal" to him.
5
@Bob
The claim that it's a result of the Trump/Republican drive to weaken anti-pollution laws seems silly. Surely the Trump drive to weaken ant-pollution laws will make things worse. But the article makes clear that the problem is long standing. And the issue is not that there aren't water quality standards - the issue is that nobody is willing or able to come up with the money to fix the infrastructure.
9
Here's a novel idea. Stop using arsenic and chemical fertilizers in your food production. Organic farming works. Give it a chance.
153
@RCJCHC - It's a great idea. It's also more expensive and many Americans can't or won't pay the increased price.
2
@RCJCHC Arsenic is a natural geological feature found in some parts of the world. I wonder if it can make its way into the produce grown there.
8
@RCJCHC organic farming leeches more nitrates into the water supply than does conventional farming due to tilling practices. Further, manure leeches more than formulated nitrogen sources. Organic farming is worse for the environment in most cases.
8
This is the result of unregulated Capitalism
Perhaps you should show a picture of a child with cancer, skin burns and hair falling out caused by this lethal water as the lead photo. Or perhaps another country will show these images to their citizens to demand for humanitarian reasons they overthrow the US leaders and install their own. Perhaps even they can impose sanctions , blocking food, water and banking assets from being used, so we will overthrow our leaders. Oh I forgot that is what we do to countries like Venezuela.
They still do not have clean water in Flint. The officials are fraudulently testing the water by running or flushing the water for several minutes first before testing for lead. Water that is killing our citizens is a national crisis in communities throughout our country.
https://medium.com/status-coup/exclusive-flint-water-declared-restored-after-michigan-s-environmental-agency-broke-epa-testing-3e2fc1f91a70
“After an in-depth investigation, which included speaking with over 140 residents in Flint this summer, Status Coup found residents’ distrust to be well-founded. Officials from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and Flint workers with the Community Outreach Resident Education [CORE] program — the latter trained by the former — ran residents’ water before taking lead and copper samples..."
21
@steve Also, the result of unregulated Capitalism, is inexpensive oranges and nuts. You can do anything, it is the cost that keep it from being done.
4
@steve
As described, this method of sample collection would fall under standard lab sample collection practices.
I was a nurse before getting a degree in microbiology, then worked for three decades in research labs.
Folks are supposed to run their kitchen taps for a couple minutes before daily consumption, to clear out water that sat overnight in their residencies' pipes.
So to collect samples under what should be normal use conditions, yes, samples for testing should be collected only after running the water taps have been run.
If you have, first thing in the morning, been sticking your coffee pot under the faucet and filling it up, then you should stop that practice. Collect that first couple gallons, which would carry the heaviest amount of leachates from your home's plumbing, and use it to water your house plants or rinse off your stoop.
And if the water collected after running the tap fails its test then you'll know, since the samples were properly collected, that you have a solid case. No one will be able to question, in court or before a city council, whether your samples were properly collected, under "conditions of normal use".
2
This is a story about the death of capitalism, about government for the wealthy, about markets that haven't been free for a half-century or more.
On The Northern Border, we're inundated with tales of farmers, noble yeomen struggling to feed the nation with good hearts, Christian charity, devotion to Free Markets and Capitalism.
We also hear a drumbeat about the destruction of the world's greatest fresh-water resource at the hands of these farmers.
Farmers with solutions in reach, unwilling to inconvenience themselves or invest in a solution.
Farmers who have no truck with welfare recipients, who despise the minorities they depend on to run their operations and, especially, any hint they bear responsibility for the environment they despoil, the resources they use.
So the west end of Lake Erie is a summertime no-go zone. Poisonous bacteria feasting on phosphates running off that good American soil.
This year we find new strains occurring off the shores of Cleveland. "Should be OK", comes the reassuring word.
These conservative salts of the earth see no reason why they should bear responsibility for the public resources they base their fortunes upon.
Is that not a tenet of capitalism? Pay for what you use? Pay fairly, as you would be paid?
Capitalism is a system, it functions only when everyone invests in maintaining the system. Grabbing for personal gain and running away is not capitalism, not American, not smart.
Don't even get me started about industry...
54
@oogada: It is capitalism that brings each and every product or food stuff you buy and every job you have ever had. Capitalism is the no more than the system of borrowing money to hire workers, produce goods and then getting paid to do so.
1
@Jeff
Capitalism is but one way of doing those things, there are others, as there many approaches to capitalism.
And capitalism has rules, behaviors that work for good or for ill. Presently what we are calling capitalism is not, but if it were our system would be in deep trouble. As it is.
2
From what I understand, it takes approx 50 almonds to produce 1/2 gal of almond milk, hence 50 gal of water to make 1/2 gal of almond milk. This sort of reckless water use has painted CA water users into a corner.
Perhaps Gov Jerry should have thought of this when he pushed his high speed rail for 80 billion, OR at least given these folks a free rail pass.
7
@DavidP And it takes 1800 gallons for a pound of beef. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3z8az/1800-gallons-of-water-goes-into-one-pound-of-meat
5
@NemoToad
That is a rather disingenuous number, because most of that water gets re-deposited on the land in the form of urine, which is a good fertilizer.
This is ridiculous. One of the wealthiest countries in the world and yet our own citizens don’t have clean drinking water? One thing I’m wondering about is are they drinking the same water that is watering those vegetables and fruit they pick? If so doesn’t that make those fruit and vegetables also contaminated? The same fruits and vegetables that I and every other consumer buys at the grocery store? I know that buying organic covers the soil but does it cover the water? A cherry tomato and a strawberry easily absorb whatever is on them. If so then this problem is affecting everyone in the country because most of our fruits and vegetables come from the San Joquin Valley.
58
@MyrnalovesBland - That's an excellent question. I hope someone at the NYT does a story on this.
3
@MyrnalovesBland
Most of the farm workers live in communities that are not part of a public water system and are drinking water from private wells or from very small community water systems that do not have adequate resources to install treatment systems. At their homes, the farm workers do not have access to the same source of water that are being used to water farm crops.
I am for the farm worker, but also want to know that it is not the farms that have caused much of the problem. If it is solely infrastructure then the government must tackle the problem NOW. Anyhow this must be tackled and it is a shame if the State indeed has such a budget surplus. They need to do the right thing. As for infrastructure, shows how little Trump has done though he has brought this up repeatedly.
5
@JHM: Every American is to blame because we demand the highest standard of living in the world, the freshes fruits and the best meats. California Central Vally is doing no more than working to meet the food demandes of the rest of the country. Most of the water comes from out mountains. The groundwater has not been polluted by man but by Mother Nature.
1
Trump promises much and never ever delivers. The national water supply is deteriorating. Trump cant deliver on the economy either. Just ask America’s soybean farmers. Did you notice that Ford and GM no longer make sedans? Did you notice that Ford and GM are laying off workers? That’s Trump’s new economy? It’s all smoke and mirrors.
77
@Beto Buddy - I can't stand Trump but this has nothing to do with him. California has been fully capable of passing any laws they want to manage water in their state and this problem was going on during Obama's admin as well. This problem was going on when I lived in California almost 30 years ago.
@Beto Buddy
Trump has been in office three years.... many problems predate his presidency.. Obama and Clinton also both created many and then there GWBush....
We have San Diego water, and have gone to home reverse osmosis years ago. Don't understand why these rural folks don't. That's all bottled water is anyway....
16
@Psyfly John
Interesting thought, might be because a single tap filter costs about 150 to 200 bucks, whole house about 1,500:to 2,000. Making 80 bucks a day.
Makes sense to offer a subsidized plan, or in lieu of the 25 gallons every two weeks however. Cheaper inside of 3 months.
14
@Psyfly John They are expensive to install and maintain monthly. Reverse osmosis does not remove all chemicals from the water either.
My system for the whole house was almost 5,000$. That is a lot of money for most people, as it was for me.
If you are a renter, you are dependent on your landlord to install the system and maintain it.
5
@Psyfly John RO also wastes 1/2 the water used, so in the end like carbon capture, it is a net loser compared to other solutions.
1
Reality Check billions gallons water a day could be piped to california via great lake of ontario.Insted flows into the stlawerance an out to sea into salt water
4
@jerry lee
.....or pure, clean midwest runoff rain water collected by farmers and pipelined to calfornia....why not?
@jerry lee
Other reality check: Hands off my Great Lakes, pal.
6
@jerry lee Back in the 1990's it was called the "Blue wars",in the Canada media.Never even made the news in the states.Yes ,politicians tried to bring ,some of the trillions of gallons that go unused into the ocean down into California .There was an outpouring of resentment by Canadians against the project ,stopping it. Fast forward two decades and you have Canada pushing to bring the most filthy tar sands crude by pipeline down into the states and nary a word spoken.
5
Agriculture doesn't just contaminate groundwater. It also uses about 70% of all our fresh water supplies (depending on region) and flows out into the ocean, where it causes algal blooms and fish die offs.
We grow crops for export, not for our own consumption, thereby trading our dwindling water supplies for profit. It's a lose-lose any way you look at it. Let China grow its own almonds with its own water.
198
Excellent point!
18
@Amanda: go into you local supermarket and look at all the fruits and vegetable you buy that were grown in California. Colorado and the Great Plains are not known for their diverse agriculture that provide the whole USA and the rest of the world with fruits, vegetables. We feed the USA and the World. Educate yourself instead of just issuing "knee jerk" comments based on ignorance.
6
@Jeff
It seems @Amanda was referring to international trade, and while many agricultural products that we enjoy in America are not grown in America, it is a generally positive statement to encourage all of us to think more locally in the selection of food and produce.
14