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 and the transient CVHM2 model — to ensure results are robust and to select pilot project areas.

On nitrates, Central Valley Water Board staff and management-zone leaders described a two-track implementation path: (1) short-term actions that prioritize testing, interim bottled-water delivery and fill stations for affected households, and (2) longer-term management-zone implementation plans (MZIPs), permits and, where necessary, exceptions from the nitrate objective with enforceable milestones.

Tess Dunham, representing management-zone groups, and several management-zone executive directors presented interim drinking-water metrics. Priority 1 management zones reported more than 2,000 households receiving bottled water and 7 fill-station locations; combined management-zone effort reported approximately 3,900,000 gallons of replacement water distributed in the program’s early years. Staff said SAFE and SRF funding mechanisms are being used to co-fund testing and interim solutions in priority 2 basins; Valley Water Collaborative said it began priority 2 basin operations in early 2026 and has completed several hundred well tests and enrolled households for bottled water delivery.

Central Valley Water Board staff outlined the process for converting MZIP submittals into enforceable permit conditions and described expected timelines. The Modesto Management Zone is the first scheduled for regional-board review; staff said the board’s draft resolution to approve an exception and adopt permit amendments is expected in early 2026. The board noted that exceptions may be up to 35 years by statute but must be “as short as practicable;” staff said exception terms will be reviewed every five years and may require status reporting and, for exceptions longer than 10 years, 10‑year technology and practice assessments.

Staff also reported compliance and enforcement figures: roughly 11% of permittees in the Salt Control Program were marked noncompliant for not selecting a pathway or missing P & O fees; roughly 14% of permittees subject to the Nitrate Control Program were listed as noncompliant. Regional staff said notices of violation have been sent to nonresponding confined-animal facilities and that enforcement actions and written communication to noncompliant entities were being prioritized for the current fiscal year.

Environmental justice representatives and community groups emphasized the need to move from interim replacement water to restoration and source‑protection that reduces contaminated recharge. Community groups asked for shorter exception terms where practicable, clearer interim milestones tied to measurable water-quality improvements, and stronger coordination with GSAs and the SAFER funding program to accelerate long-term projects.

Board members and presenters repeatedly stressed the need to front-load measurable milestones, make use of SAFER and other funding for testing and interim solutions, and accelerate work on pilot projects and technologies (including brine disposal and full-scale treatment where required). Staff and stakeholders said more work remains on definition of compliance metrics at the individual-discharger level and on the technical linkages between groundwater sustainability planning and long-term salinity/nitrate restoration efforts.