The Sacramento River Basin: Improving Water Quality
The State of Water Quality
Water quality in the Sacramento Valley is generally excellent, with certain areas that have local problems that need to be addressed. The leaders in the Sacramento Valley are committed to protect surface and groundwater quality and to maintain high-quality waters in the region through progressive water resources management for multi-benefits, new and innovative agronomic practices, and various other efforts to sustain healthy watersheds to support the economy and the environment. These measures are specifically designed to protect multi-benefits: safe drinking water, aquatic life, and agriculture in the region.
In its Regional Plan for Action (June 2003), the Sacramento Valley Water Quality Coalition developed a grassroots, collaborative effort to enhance and improve water quality for Northern California farms, cities and the environment.” The California Rice Commission has also been working for several decades to improve water quality. For the past decade, the Coalitions have focused primarily on surface water resources and has been successful in improving surface water quality throughout the region. Now, the legislative and regulatory framework has evolved to include groundwater and the Coalitions are poised to better understand and improve groundwater quality and to maintain high-quality waters in a meaningful and cost-effective manner.
In addition to the continued work of the SVWQC, NCWA supports comprehensive policy approaches to safe drinking water issues that empower effective local agencies, targets funding to address specific needs, and emphasizes collaborative locally-appropriate solutions to enable continued progress toward ensuring that all Californians have access to safe drinking water.
For more detailed information, see water quality.
