The California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year 2010-11

MEASUREMENTS  - Data Last Updated on: 

WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-11, the Regional Boards enrolled 507 irrigated agricultural operations, which comprised 200,411 acres of irrigated agricultural land, under a general conditional waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs). This resulted in 51 percent of the irrigated agricultural operators and 76 percent of acreage being regulated statewide. It is evident that Region 5, which covers about 40 percent of the geographical area of the State, has 56 percent of the irrigated agricultural operators and 76 percent of acreage among these three regions. The San Diego Regional Board enrolled almost half of the acreage during the fiscal year.

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

Many surface and groundwater bodies are impaired because of pollutants from agricultural sources. Discharges from irrigated agricultural lands, from both irrigation flows and stormwater runoff, can affect water quality by transporting pollutants such as pesticides, nutrients, sediment, salts, heavy metals, and pathogens from cultivated fields into waters of the State. Several Regional Water Boards have made significant progress in developing and implementing an Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP), initiated in 2004, to work with the agricultural community to control discharges from irrigated lands. Most of these Regional Boards have adopted a region-wide, general conditional waiver of WDRs to regulate irrigated agricultural discharges. To comply with the conditions of the waiver, irrigated agricultural dischargers implement management measures, monitor water quality, and implement corrective actions as needed to protect water quality. Because each Regional Water Board’s ILRP is in a different phase of development, reporting on the number of acres, as well as the corresponding number of agricultural operations, enrolled will increase as additional Regional Boards adopt general conditional waivers of WDRs for discharges from irrigated agricultural land. Typically farm operators regulated under a waiver participate under a coalition group to implement the requirements of the conditional waivers. The following table includes the names and number of farm operators and acreage under each existing coalition.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Data Source: Water Board ILRP Program database. Period: July 1, 2010-July 30, 2011. Extracted in August 2011.
• Unit of Measure: Number of acres enrolled under general conditional waivers of Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) at three Regional Water Boards with Irrigated Lands Regulatory Programs.
• Data Definitions: Acres Enrolled: Agricultural acreage under the control of commercial irrigated agricultural operators enrolled under a general conditional waiver of WDRs issued by a Regional Water Board as part of their Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program
• References: More information on the Regional Water Boards’ Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, including the status of the ILRP at each Regional Water Board, is available at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/agriculture/. Additional Reports are available at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/agriculture/monthly_report_en.shtml. Monitoring data Reports are also available at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/agriculture/

GLOSSARY

Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements

Regional Water Board can formally waive Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for specific discharges to surface waters that are not subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations provided that certain conditions are met, including that the discharge will not cause or contribute to violations in water quality. An individual conditional waiver of WDRs can be issued directly to an individual discharger. For discharges of a certain type, such as discharges from irrigated agricultural lands, individual or groups of dischargers may enroll under a general conditional waiver of WDRs.

Irrigated Agricultural Lands

Lands where water is applied to produce crops such as land planted to row, vineyard, pasture, field and tree crops, commercial nurseries, nursery stock production, managed wetlands, and rice production that do not currently discharge under waste discharge requirements, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits, or other NPDES permits.

 

( Page last updated:  9/19/11 )