State Water Board to Take Action on 1,700 Severely Polluted Waterways

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2010
Media Contact: Sara Aminzadeh, California Coastkeeper Alliance, (415) 794-8422

State Water Board to Take Action on 1,700 Severely Polluted Waterways
New List Reveals Few Californians Enjoy “Fishable, Swimmable, Drinkable” Waterways

(Sacramento, CA) According to a new state list of polluted waterways, more than 90% of Californians live within 10 miles of a severely polluted waterway. The State Water Resources Control Board is required to create a list of seriously polluted water bodies every two years, known as the “303(d) list,” after Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.

The list is compiled based on water quality monitoring data that show which waters are too polluted for activities that Californians used to be able to enjoy, such as fishing, swimming, boating or surfing. Today, the State Water Board is expected to formally adopt the 2008/2010 303(d) list, which shows that more than 1,700 California beaches, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are severely polluted, or “impaired.”

“The new list reflects a staggering water pollution problem in California,” says California Coastkeeper Alliance’s Tom Lyons, who has spent the last several months analyzing the 303(d) list, creating maps of impaired waterways, and training communities throughout California about the listing process. He adds, “It shows just how far California is from realizing the Clean Water Act’s promise of fishable, swimmable, drinkable waterways almost four decades after the Act was signed into law.”

There are 1,464 new water body-pollutant listings proposed for adoption, a 64% increase from the number of listings in 2006, which brings the total to 3,507 listings. This number reflects the number of segments of a water body that are impaired (e.g., the mouth of a river vs. a downstream area) combined with the number of pollutants that cause impairment. Adoption of the new 303(d) listings may face significant opposition from polluters and dischargers who would be required to clean up the polluted waterways on the list. After the State Water Board adopts the new 303(d) list, the Regional Water Boards will begin the process of developing and implementing reduced loads of pollutants designed to lead to healthier and cleaner waterways.

Section 303(d) and its impaired waterways list are among the most powerful tools that Californians have to clean up our beaches, rivers, and coastal waters. The public is invited to attend the 2008/2010 adoption hearing, and then to propose new waterways for listing under the State Water Board’s 2012 Impaired Waterways List, which the Board is simultaneously preparing. Comments can be provided to the Water Board through August 30th on the new 2012 list.

How do your local waterways rank on the 2010 List?

View the proposed 2008/2010 Impaired Waterways List and corresponding map, and more information at the State Water Board website: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/integrated2010.shtml.

Find your local Waterkeeper at http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/waterkeepers/california-waterkeepers or contact Sara Aminzadeh to get in touch with a local expert (sara [at] cacoastkeeper.org or 415-794-8422).

Using law, policy and science, the California Coastkeeper Alliance supports and enhances the work of California’s 12 Waterkeeper organizations and works to ensure that Californians enjoy clean water and a healthy coast. http://www.cacoastkeeper.org.

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