Western Farm Press.  21 March 2012. A recent U.C. Davis study about nitrate contamination in underground water supplies throughout California’s Central Valley and the Salinas Valley revealed that agricultural fertilizers were principally responsible for the contamination. However, the general public may not realize that the problem of nitrates draining into drinking water tables has been a complex issue that agriculture has been tackling for many years.

Regarding the U.C. Davis study highlighting the problem, the fertilizer industry acknowledges the importance of dealing with the problem of nitrates seeping into California’s groundwater, and the industry has not been sitting idly by and not doing anything about it.

Granted, the new study did note the scope of the problem and the numbers of those people affected by nitrate pollution, along with pointing out financial remedies to deal with the situation, but general readers might not know that the industry has been working hand-in-glove with agriculture and state agencies to reduce nitrate loads on croplands.

It is even accurate to state that had it not been for the research and education funded by the fertilizer industry and the improved farming practices over the last many years to deal with the nitrate issue, UC Davis researchers may have reported numbers that greatly exceeded their findings about the extent of the problem and the amount of those residents impacted. To put the nitrate issue into context, it should be pointed out that during the past 30 years the fertilizer industry in California has self-funded research on the issue working in tandem with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

More specifically, CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) has concentrated on developing extensive “best management practices (BMPs)” to mitigate contributions from fertilizers. Over the years, with the support of the fertilizer industry, CDFA/FREP has contributed millions of dollars in grant funds to combat the nitrate problem. Through nutrient management projects, farmers are implementing BMPs that optimize the efficiency of fertilizer usage by matching nutrient supply with crop requirements and to minimize nutrient loses. read more

SACRAMENTO. 24 February 2011  – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) will conduct its third manual snow survey of the winter at 11 a.m., Tuesday, March 1, 2011, near Echo Summit on Highway 50, not far from Lake Tahoe.  Currently, electronic readings reflect an increase in snowpack water content for this month. The water content is at 100 percent of the April 1 seasonal average, with an increase of 6 inches from February 1.

After a wet December, conditions were unusually dry during January and the first half of February. Then a week of storms delivered almost normal amounts for the month, offsetting the deficiency of the first two weeks. The statewide precipitation for January was about 30 percent of average. “We are hopeful March will help improve our water supply, especially with the upcoming weather predictions,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “With our ever-changing weather conditions, as well as delivery restrictions, conservation will continue to remain as a top priority.”

Manual surveys are conducted up and down the state’s mountain ranges on or about the first of the winter months. The manual surveys supplement and provide accuracy checks to real-time electronic readings as the snowpack builds, then melts in early spring and summer. April 1 is when snowpack water content normally is at its peak before the spring runoff.

The State Water Project (SWP) delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland. The mountain snowpack provides approximately one-third of the water for California’s households, industry and farms as it slowly melts into streams and reservoirs. DWR estimates it will be able to deliver 60 percent of requested SWP water this year. The estimate will be adjusted as hydrologic and regulatory conditions continue to develop.