Modesto-area water coalition notes progress

Modesto-area farmers noted success in reducing stream pollution this year while girding for a tougher effort on groundwater.

The East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition reported on monitoring this year of 14 waterways. The monitoring is funded by the farmers who make up the group.

The report, released Wednesday, shows continued progress on keeping pesticides, fertilizers and sediment out of creeks, rivers and man-made channels, coalition leaders said.

"You guys are really stepping up," said Mike Johnson, the Davis-based consultant who manages the testing. "The water is getting a lot cleaner."

The coalition is one of eight created in the Central Valley nearly a decade ago to monitor streams and educate farmers who are believed to be polluting.

The coalitions are a cheaper and simpler alternative to dealing individually with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. The board could vote in July on continuing the coalition approach and adding groundwater to the program.

Environmentalists argue that the coalitions have provided scant evidence that farmers actually are improving their practices.

"The current program and staff's proposal (to extend it) unfortunately give real meaning to the phrase 'letting the fox guard the henhouse,' " says a letter last year from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the California Water Impact Network.

About 100 people attended Wednesday's meeting at the Stanislaus County Agricultural Center in Modesto.

This coalition covers the area east of the San Joaquin River in Stanislaus, Merced and Madera counties. The 2,297 members farm roughly half of the 1.1 million irrigated acres in the area.

The majority of members are not letting pollutants enter waterways, said coalition vice chairman Wayne Zipser, who also is executive manager of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau.

Leaders noted that where pollution is found, it could be from non-farming sources such as septic tanks or sewage treatment plants.

Several of the waterways this year had excessive levels of E. coli bacteria, suggesting a threat to human health. Dry Creek just east of Modesto, for example, exceeded the standard four times this year, down from six in 2010 and eight in 2009.

Pesticides turned up in some samples in the region, though the coalition noted they were greatly reduced on six waterways that have been targeted for better farm management.

The regional board thinks the coalitions are making progress on surface water pollution, said Adam Laputz, a staff engineer.

Protecting groundwater, he said, is also vital because 40 percent of valley residents drink from this source and it is at risk from nitrates and other pollutants. Nitrates, which can result in part from fertilizers, are especially harmful to infants and pregnant women, he said.

Coalition chairman Parry Klassen said the group should not duplicate monitoring that already has shown heavy nitrates. Instead, it will start on high-priority areas and educate farmers on good practices, such as using only as much fertilizer as is needed for crop growth.

Klassen and Zipser plan to keep visiting farmers to talk about sound practices and the value of the coalition.

"We don't need the regulators to be regulating us to death," Zipser said, "because we can do it better on our own."

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2385.