The Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) of 1986 considered all groundwater under the influence of surface water to be "bad", essentially equivalent to
surface water from a treatment point of view. Although the California American
Water wells along the lower valley portion of the Carmel River in Monterey
County obtained "groundwater" classification more than fifteen years ago, this
fundamental assessment of "ground vs. surface" is under scrutiny. Separate
regulatory action by the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board)
in 1995, reclassified these wells to be part of a subterranean stream and subject to
jurisdiction of the Board. Although the action was intended to control the
allocation of water rights, this reclassification of the type of water initiated action
by the California Department of Health Services, which regulates water quality /
water supply per the Safe Drinking Water Act.
This study presents various physical, microbiological and plankton data that
indicates that the water quality of the wells from the Lower Carmel Valley
Aquifer are significantly different than, and are not under the influence of, surface
water from the Carmel River. The monitoring program was conducted over a one-year period beginning in February
2003 and ending in February 2004. Testing included:
bi-weekly water quality testing; and,
microscopic particulate analysis (MPA) tests conducted on the seven well
supplies, once each during high and low flow periods on the Carmel River. Data analysis indicates that the water quality from the California American Water groundwater
wells in the lower valley portion of the Carmel River are significantly different than the water
quality of the Carmel River, and that the wells are not under the direct influence of surface water. Includes reference, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 320 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 06/17/2004 |
