Location: Ventura County, California
Title: Protecting Groundwater Resources
Geography and Demographics
Ventura County is one of fifty-eight political entities in California; it covers an area of 1873 square miles, including 860 sq mi within the Los Padres National Forest (46 percent of total) and 37 sq mi (20 percent of total) in three state and twenty-four county parks. Twenty-eight percent of Ventura County is agricultural lands (10.5 percent farmland plus 17.5 percent grazing land). Urban and built-up lands comprise 8 percent of the total and are increasing rapidly.
The county's current population estimate is 744,000, with an annual increase of 2.5 percent. Ventura County's population density of 400 people/sq mi is five times the U.S. national average.
Agriculture and Water Consumption
The county's economy is agricultural-based, with new, emerging biotech and electronic industries. The total agricultural value in 1998 was $937 million, which ranks the county as number 11 in the state's agriculture production. Lemons are the number one cash crop.
The county gets its water from three sources:
· Local surface water
· Groundwater
· Imported water from northern California (Owens Valley, the Sacramento River, and the Colorado River)
Agriculture consumes approximately two-thirds of the water used by the county; 80 percent of the agricultural use is from groundwater. It is imperative that water districts protect groundwater from contamination and keep its quality within the MAC (maximum allowable concentration) of contaminates such as nitrates, pesticides, and petroleum products.
The Groundwater Guardian Program, which originated in Lincoln, Nebraska (phone 402-434-2740), is a private organization whose function is to empower citizens to voluntarily take steps toward protecting their aquifers (water-bearing sedimentary rocks).
Contaminate Sources
The major contaminates are:
Resolving an Environmental Issue Requires Accurate Statistics
Understanding the hydrogeology of an area, including its FOREBAY (area where contamination can easily enter into the groundwater), and analysis of the stratification of the overburden layers of soils through which surface water has to percolate to enter the aquifer, are essential steps in locating point and surface sources of contamination.
The Role of Environmental Education and Local Regulations
In a democracy where individuals are the major force in determining their environmental quality, understanding environmental natural laws becomes critical. This knowledge needs to be backed by enforceable regulations to maximize the benefits to the largest number of people within sustainable ecosystems.
Author
Professor Muthena Naseri
Moorpark College
Moorpark, CA 93021
mnaseri@moorpark.cc.ca.us