Friends of Clean Water:
LETTERS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED!!! ALSO, PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING WITH PEOPLE ON YOUR EMAIL LISTS.
RRWPC has serious concerns about part of the Basin Plan Amendment being
proposed by the North Coast Regional Board. Those concerns are listed in
the sample letter attached to this email. We encourage you to write either
an individual or group letter to Executive Officer Catherine Kuhlman that
raises the issues described in the letter. You can copy the letter if you
want, but please put it on your own stationary and personalize it in the
first paragraph. Also feel free to add your own comments. THE DEADLINE FOR
THE LETTER IS JANUARY 29TH, BUT PLEASE SEND AT LEAST THREE DAYS EARLIER IF
YOU SEND BY REGULAR MAIL. YOU CAN EMAIL COMMENTS TO:
CKuhlman@waterboards.ca.gov
In response to RW’s featured article, Top Eleven Chemicals in Drinking Water”:
The two scientists mentioned had been hired by the City of Santa Rosa in 2007 to
give presentations downplaying the significance of pharmaceuticals, personal
care products, and other toxins, including endocrine disruptors in the
wastewater and water supply. Following this article are our (RRWPC)
comments on why we think the problem is serious and is being downplayed by
these prominent scientists. One thing they don’t mention is how children
are impacted in their development by having these drugs, even in small
amounts, in our drinking water supply. Please read our comments following
the article.
RRWPC REPLY TO ARTICLE:
The scientists mentioned above had been hired by the City of Santa Rosa in
2007 to allay concerns about the issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment
and drinking water supply. What is significant here is that they are even
finding these substances in the drinking water supply. They emphasize that
the amounts are small but they leave out some important facts:
No one knows how these chemicals interact with one another nor how they may
bioaccumulate in fish and other aquatic life that are then ingested by
humans for food. They don’t mention combined impacts of these substances in
water AND food.
There has also been a lot of evidence, at least on atrazine, that very small
doses turn frogs into hermaphrodites,
They don’t know what the safe levels of these substances are for children.
There is a lot of concern now about the growing rates of autism and
diabetes.
It is suspected that this malady and many other diseases showing up in
younger people (for instance, diabetes) are environmentally caused. Also,
breast cancer in young women and testicular cancer in young men appears to
be increasing.
There is a high rate of cancer in dogs that we don’t hear much about.
The list goes on. We are very concerned about widespread distribution of
recycled water. At the very least, there needs to be a lot of testing to
see how much of these toxins are in recycled water before they move forward
with a lot of expensive pipeline projects. (Santa Rosa’s irrigation project
is estimated to cost $150 million.)
Also, there is a lot of emphasis now to install drought resistant
landscaping. What is the point of going to a lot of expense (and energy
costs) to install irrigation systems for recycled water, if most landscapes
aren’t even going to need it? In terms of global warming, it would probably
be a lot more energy efficient to change landscapes rather than pump
wastewater all over the place.
Finally, there was a program recently on KRCB called “Liquid Assets” that
indicated a great need for infrastructure repair (water and wastewater) and
the vast amounts of water that is lost on old leaky plumbing. It would be a
lot more sustainable and energy efficient, not to mention healthier to fix
the infrastructure we have, focus on conservation and source control, and
forget irrigation except in very limited circumstances. Huge recycling
goals by the State are going in the wrong direction.
WE URGE EVERYONE TO WRITE A LETTER EXPRESSING THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT EMERGING AND UNREGULATED TOXINS THAT MAY BE HAVING A DIRE EFFECT ON OUR HEALTH, OUR PETS, OUR AQUATIC LIFE AND WILD LIFE AND ULTIMATELY, OUR ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.
Thank you.
Brenda Adelman