Delta Stewardship Council Supports Improved Treatment of Sacramento Wastewater
Lisa Lien-Mager
Association of California Water Agencies
10/28/2010
Saying there is sufficient evidence that nutrient loading is affecting the ecosystem, the Delta Stewardship Council voted today to support more stringent discharge requirements for the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Council members affirmed their support for the conclusion reached by Cliff Dahm, the council’s lead scientist, after reviewing changes proposed by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to limit the amount of ammonia discharged into the Sacramento River and the Delta by the wastewater treatment plant. Dahm told council members the ammonia limits proposed by the regional board are “justified based on the available science.”
While science shows there are multiple stressors affecting the Delta ecosystem, evidence suggests that current nutrient loading – especially total ammonia – may be “one of the most important of these stressors,” Dahm told council members. “Dealing with a single stressor will not solve the Delta’s problems,” he noted. “But this would be one action that could help the overall picture.”
After hearing remarks from Dahm as well as Stan Dean, district engineer for the Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District, and Kenneth Landau, assistant executive officer for the regional board, council members voted to concur with Dahm’s conclusion and send a letter to the regional board.
