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Appendix C
Summary of the Committee's Letter
Reports (May 1985 to August 1989)
The Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems
(CIIWQP) and its subcommittees chose to use letter reports as their pri-
ma~y mechanism to formally convey recommendations and comments to
the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program (SJVDP) and the National Irri-
gation Water Quality Program (NIWQP). These letter reports were issued
in response to briefings, draft documents, and other requests for assistance.
They often provided specific scientific advice, but they also were used to
convey the committee's overall sense of the adequacy and breadth of the
ongoing research program. Although it is not possible to track precisely
the responses to the reports, overall it was felt that the letter reports have
had significant impacts.
October 1985 CIIWQP
Following briefings about the SJVDP, this letter report calls for
improved coordination of research activities, better overall program
management, and a program for public participation. Other areas
of concern include the need for data management and the ongoing
interpretation of data; the importance of quality assurance and
quality control; the need to consider agricultural chemicals in the
design of analytical studies; the significance of economic, legal, and
institutional constraints on the choice of solutions; and the need to
consider on-farm management options.
143
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144
April 1986 CIIWQP
IRRIGATION-INDUCED WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS
Responding to briefings provided by the University of California
research program related to irrigation drainage problems in the
San Joaquin Valley, this letter report praises the research address-
ing on-farm water and salinity management, transport processes,
and trace element chemistry. However, the committee believes the
university researchers should be better integrated into the over-
all SJVDP research program. Research areas requiring attention
include public health concerns, economic evaluations of potential
alternative solutions, and the long-term impacts on ecosystems.
The committee urges that recommendations from its October 1985
letter report be implemented as soon as possible (such as develop-
ment of a strong public participation program; full consideration
of economic, institutional, and legal factors; investigation of pub-
lic health concerns; and development of a quality assurance and
quality control program and a data-management program).
June 1986 Subcommittee on Public Health
This letter report reviews the research proposed by the SJVDP
related to public health. Generally, the report is favorable, but
it identifies some deficiencies in five areas: (1) the need for a
more coherent conceptual approach; (2) identification of hazards;
(3) exposure assessment; (4) integration of public health delivery
services; and (5) the establishment of a public health subcommittee
within the SJVDP.
June 1986 Subcommittee on Quality Assurance
and Quality Control
This letter report reviews a draft quality assurance plan for the
SJVDP. It is critical of the plan and provides many suggestions for
improvement in the areas of (1) quality assurance policy and man-
agement; (2) data quality objectives and sampling procedures; (3)
analytical procedures; (4) data reduction, validation, and reporting;
and (5) performance and system audits. The subcommittee stresses
that a well-designed quality assurance plan is essential.
September 1986 CIIWQP
This letter report asks the SJVDP to assess a proposal for the
cleanup of Kesterson Reservoir made by the Lawrence Berkeley
Laboratory of the University of California regarding maintaining
flooded conditions. The committee recommends that basic studies
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SUMMARY OF LETTER REPORTS
145
of the biological cycling of selenium in saline and alkaline aquatic
ecosystems be given high priority. It recommends that a thorough
monitoring system be established to assess the impacts of this
management approach on plants, animals, sediments, and water.
February 1987
Subcommittee on Public Health
This is a supplement to the June 1986 letter report from this
subcommittee that recommends that as the SJVDP evaluates the
feasibility and desirability of various solutions, it should explicitly
address the public health concerns that might be raised by such
actions.
March 1987 Subcommittee on Quality Assurance
and Quality Control
This letter report strongly recommends that the SJVDP hire an ex-
perienced quality assurance and quality control manager as soon as
possible. It also stresses that data management must be performed
so that it ensures that useful information is not lost. The com-
mittee raises concerns that the quality control protocol for plant
tissue appears to lack the rigor of other protocols (such as those
for water, soil, sediment, and animal tissue).
July 1987 CIIWQP
This letter report commends the SJVDP for making progress,
especially for establishing a citizens' advisory committee. It urges
the addition of a quality assurance and quality control officer and
an experienced research biologist. The committee still believes that
the SJVDP gives inadequate attention to comprehensive, integrated
planning, and it stresses that the SJVDP must consider all the
available options, even those that are politically unpalatable.
July 1987 Subcommittee on Economics and Policy
This letter report reminds the SJVDP that the interactions between
human activities and the environment cannot be ignored and that
technology must be seen in light of evolving social and economic
systems. It advises the SJVDP to develop an analytical method-
ology to identify diverse and often conflicting environmental and
economic considerations; examine equity issues; and broadly eval-
uate the general public policy issues involved in the alternative
solutions being studied. The committee also stresses the impor-
tance of addressing legal issues.
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146
IRRIGATION-INDUCED WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS
May 1988 Subcommittee on Economics and Policy
This letter report comments on the SJVDP publication Developing
Opinions: An Overview of Efforts to Solve Agricultural Drainage and
Drainage-Related Problems in the San Jouquin Valley. The report
also stresses several points regarding the continued need for a broad
focus in the SJVDP's research, the importance of not narrowing the
choice of alternative solutions prematurely, and the urgent need to
initiate the planned legal and institutional policy analysis.
July 1988 CIIWQP
This letter report to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Na-
tional Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) which was es-
tablished in 1987 commends the program for its initial efforts
to investigate potential irrigation-related water quality problems
throughout the West. It reviews the committee's involvement in
that ongoing effort, including its review of draft work plans for
reconnaissance-level and detailed studies and suggestions to im-
prove them. The letter anticipates the committee's increasing in-
volvement in the NIWQP's activities.
December 1988
Subcommittee on Quality Assurance
and Quality Control
This letter report, the third from the Subcommittee on Quality As-
surance and Quality Control, stresses the continued importance of
quality assurance and quality control activities as the SJVDP winds
down its data collection and begins to synthesize information. It
also urges the SJVDP to create a central repository of information
under a single manager.
May 1989 CIIWQP
This letter report addresses the U.S. Department of the Interior's
NIWQP and contains comments in response to a briefing of pre-
liminary data from the NIWQP's second set of reconnaissance
studies. It provides suggestions to improve data uniformity and
identification of the causes of identified problems, and it calls for
the NIWQP to synthesize the myriad data into a comprehensive
analysis with systematic conclusions.
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SUMMARY OF LETTER REPORTS
147
August 1989 Subcommittee on Economics, Policy, and Systems
Analysis (previously two separate subcommittees)
This letter report to the SJVDP discusses the continued develop-
ment of the WADE computer model and the need to be frank
about both its strengths and weaknesses. The necessity of outside
peer review is stressed. The letter also comments on the SJVDP's
progress in conducting legal and sociological analyses.
August 1989 CIIWQP
This letter report expresses strong dissatisfaction with the political
influences that have directed the SJVDP to look for solutions only
within the confines of the San Joaquin Valley. This committee sees
this as a short-sighted approach and again urges policymakers to
address the long-term impacts of irrigated agriculture.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
water quality
