US Environmental Protection Agency unveils plan to improve water quality in California Bay Delta

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an action plan to improve water quality of the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary in the US, alongside restoring its aquatic habitat and improving management of the estuary.

The action plan has been necessitated following the EPA’s analysis that existing federal and state water quality programmes are inadequate to safeguard the ecosystem.

EPA regional administrator for the Pacific South-West Jared Blumenfeld underscored the importance of the Bay Delta to California’s economic security.

"By upholding the goals of the Clean Water Act, we can ensure that our water is fit for drinking, farming, recreation, and for fish and wildlife," said Blumenfeld.

Measures under the action plan will be executed in partnership with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Regional Water Boards for the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and other state and federal agencies.

The Bay Delta is the centre of California’s water distribution system, and provides drinking water to 25 million people.

The plan intends to improve water quality to curb selenium discharges by 2013 while meeting organophosphate pesticide water quality goals in Sacramento County.

The EPA will establish a monitoring and assessment programme for water quality in the Delta by 2017 and ensure that EPA’s pesticide regulation program takes account of the effects of pesticides on aquatic life.

Restoration and rebuilding of wetlands and floodplains to remove drinking water contaminants, methyl mercury, and greenhouse gases and make the Delta more resilient to floods, earthquakes, and climate change are also part of the action plan.

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Image: The EPA plans to improve water quality in the San Francisco Bay area. Photo: Fancy-cats-are-happy-cats.