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OCR for page R1
Irrigation-Induced Water
Quality Problems
What Can Be Learned from the San
Joaquin Valley Experience
Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems
Water Science and Technology Board
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1989
OCR for page R2
National Academy Press
.
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. . Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the
committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for
appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures
approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of.Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of dis-
tinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of
science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter
granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the
federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National
Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its
administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences
the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also
sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research,
and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the
National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to
secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy
matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the
National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government
and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel
O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering
knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies
determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the
government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered
jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White
are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by the State of California and the U.S. Department of
the Interior under Cooperative Agreement No. S-FC-20-02940.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Irrigation-Induced
Water Quality Problems.
Irrigation-induced water quality problems: what can be learned
from the San Joaquin Valley experience? / Committee on Irrigation
-Induced Water Quality Problems, Water Science and Technology Board
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources,
National Research Council.
p. cm.
"June 1989 draft."
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-309-04036-1
1. Irrigation farming-Environmental aspects-California-San
Joaquin River Valley. 2. Water-Pollution-California-San Joaquin
River Valley. 3. Water quality-California-San Joaquin River
Valley. 4. San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program. I. Title.
TD428.A37N37 1989
363.73'942'09794~dc20
Copyright (if) 1989 by the National Academy of Sciences
89-13094
CIP
No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process,
or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted,
or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written permission from the publisher, except
for the purposes of official use by the U.S. government.
Printed in the United States of America
OCR for page R3
COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION-INDUCED
WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS
(May 1985-March 1990)
JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE, Agricultural Research Service, Chairman
(May 1986-March 1990), Member (1985-1986)
WILLIAM H. ALLAWAY, Cornell University, Chairman (May 1985-April
1986), Member (1986-1987)
ERNEST E. ANGINO, University of Kansas (1985-1990)
MARGRIET F. CASWELL, University of California, Santa Barbara
(1985-1990)
EDWIN H. CLARK II, Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control, Dover, Delaware (1985-1990)
CHARLES T. DuMARS, University of New Mexico (1988-1990)
WILFORD R. GARDNER, University of California, Berkeley
(1985-1990)
ROLF HARTUNG, University of Michigan (1985-1990)
CHARLES D. D. HOWARD, Charles Howard and Associates, Ltd.,
Victoria, British Columbia (1988-1990)
L. DOUGLAS JAMES, Utah State University (1985-1990)
WILLIAM M. LEWIS, JR., University of Colorado, Boulder (1988-1990)
ROBERT R. MEGLEN, University of Colorado at Denver (1985-1990)
FRANCOIS M. M. MOREL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(1985-1988)
ISHWAR P. MURARKA, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto,
California (1988-1990)
OSCAR E. OLSON, South Dakota State University (1985-1987)
W. SCOTT OVERTON, Oregon State University (1985-1988)
ALBERT L. PAGE, University of California, Riverside (1988-1990)
MERILYN B. REEVES, League of Women Voters, Amity, Oregon
(1985-1990)
KENNETH D. SCHMIDT, Kenneth Schmidt & Associates, Fresno,
California (1985-1988)
R. RHODES TRUSSELL, Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc.,
Pasadena, California (1985-1988)
DANIEL E. WILLARD, Indiana University (1985-1990)
Ex Officio (VVSTB Members)
G. RICHARD MARZOLF, Murray State University
GORDON G. ROBECK, Environmental Engineer, Laguna Hills,
California
· · ~
OCR for page R4
National Research Council Staff
CHRIS ELFRING, Project Manager, Water Science and Technology
Board
PATRICK W. HOLDEN, Project Manager, Water Science and Technology
Board (through mid-October 1987)
JEANNE AQUILINO, Project Secretary, Water Science and Technology
Board
Agency Liaisons to Committee
EDGAR A. IMHOFF, Program Manager, San Joaquin Valley Drainage
Program
JONATHAN P. DEASON, Manager, National Irrigation Water Quality
Program
1V
OCR for page R5
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
MICHAEL C. KAVANAUGH, James M. Montgomery Consulting
Engineers, Oakland, California, Chairman
NORMAN H. BROOKS, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
STEPHEN J. BURGES, University of Washington (through 6/30/89)
RICHARD ~ CONWAY, Union Carbide Corporation, South Charleston,
West Virginia
JAMES P. HEANEY, University of Florida
R. KEITH HIGGINSON, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Boise
(through 6/30/89)
HOWARD C. KUNREUTHER, University of Pennsylvania
LUNA B. LEOPOLD, University of California-Berkeley (through 6/30/89)
G. RICHARD MARZOLF, Murray State University
ROBERT R. MEGLEN, University of Colorado at Denver
JAMES W. MERGER, Georgians, Herndon, Virginia (through 6/30/89)
DONALD J. O'CONNOR, HydroQual, Inc., Mahwah, New Jersey
BETTY H. OLSON, University of California at Irvine
P. SURESH C. RAO, University of Florida
GORDON G. ROBECK, Consultant, Laguna Hills, California (through
6/30/89)
PATRICIA L. ROSENFIELD, The Carnegie Corporation of New York
DONALD D. RUNNELLS, University of Colorado, Boulder
A. DAN TARLOCK, Chicago Kent College of Law
HUGO F. THOMAS, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford,
Connecticut
JAMES R. WALLIS, IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights,
New York
M. GORDON WOLMAN, The Johns Hopkins University
Staff
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Director
SHEILA D. DAVID, Staff Officer
CHRIS ELFRING, Staff Officer
WENDY L. MELGIN, Staff Officer
JEANNE AQUILINO, Administrative Assistant
ANITA ~ HALL, Senior Secretary
RENEE A. HAWKINS, Senior Secretary
v
OCR for page R6
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES,
MATHEMATICS, ANI) RESOURCES
NORMAN HACKERMAN, Robert A. Welch Foundation, Chairman
GEORGE R. CARRIER, Harvard University
HERBERT D. DOAN, The Dow Chemical Company (retired)
PETER S. EAGLESON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MARYE ANNE FOX, University of Texas
GERHART FRIEDLANDER, Brookhaven National Laboratory
LAWRENCE W. FUNKHOUSER, Chevron Corporation (retired)
PHILLIP A. GRIFFITHS, Duke University
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE, University of California at Berkeley
JACK E. OLIVER, Cornell University
JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University Observatory
FRANK L. PARKER, Vanderbilt University
DENIS J. PRAGER, MacArthur Foundation
DAVID M. RAUP, University of Chicago
RICHARD J. REED, University of Washington
ROY F. SCHWI l~l~;RS, Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory
ROBERT E. SIEVERS, University of Colorado
LEON T. SILVER, California Institute of Technology
LARRY L. SMARR, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
EDWARD C. STONE, JR., California Institute of Technology
KARL L. TUREKIAN, Yale University
IRVING WLADAWSKY-BERGER, IBM Corporation
MYRON F. UMAN, Acting Executive Director
V1
OCR for page R7
Preface
Irrigation brings many benefits to society, but it also can bring prob-
lems. The irrigation-induced selenium contamination at Kesterson National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the ongoing problems with irrigation drainage
throughout California's San Joaquin Valley illustrate the conflicts that can
arise between the interests of agriculture and the environment. But the
events in the San Joaquin Valley also offer insights that can guide deci-
sionmakers in the future as they strive to balance the needs of agriculture
and the environment. This report is an attempt to highlight some of those
insights.
All decisionmakers face the dilemma of dealing with competing inter-
ests people who see a problem differently and thus seek different solutions.
Rarely will decisionmakers find themselves choosing between simple "right"
and "wrong" answers; more often they must make complicated judgments
and weigh competing values. Maintaining crop production, enhancing
wildlife habitats, improving water quality, ensuring public health: these
are all admirable goals, but they are not necessarily compatible. More
and more, science is playing a critical role in searching for solutions to
significant environmental problems and mediating the conflicts that arise.
This committee believes that one step decisionmakers must take to
meet this challenge is to evaluate all potential responses openly and fairly.
Decisionmakers must make each policy decision in full public view, they
must acknowledge the range of options and examine their advantages and
disadvantages, and they must honestly identify which parties stand to gain
and which stand to lose.
. .
V11
OCR for page R8
. . .
V111
PREFACE
The Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems (Ap-
pendix A) was formed in April 1985 to provide ongoing guidance to the
San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program (SJVDP), the multiagency team
formed to study irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley and search for ways to
solve the problems caused by contaminated drainage water. The commit-
tee, which operates under the auspices of the National Research Council's
Water Science and Technology Board, was also charged to address broader
questions and has provided continuing assistance to the U.S. Department
of the Interior's National Irrigation Water Quality Program. It has tried
to provide a national and future-oriented perspective, one that sees the
situation encountered in the San Joaquin Valley as a forewarning of what
might be expected to occur elsewhere.
During its original 3-year cooperative agreement period (April 1985
to March 1988), 18 members served on the committee, representing the
fields of agricultural engineering, soil science, geochemistry, hydrogeology,
ecology, economics, public administration, and other relevant disciplines.
When the agreement was extended for 2 additional years in April 1988,
one-third of the members rotated off and were replaced, bringing an influx
of fresh energy but retaining the needed blend of expertise and experience.
The committee has worked closely with personnel from the SJVDP.
The SJVDP is not responsible for the actual cleanup of the Kesterson
NW1R site but is charged to provide a plan to better manage agricultural
drainage in the valley so that similar problems do not continue to occur.
The committee provided oversight,- evaluated study plans, recommended
staff additions, reviewed documents, and made suggestions to improve
the caliber of the science and analysis conducted. The committee met
frequently with program researchers and managers (Appendix B). The
primary product from these activities was advice transmitted through formal
National Research Council letter reports (Appendix C).
The San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program is a research team drawn
from a number of state and federal agencies with different missions, op-
erating styles, and constituencies. The SJVDP involves the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geolog-
ical Survey, plus the California Department of Fish and Game and the
California Department of Water Resources. This diverse group faces a
real challenge to develop an effective, equitable, and scientifically sound
solution to a complex, politically charged problem in a relatively short time.
Despite their separate and sometimes conflicting missions, they have been
asked to work together to develop a proposal that would be accepted by
all of the many interests affected.
The Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems elected
to write this report to consider how the insights gained through the San
Joaquin Valley experience might be applied elsewhere. This document
OCR for page R9
PREFACE
1X
examines the scientific and institutional dimensions of irrigation-induced
water quality problems, and it suggests some fundamental elements of good
problem solving and policy development that should be considered when
similar problems are evaluated in the future. The committee hopes that this
effort will be valuable to the people who at whatever level must make
decisions about irrigation-induced water quality problems in the future,
including policymakers; federal, state, and local agency representatives;
resource managers; academics; and the public.
Jan van Schilfgaarde, Chairman
Committee on Irrigation-Induced
Water Quality Problems
OCR for page R10
OCR for page R11
Contents
EXECUTING SUMMARY
Kesterson as an Example of a Broader Problem, 2
Understanding the Scientific Dimensions of an Environmental
Problem, 3
Understanding the Institutional Dimensions of an
Environmental Problem, 4
Resolving Problems: Essential Study Elements, 5
Resolving Problems: Identifying and Evaluating Alternatives, 6
Recommendations, 8
1 INTRODUCTION: KESTERSON AS AN EXAMPLE OF A
BROADER PROBLEM
Western U.S. Agriculture, 14
The San Joaquin Valley, 16
Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, 20
State and Federal Involvement, 25
The San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program, 27
The National Irrigation Water Quality Program, 30
Future Irrigation and Drainage Issues, 33
References, 35
2 UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENTIFIC DIMENSIONS OF
AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM 37
How Irrigation Drainage Alters Water Quality, 37
Hydrology and Soils, 41
Geology and Geochemistry, 42
11
X1
OCR for page R12
. .
X11
Fish and Wildlife Considerations, 46
Public Health Considerations, 48
Conclusions, 50
References, 51
3 UNDERSTANDING THE INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS
OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM .....................
Economic Factors, 54
Social Factors, 57
Agencies and Organizations, 61
Legal Issues, 65
Political Factors, 70
Conclusions, 71
References, 72
CONTENTS
...53
4 RESOLVING PROBLEMS: ESSENTIAL STUDY ELEMENTS . . 74
Essential Study Elements, 75
Complexity and Study Design, 86
Uncertainty, 89
Conclusions, 91
References, 92
RESOLVING PROBLEMS: IDENTIFYING AND
EVALUATING ALTERNATIVES..................
Technical Options, 96
Institutional Options, 103
Evaluating Alternatives, 110
Conclusions, 116
References, 117
RECOMMENDATIONS .. .. . . . .. .. .. ... .. . . .. . .. .. .. .. ..
Planning Issues Related to Irrigation-Induced Water
Quality Problems, 120
Policy Issues Related to Irrigation-Induced Water Quality
Problems, 123
Responding to Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems:
A Shared Responsibility, 126
APPENDIXES
A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
B Calendar of the Committee's Activities ......................
C Summary of the Committee's Letter Reports. .
INDEX ................
. .94
. . . .
.. log
........ 131
137
. 142
. . . .
149
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Irrigation-Induced Water
Quality Problems
OCR for page R14
