HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES UPDATE OF HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS

Spring 2008 is turning out to be extremely dry.

The current 8-Station Index for Water Year 2008 indicates:

• Seasonal total of 33.7 inches is now less than last year's seasonal total of 34.4 inches at this time.
• October through April total of 33.7 inches is the 22nd driest year out of 88 years of record.
• March 2008, with a precipitation total of 1.6 inches (23% of average) was the sixth driest March of 88 years of record.
• April 2008 was also the sixth driest April on record.
• Combined March and April total precipitation is only 2.3 inches, the driest on record (since 1921).

Other points of interest include:

• Large water supply reservoirs received some inflow from Spring storms; however, much of the precipitation fell as snow.
• Because precipitation was significantly below average last year, dry hydrologic conditions still prevail.
• Storage in most of the major water supply reservoirs is still well below average.
• The latest National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center (CPC) long-range weather outlook for May 2008 is forecasting below average precipitation for Northern and Southern California. Average precipitation is forecasted for Central California.

METROPOLITAN 2009 WATER RATE UPDATE
WATER SUPPLY UPDATE, MARCH 2008
Agricultural Water Pricing – Voter Survey, January 2008
Agriculture's Response to Frequently Asked Questions about the IAWP
IAWP Presentation to the Metropolitan Water District, January 2008

Click here to view the latest Newsletter from the Southern California Agricultural Water Team:
NOVEMBER 2007 AG WATER NEWSLETTER

RIVERSIDE COUNTY AG WATER OUTLOOK 2008

Click on the links below to read the latest information provided by the Commission about California avocado water resources.

Summary of IAWP Reduction Guidelines, August 2007

San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board

Summary of Proposed Conditional Waiver No. 4 - Discharges from Agricultural and Nursery Operations

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) is proposing a Basin Plan Amendment to renew and issue Revised Conditional Waivers of Waste Discharge Requirements for Specific Types of Discharge within the San Diego Region. It has published a draft Technical Report (July 6, 2007).

The proposed conditional waivers are categorized into 11 discharge classifications. The new waiver will become effective January 1, 2008. Requirements for all agricultural related activities are combined into one category "Proposed Conditional Waiver No. 4 - Discharges from Agricultural and Nursery Operations".

The Water Board is giving growers time to prepare for monitoring and reporting requirements by proposing a two-phase implementation approach. Phase I (2008 - 2012) focuses on educating growers on their responsibilities and forming monitoring coalition. Growers will begin monitoring and reporting in Phase II (2012 - 2016).

Click here for a Summary of Proposed Conditional Waiver No. 4.

Water Quality Runoff Management & Agricultural Waiver Workshop for Nurseries and Agricultural Businesses

On March 27, 2008 the San Diego Farm Bureau held a workshop and growers were treated to lunch. The workshop was intended to provide better understanding of water quality runoff management and inform growers about the new irrigated agricultural waiver and how it will affect your operation. Workshop agenda included:

Water Quality Regulations Ð Dr. Valerie Mellano from the University of California, Cooperative Extension discussed the Best Management Practices and pollution prevention measures to control runoff from Ag properties. She explained the four management options for horticultural crops in San Diego:

• Irrigation Management and Water Quality
• Nutrient Management
• Pest Management
• Erosion Management

Dr. Mellano introduced workshop participants to the ÒRunoff & Nonpoint Source Polution Self-AssessmentÓ form. This is a site self-assessment form which you can use to determine if your operation is in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Irrigated Agricultural Waivers Ð San Diego Water Board staff, Wayne Chiu and Peter Peuron discussed the conditional waiver for discharges from agricultural and nursery operations that became effective on January 1, 2008. The Water Board staff stressed the message of Òworking togetherÓ, that the purpose of the Ag waiver is to obtain water quality data from agriculture to help improve water quality not to point to Ag as a culprit.

Growers were informed about enrollment, enrollment options, and important dates. Growers are encouraged to enroll as a group, where costs and responsibilities can be shared with other growers in the group. The Water Board staff also explained the distinction between a conditional waiver and the more stringent Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) permit.

Storm Water Quality Issues Ð Nancy Appel from County of San Diego explained the scope of the CountyÕs Agricultural Water Quality Program. She reviewed the elements of a typical inspection and talked about the most common non-compliances that are found at inspected facilities.

Federal Assistance Ð Victor Smothers, a soil conservationist from USDA/NRCS explained the role of the NRCS in assisting growers to develop conservation management plans and explained the Best Management Practices that would help growers comply with water quality regulations.

San Diego Irrigated Agricultural Waivers

San DiegoÕs new irrigated agricultural waiver became effective January 1, 2008. The San Diego Water board is using a phase approach to avoid resistance from the Ag community. The new Ag waiver will be in effect for five years and it will require growers to monitor water quality on their property for one whole year during 2012 and submit a report at the end. Currently, the San Diego Water Board does not have any water quality data from Ag operations. With this Ag waiver, the Water BoardÕs intent is to reach out to the Ag community, obtain water quality data, and give the Ag sector an opportunity to show that discharges from Ag operations are not a problem or are not as big a problem as initially believed.

The California Water Code requires that any person who is discharging waste to the water of the state (other than to a community water system), which could affect the quality of the waters to file a Report of Waste Discharge (ROWD) with the Regional Water Board. In certain circumstances, this requirement may be waived. Compared with WDRs, waivers are more simplified, less stringent and expensive and it may be the most effective way to regulate discharges and runoff from Ag operations. Below is a comparison between the WDR and the new San Diego Ag waiver.

Water Discharge Requirements versus Irrigated Agricultural Waivers

WDR	Ag Waiver
File Report of Waste Discharge	File Notice of Intent
Annual fee ($800/yr)	No annual or enrollment fee
Cannot discharge until WDRs issued	Can discharge as long as in compliance
Annual monitoring & reporting	One year monitoring (2012) & one monitoring report
WDR do not have to be renewed	Expire every 5 yrs. Renewal expected with new conditions

Overview of New Ag Waiver

Under the new Ag waiver, the San Diego Water Board requires growers to enroll and file a Notice of Intent (NOI) either as a group or as an individual. As of now there is no annual fee or enrollment fee. Growers are required to prepare a water quality Monitoring and Reporting Program Plan (MRPP) and a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). Growers are required to conduct water quality monitoring for one year during 2012 and submit a report at the end of 2012. The waiver is effective for five years (January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012). After the five year period the waiver is likely to be renewed with new conditions.

Ag Waiver Conditions

The new Ag waiver includes seven conditions. The first four are intended to promote best management practices at Ag operations in order to minimize or eliminate nonpoint source pollution in the form of excess sediments, nutrients, salts, pesticides, or pathogenic organisms. The other conditions address administrative requirements. The seven waiver conditions include:

1. Facility Design and Management
2. Green Waste Composition
3. Application of Compost to Soil
4. Application of Product
5. Education and Enrollment
6. Inspection and Reporting
7. Specific Conditions

Education Ð The waiver condition requires two hours of training annually to keep growers up-to-date with water quality management issues. This training can be in the form of classroom education or workshops. Training is offered through UC Cooperative Extension and USDA/NRCS. The Water Board also encourages growers to conduct onsite self-assessment to check if they are following the BMPs. For example, UC Cooperative Extension, Ag Water quality Program has created a ÒRunoff & Nonpoint Source Pollution Self-AssessmentÓ form aimed at greenhouses and nurseries as part of the new storm water regulations. This self-assessment provides a basis for assessing runoff and nonpoint source pollution on a growerÕs property.

Enrollment Ð Growers are required to enroll in the waiver program no later than January 1, 2011. Growers can choose to enroll as a group or as an individual. The San Diego Water Board encourages growers to form monitoring group. The requirements are the same whether you enroll as a group or as individual. However, as an individual the grower will bare all costs and responsibilities whereas as a group growers can share responsibility and costs of water quality monitoring and preparation of all submittals. Contact the San Diego Farm Bureau for information on forming a monitoring group.

Group versus Individual Enrollment

Group	Individual
Notice of Intent	Notice of Intent
MRPP & QAPP	MRPP & QAPP
Monitoring Program Report	Monitoring Program Report
Cost can be divided among members	Costs are sole responsibility

Inspection and Reporting Ð The Water Board will inspect Ag properties to check compliance. The Water Board stressed that its role is to work with the Ag community to improve water quality not to be a water police as the Water Board staff said ÒEveryone is trying to do the right thingÓ.

San Diego Ag Waiver Important Dates

Action	Due Date
Enroll and File Notice of Intent	January 1, 2011
Contact Water Board about MRPP & QAPP	March 31, 2011
Submit MRPP & QAPP	January 1, 2012
Monitoring Report	December 31, 2012

For more information regarding the San Diego Ag Waiver, please visit the San Diego Water board website http://www.swrcb.ca.gov

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