Waste Discharge Pollution – California River Watch

Washed up plastics pollution, Accra, Ghana. Photo: Muntaka Chasant/Wikimedia Commons.

Much has been made — and rightly so — about the potential impact on human health and the Japanese fishing industry if Japan moves forward with its proposal to dump 1.2 million cubic meters — that’s 1.3 million tons —of radioactively contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site.

Unfortunately, this looks likely to happen sometime this month or next despite the worldwide outcry. But when I say “happen”, that rather suggests a one-off dump. Instead, the discharge of these liquid nuclear wastes could […]

Petaluma River Brims With ‘Fecal Bacteria’

The river winding through downtown Petaluma might be the city’s single most defining feature. The city’s annual rivertown revival festival features views of the river and, farther south, recreationists use the water for entertainment and exercise every day.

Yet, since 1975, the state has designated the water a contaminated water body due to excessive levels of bacteria tied to fecal […]

Summary The panel vacated the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the City of Vacaville and remanded for further proceedings in a citizen suit brought by California River Watch under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. River Watch claimed that the City’s water wells were contaminated by a carcinogen called hexavalent chromium, which in […]

Readers: This is a situation where there is an attempt to continue polluting groundwater and therefore the beaches and ocean where fresh water ends up. You can help by boycotting traveling there and opting to go somewhere else where environmental laws are respected and followed. Or you can send a letter out of outrage using […]

VERY IMPORTANT MEETING TO ADOPT PATHOGEN TMDL. PLEASE TRY TO ATTEND EVEN IF YOU DON’T PLAN TO SPEAK. AUGUST 14, 2019 BEGINNING SOON AFTER 8:30 AM. 5550 Skylane Blvd., Santa Rosa, near the Sonoma County Airport. This action will provide the basis for new septic management requirements. For instance: Septic inspections by a qualified expert […]

November 6, 2018, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Sixty-nine pharmaceutical compounds have been detected in stream insects, some at concentrations that may threaten animals that feed on them, such as trout and platypus. When these insects emerge as flying adults, they can pass drugs to spiders, birds, bats, and other streamside foragers. These findings by an […]

To All, TEDX’s one-page fact sheet, Understanding Endocrine Disruption, is a brief non-technical overview of endocrine disrupting chemicals, how we are exposed to them, and how they affect our health. It also includes tips and links to help you reduce exposure to endocrine disruptors. Who needs a fact sheet? Everyone from your congressional representative to your […]

Elizabeth “Betsy” Lake HIGHLIGHTS: The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) has published its final draft proposed rule for a “State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State” (Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule includes a definition of wetlands applicable to State Water Board […]

Researchers found a wide array of contaminants in Puget Sound fish By Pippa Wysong March 30, 2016 The fish in Washington State’s Puget Sound are on drugs. In juvenile chinook salmon and staghorn sculpin, researchers recently found traces of more than 40 different contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial chemicals. The presence of […]

Nicholas J. Niemuth, Rebecca D. Klaper Highlights Fish were exposed to metformin at concentrations relevant to wastewater effluent. Exposure from early life stages to adulthood caused intersex in male fish. Exposure caused a reduction in fecundity and in overall size of male fish. Results suggest that metformin is a potential endocrine disruptor in the environment. […]

To River Watch readers: Our website has had several articles in the past on the impacts of endocrine disruptors in streams and other waters of the USA. Most of these chemicals come from pharmaceutical sources released through normal waste discharge without being filtered or treated. What has been revealed is that, unlike many other potentially […]

To All, This is a message from Karen of Clean Water Network that should be of interest to River Watch members and supporters. Larry Exposed Soil = Pollution The Key to Halting Damage to 36,000 Miles Of U.S. Waterways Annually Hello CWN members, I’m Richard Klein. I’ve been helping folks throughout the U.S. win sediment […]

February 24, 2016 by Richard Harth Every hour, a multitude of chemicals complete their use life in homes, agricultural fields and industries and flood into the environment. The ultimate fate of these compounds is often poorly understood, as are the risks they may pose to humans and the ecosystems that are essential for our survival […]

January 16, 2014 by Richard Harth Thousands of chemicals serving a variety of human needs flood into sewage treatment plants once their use life has ended. Many belong to a class of chemicals known as CECs (for chemicals of emerging concern), which may pose risks to both human and environmental health. Arjun Venkatesan, a recent […]

Extensive results challenge a core assumption in toxicology by Pete Myers, Ph.D. and Wendy Hessler The “dose makes the poison” is a common adage in toxicology. It implies that larger doses have greater effects than smaller doses. That makes common sense and it is the core assumption underpinning all regulatory testing. When “the dose makes […]

Speaker: Beverley Andersen-Abbs State Water Resources Control Board January 28th 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. CalEPA HQ Building, Training Room 2 East and West https://stateofcaswrcbweb.centurylinkccc.com/CenturylinkWeb/JarmaBennett If you have more question, please contact: · Dawit Tadesse at dawit.tadesse@waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 341-5486 · Michelle Tang at Michelle.Tang@waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 341-5504 Best, Greg

May 30, 2012 at 5:54 pm Yes, if the first comprehensive review of the issue in a decade is correct in concluding that low doses of chemicals can harm health. Although the hypothesis that chemicals can have health effects at doses much lower than those routinely tested in the toxicological evaluation of chemicals is much-discussed, […]

To All, This is from the North Coast Regional Water Board. The public hearing scheduled for November 19, 2015, to consider adoption of the proposed Russian River Watershed Pathogen Indicator Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has been postponed. Instead, at the public meeting to be held on November 19, 2015 at 5550 Skylane Blvd., […]

By Darryl Fears, May 27 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect from pollution and degradation of the nation’s water resources in streams and wetlands. EPA strengthens federal protections for small streams The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean Water Rule […]

To All, Tell Congress to Protect our Nation’s Water Congress is yet again attempting to weaken our environmental laws by interfering with proposed new safeguards for water—one of our most important resources. Take action to protect our water now! The EPA has received more than 1 million public comments on its proposed Clean Water Rule, […]

Come see and support this beautiful movie. Ok, I’m a bit biased, but this is indeed beautifully produced and filmed – and it is very important and timely. And, yes, there are a number of fabulous interviews with a wide range of water and river people. Thanks! David Keller

By Deborah Blum September 25, 2014 Deborah Swackhamer, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota, decided last year to investigate the chemistry of the nearby Zumbro River. She and her colleagues were not surprised to find traces of pesticides in the water. Neither were they shocked to find prescription drugs ranging […]

To All, Don McEnhill, Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper is a featured interview in: THE RUSSIAN RIVER: ALL RIVERS – THE VALUE OF AN AMERICAN WATERSHED “The time of using greed to justify degrading our environment is over.” “We need to get very honest with the amount of water we have in the worst year. […]

To All, North Bay Bioengineering Tour April 18th, join us for a tour of streambank bioengineering solutions. We’ll be talking willow, coir, seeds and slopes. The project is near the Sonoma Raceway amid a working cattle ranch. The Sonoma Land Trust and Prunske Chatham, Inc. worked together on this project that will protect Tolay Creek. […]

To All, Here are actions that can help stall or turn back attempts to frack in California. Larry What is the significance of access to the Eel River Basin offshore Natural Gas Hydrates? Methane (Natural Gas) Hydrates in offshore subduction zone sediments hold the world’s largest reserves of Natural Gas. More than all combined known […]

Dear All, You know what California has plenty of? Wineries. You know what it’s rapidly losing, and what it can never replace? Its ancient redwood forests, some of which have trees that are more than 2,000 years old.<http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AhZwZ/zoLT/AJaEt> A Spanish winemaker wants to chop down 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make […]

University of Iowa-led research shows some drugs can partially regenerate themselves Assessing the risk posed to aquatic organisms by the discharge of certain steroids and pharmaceutical products into waterways is often based on a belief that as the compounds degrade, the ecological risks naturally decline. But there’s growing sentiment that once in the environment, some […]

The 16th Annual Coho Confab will be held in the Mattole River Valley. Salmonid Restoration Federation and Trees Foundation are the permanent co-hosts of this educational event and are excited to be partnering this year with the Mattole River and Range Partnership that includes Sanctuary Forest, Mattole Restoration Council, and the Mattole Salmon Group. The […]

Hello my name is Anthony Malone and I read that a formal protest was filled by this group against the fracking of thenmonterey shale formation. I would like to help stop the fracking of the Monterey shale formation and volunteer myself to help. I love the Monterey peninsula and do not feel that this issue […]

Dear Activists and Stewards of our land, Whatever your skills and interests are, there is some way to put them to use for the earth. Thank you for caring about this planet and wanting to use your energy for saving the land you love. This is a very important time for the anti fracking movement […]

Category: Waste Discharge Pollution

Poisoning the Planet

Waste Deep

River Watch Wins Appeal on Hexavalent Chromium Contamination in Vacaville’s Water

Maui is urged to withdraw its high-court wastewater appeal

Russian River Watershed Pathogen Prohibition of Discharge of Fecal Waste Materials

Drug pollution concentrates in stream bugs, passes to predators in water and on land

Endocrine Disruption Fact Sheet

State Water Board Issues Revised Rule for Definition of Wetlands and Dredge/Fill Procedures

Like Swimming Through a Pharmacy

Emerging wastewater contaminant metformin causes intersex and reduced fecundity in fish

Endocrine Disruptors: The Secret History of a Scandal

The Key to Halting Damage to 36,000 Miles Of U.S. Waterways Annually

Innovative Device traces Chemicals affecting Human and Environmental Health

Sludge as New Sentinel for Human Health Risks

Does ‘the Dose make the Poison?’

CA Assessment Strategy for Freshwater Algal Blooms

Is everything we think we know about chemical toxicity wrong?

Public Hearing on Russian River Pathogens

EPA Strengthens Federal Protections for Small Streams

Tell Congress to Protect our Nation’s Water

Invitation by Interviewee to See Russian River Movie

A Rising Tide of Contaminants

THE RUSSIAN RIVER: ALL RIVERS Screenings

Invitation to North Bay Tour

Action to Protect Against Fracking in the North Coast

Action: Red Wine or Redwoods? Your choice…

Study finds steroids may persist longer in the environment than expected

The 16th Annual Coho Confab

Fracking in the Monterrey Peninsula

Actions on Anti-fracking in Monterrey

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