Central Valley salinity and nitrate programs move from planning toward implementation; management zones scale drinking-water outreach

Regional and coalition staff on Oct. 21 told the State Water Resources Control Board that Central Valley salinity and nitrate control efforts are transitioning from planning to implementation. Presenters said a prioritization-and-optimization (P & O) study for salinity is now in year four and has produced preliminary “archetype” results identifying geographic areas likely to fail salinity planning targets under projected climate and management scenarios. The Central Valley Salinity Coalition (CVSC) said the study will next quantify salt mass to guide project selection and funding.

Rachel Gray, incoming executive director of the CVSC, said the P & O work combines watershed and groundwater tools to model current and projected applied-water salinity and to identify where long-term treatment or export projects will be needed. Archetype analyses in the Delta-Mendota and Western Kings subbasins showed differing risks: some districts show projected salinity increases under drought scenarios while others currently meet targets. Gray said the coalition is comparing tools — including MP-SAT…