Regulation of Agricultural Drainage to San Joaquin River

Abstract

A technical committee made up of staff from the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Regional Board) has investigated water quality concerns in the San Joaquin River Basin related to agricultural drainage. They have reported back to the State Board on: (1) Proposed water quality objectives for the San Joaquin River Basin; (2) proposed effluent limitations for agricultural drainage discharges in the basin to achieve these objectives; and (3) a proposal to regulate these discharges. The costs and economic impact of achieving various alternative water quality objectives were also evaluated. The information gathered by the technical committee will be used by the Regional Board along with other information in their review of the San Joaquin River Basin Water Quality Control Plan and their actions to regulate agricultural drainage in the San Joaquin Valley. This paper summarizes the results of the Technical Committee's efforts as reported in “Regulation of Agricultural Drainage to the San Joaquin River,” August 1987.