CASE STUDY: Drinking Water in California Compromised With Wastewater

By Mark Kahl

Residents in Napa County who receive their drinking water from the Sacramento Delta via the North Bay Aqueduct were complaining about the quality of water coming from their tap. The North Bay Aqueduct provides drinking water to residents in Napa, American Canyon, Calistoga, Fairfield, Vallejo, Vacaville and Benicia.

The musty odor from the drinking water was linked to a blue green algae growing out of control, called algae blooms, in the Delta. Blue green algae produce toxins that have negative effects on the brain, liver, blood cells and the endocrine system and can be very toxic to humans and animal. Studies have linked substances released by the blue green algae to Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).

Algae love ammonia and need phosphorus and nitrogen to survive. All three are still present in treated wastewater when being discharged into lakes, rivers and streams, depending on the design of the wastewater treatment plant. Discharges of treated wastewater by the Sacramento Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Sacramento River have been fingered for the increased levels of ammonia in the Delta.

The Sacramento wastewater treatment plant uses the Sacramento River to dilute the treated wastewater in order to meet federal effluent standards. This practice is used all over the US. A study recommended that the elevated levels of nitrogen flowing through the Delta due to discharges from the wastewater treatment plant must be reduced in order to benefit the fish populations and protect the future of drinking water.

The high concentration of substances that come from wastewater discharges not only increases algae growth, but also decreases the oxygen content of water, diminishes the amount of light for photosynthesis and promotes bacterial growth, compromising not only the drinking water for humans, but also all populations of the aquatic ecosystem.

1. Taugher, Michael, Sacramento Sewage Fouls Delta, Times Herald, 2010
2. Todorov, Kerana, Still Waiting on Delta Water, 2009
3. Algae, New World Encyclopedia, 2008
4. The Food Web, Water on the Web, 2004
5. Ammonia and the Nitrogen Cycle, Bioremediate, Environmental Quality Assurance, 2010
6. Blue-Greem Algae (Cyanobacteria) and their Toxins, Wikipedia
7. New Research Links Decline of Endangered California Delta Smelt to Nutrient Pollution, University of Maryland, May 2010

Mark Kahl, Senior PE, owner and Principal Engineer of All Inclusive Water / Wastewater Solutions Inc., an engineering firm that specializes in providing complete water and or wastewater packages for rural subdivisions and developments in unincorporated areas. This all inclusive service incorporates original design, permitting, manufacture, installation and operation and maintenance of water and wastewater package plants.

All products used by All Inclusive Solutions are designed to protect communities and the environment from wastewater hazards that are plaguing wastewater treatment plants. Processes used reduce nitrates by at least 98% and the degradation of recalcitrant chemicals, VOC substances, microorganisms and pharmaceuticals by at least 90%. Treated wastewater is never discharged into waterways. There is never surface contamination, no ponding, no run-off problems and no odors.

For more information visit the following link http://www.allinclusiveinc.net/.

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