Environmental issues in Fresno, California

Fresno is the 34th-most populous city in the United States, at close to half a million people. It covers about 112 square miles (290 km2) in the center of the San Joaquin Valley, in the southern portion of California. Founded in 1872, the city has since become the economic hub of the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas tied to large-scale agricultural production. Contamination of ground water by pesticides and other chemical run-offs is a major issue. The monitoring and regulation of contaminants is lax. In 2001, Fresno had 2600 counts of radon in a sample compared to the national standard of 300 and U.S. average of 700. The problems of air quality are exacerbated by the surrounding mountains which trap emissions from the entire Central Valley. 1 in 6 Children in the San Joaquin Valley have asthma, the highest level in the State.

Air pollution

Smog, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases such as methane are vital contributors to global warming and the cause of various health issues. To understand the environmental issue of air pollution within the Central Valley but specifically Fresno, it is best to understand where Fresno is geographically located. Fresno is a region surrounded by mountain ranges and acts as a pool of emissions, trapped in the Central Valley by warm air that comes from its roughly 3.5 million residents.[1] Because of this, Fresno's air quality is considered to be the worst in the region of the Central Valley and among the worst in the U.S.[2]

Sources of air pollution and pollutants of greatest importance
  • Ozone- Primarily known as smog is one many sources of air pollution in Fresno. Ozone within Fresno is created through Oxides of Nitrogen and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from vehicles, agricultural operations, and industries combined.[3]
  • Reactive organic gases (ROG) -- ROG also referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOC) is one of the leading causes for Fresno's air pollution. ROGs primarily come from petroleum transfer and storage, oil and gas production, mobile sources, organic solvent use, farming operations, and miscellaneous processes.[4] At the moment there are no health regulations or standards formulated for ROGs.
  • Oxides of nitrogen—Results primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels under high temperature and pressure.[5] On-road and off-road motor vehicles and fuel combustion are the major sources of this air pollutant.[6] At the moment there are no health regulations or standards formulated for ROGs.
  • Particulate matter (PM)-- Airborne dust consists of particles small enough to remain suspended in the air for long periods which include but are not limited to dust, smoke, and soot.[7] Respirable particulate matter consists of particles small enough to be inhaled, pass through the respiratory system, and lodge in the lungs with resultant health effects. PM usually derives from vehicles, power generation, industrial processes, and wood burning, as well as from road and farming activities.[8]
  • Carbon monoxide—CO is an odorless, colorless gas that is highly toxic. Fresno's CO emission primarily comes from on-road motor vehicles however, other sources also include; other mobile sources, miscellaneous processes, and fuel combustion from stationary sources.[9]
  • Sulfur Dioxide—Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) is a colorless, irritating gas with a "rotten egg" smell formed primarily by the combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels.[10] This form of pollution also contributes to poor visibility within Fresno and the rest of the Central Valley.[11] Low sulfur-fuel use within the Fresno and the Central Valley has allowed for the minimization in pollution from this specific pollutant.[12]

Health Implication

Two types of air pollution dominate in the U.S.: ozone and particle pollution. These two pollutants threaten the health and the lives of millions of Americans. Thanks to the Clean Air Act, the U.S. has far less of both pollutants now than in the past. Still, more than 166 million people live in counties where monitors show unhealthy levels of one or both—meaning the air a family breathes could shorten life or cause lung cancer.[13]

The major health risks of air pollution affect not only children but adults too. It can cause: developmental harm to children, reproductive harm to adults, asthma attack to both, lung cancer, wheezing and coughing, shortness of breath, cardiovascular harm, susceptibility to infections, and redness in lung tissue.[14]

According to the Central California Asthma Collaborative, 1 in 6 Children in the San Joaquin Valley Have Asthma- the Highest Level in the State. Data collected from California Health Interview Survey, 2011-2012 states that Fresno County ranked fourth in the Valley at 23.6% to have asthma prevalence for school aged children running from ages 5–17.[15]

Asthma ER Visits on Rise, Ages 5-17 [16]

percentage increase in rates from 2005-2012 for selected California Counties[17]

California CountiesPercentage Increase
Madera108.2%
Merced88.6%
Kern66.3%
Sacramento47.9%
Solano45.5%
Fresno44.0%
Contra Costa29.8%
Stanislaus28.1%
San Bernardino23.4%
California17.9%
Los Angeles17.0%

[18]

Methods To Prevent Emission

So what is being done to help improve the air quality in the Valley?

  1. The primary mission of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is to improve and met the standards of the Clean Air Act.
  2. To meet federal Clean Air Act requirements, the District has adopted an Ozone Attainment Demonstration Plan (2007), a PM10 Attainment Demonstration Plan (2006), and a PM2.5 Attainment Demonstration Plan (2008). In addition, to meet California Clean Air Act requirements, the District has also adopted an Air Quality Attainment Plan (1991) and corresponding updates to address the California ozone standard.[19]

A broad range of actions to improve air quality that are set forth in the adopted plans are being taken by the district and by EPA and ARB. These include:

  • Adoption of rules that reduce emissions from existing stationary sources;
  • Mitigation of any increase in emissions resulting from new or modified point sources in the District;
  • Development of transportation control measures in conjunction with transportation agencies throughout the Valley;
  • Health protective programs such as the Real-time Air Quality Network (RAAN) and the Air Quality Flag Program give the public tools to make daily decisions about air quality;
  • Grant Programs such REMOVE and the Medium and Heavy Duty Engine Emission Reduction Incentive Program;
  • Public education programs such as the Healthy Air Living Program;
  • State and federal clean vehicle and clean fuel programs.[20]

The District is constantly seeking to improve its emission inventory.[21]

Water Pollution

History

In 2015, Fresno California had 260 wells that supplied over 36 billion gallons of water to half a million citizens.[22] In 2001, Fresno earned a grade of poor for water quality and compliance. Fresno was the only community, as of 2005, to receive a grade F from the Natural Resources Defense Council for protection of water.[23] Analysis of tap water test revealed that in 2003, Fresno communities drank water that had 31 pollutants from sprawl, factories, farms, and sewage.[24] Groundwater in Fresno is unconfined and is susceptible to contamination from agriculture, runoff, and seeping contaminants.

Pipelines

The Fresno City Council moved to ban Galvanized pipe lines and zinc coated metal pipelines in July 2016. Amounts of discolored water have grown in Northeast Fresno in recent years even. Some homes had water containing lead. The water in some Northeast Fresno homes contains a rusty color, and the city determined trace amounts of lead.[25] Some homes contain over 8 times over the safety level. As of March 25, 2016, the City found 27 homes out of the 110 tested to have high levels of lead. The potential damage is roughly 15,000 homes.

TCP and Radon

Along with pesticides that were mixing with groundwater, 1,2,3-trichloropropane has been a problem since 1999, but this has not been regulated even though it is known to cause cancer.[26] TCP water treatment would take hundreds of millions of dollars to fix water problems. Valley communities are affected because some areas will result in more higher rates of cancer. The Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996 required water suppliers to notify public if tap water or the city's watershed is dangerous. The Natural Resources Defense Council showed that Fresno was not direct in displaying these findings.[27] The National standard of Radon showed that Fresno is in violation because any amount of radon, a radioactive contaminant, can cause Lung cancer. In 2001, Fresno had 2600 counts of radon in a sample compared to the national standard of 300 and U.S. average of 700 counts.[28]

Other Contaminants

The chemical releases in Fresno are among the 50th percentile for cancer and non-cancer toxins found in the water. The highest concern for Fresno is the contaminants from fertilizers or waste.

Water Releases (Pounds from TRI sources) [29]
Water ReleasesPounds from TRI sources
Recognized Carcinogens20
Suspected CarcinogensExample
Suspected Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicants61
Recognized Developmental Toxicants20
Suspected Developmental Toxicants41
Suspected Endocrine Toxicants2
Suspected Immunotoxicants38
Suspected Kidney Toxicants43
Suspected Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicants43
Suspected Neurotoxicants20
Recognized Reproductive Toxicants20
Suspected Reproductive Toxicants41
Suspected Respiratory Toxicants43
Suspected Skin or Sense Organ Toxicants20
  • Note:Some chemicals are associated with more than one health effect, so their release may be counted multiple times in this table. Therefore, it is not appropriate to sum releases sorted by health effect. Total reported releases to air and water are provided in the data summary below [30]

Intervention

Fresno is trying to increase the water systems through the 808 MGD Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility.[31] The SESWTF will be working to get raw water pipelines to deliver water. From 2015- 2019, capital investments will be roughly $429 million.[32]

Water Drought

The drought in California, and especially Fresno, has left millions of people fearing for their jobs while simultaneously raising food prices around the country. Fresno County alone is responsible for almost $7 billion worth of agriculture annually, but these numbers are being threatened by the drought.[33] Since water is essential to crop production, the loss of water has taken a huge hit on farmers in the valley. According to California Department of Water Resources, 9 of the 12 biggest reservoirs in California are below the historical average, even after the "El Nino" year in the winter of 2015.[34] In the last five years, Fresno has received significantly less rainfall than the historical average of 14.77 inches per year, with the average since 2011 being 7.76 inches per year.[35] This means that Fresno has only been getting about half of the rain that it normally does, creating problems that may take several years of heavy rain to recover.

Causes

The obvious cause of the drought is that there is a lack of rainfall. With significantly less rainfall than usual, small rivers have been drying up, and less water is being given to farmers to grow their crops. Over the last eleven years, only two years have reached the 14.77 inch per year average, so the current drought has been an ongoing issue that has only recently intensified.[36] In the San Joaquin Valley, there are several seasonal rivers and streams controlled by the amount of water let out by California's vast dam system, but some of these seasonal waterways have been dry for several years now. This is because of a huge lack of water in the reservoirs, so water cannot be let out if it is not there. One issue that many Californians have with this process of letting water out of the reservoirs is that billions of gallons of water are let out during the spring, leaving reservoirs depleted in the hotter and drier months of the year. While some would argue that this is wasteful, it is actually necessary to leave room for snow runoff to fill the lakes because of a scenario where the reservoir could potentially flood after heavy rainfall or unseasonably warm days melting off more snow than expected. Major storms could raise the water level in reservoirs by more than ten percent, so some lakes will only allow the lake to be as high as 60 percent during winter months.[37] Also, there are more reservoirs downstream of Fresno that need to be filled in order to provide water for the southern parts of California that rarely receive rain either. For these reasons, it becomes essential to continue to let water out of the reservoirs, even during this severe drought.

Effects

The people that have arguably been impacted the most by this drought are the farmers who depend on water to raise their crops. Rain water plays an important role in the health of crops, but water that is pumped into the farms through irrigation techniques is even more important. Many streams are dried up, so more and more farmers and people are turning to groundwater deep in the Earth to find water. However, this is quickly depleting the aquifers that supply water for the city of Fresno. In the last 80 years since the city of Fresno has used groundwater as a water source, the water level has dropped from 30 feet below the surface to 128 feet in 2009.[38] This has resulted in the city of Fresno turning to alternate ways to reliably get clean water, such as aggressively recharging the ground water and occasionally purifying surface water for use by residents. This has helped to an extent and groundwater levels have started to drop at slower rates, but having rain and runoff to recharge them at a faster rate would also be very beneficial.

References
  1. Fresno Air Quality Index - Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. (2016, June 14). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality-index/
  2. Fresno Air Quality Index - Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. (2016, June 14). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality-index/
  3. Fresno Air Quality Index - Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. (2016, June 14). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality-index/
  4. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Fresno Air Quality Index - Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. (2016, June 14). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality-index/
  6. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Fresno Air Quality Index - Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. (2016, June 14). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from http://bazallergy.com/fresno-air-quality-index/
  8. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E%5B%5D 8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf
  9. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Fresno General Plan Objectives, Policies, and ... (2002, November). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAFADDD0-DA8F-4FA0-863E-8AA3830DBF18/0/AirQualityAB170DraftPlanApril222009.pdf Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution: (2016). American Lung Association Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/health-risks/
  14. Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution: (2016). American Lung Association Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/health-risks/
  15. County Level Statistics: (2016). Central California Asthma Collaborative Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://cencalasthma.org/resources/county-level-statistics/
  16. Kaiser Health News: (2015, May). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/30/er-visits-for-asthma-rising-among-kids-in-california
  17. Kaiser Health News: (2015, May). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/30/er-visits-for-asthma-rising-among-kids-in-california
  18. Kaiser Health News: (2015, May). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/30/er-visits-for-asthma-rising-among-kids-in-california
  19. Air Pollution Control District: (2006-2012).Valley Air District Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.valleyair.org/Home.htm
  20. Air Pollution Control District: (2006-2012).Valley Air District Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.valleyair.org/Home.htm
  21. Air Pollution Control District: (2006-2012).Valley Air District Web site. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.valleyair.org/Home.htm
  22. Fresno Water Division,2015 Water Quality Report.(2002).Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  23. Fresno Water Division, 2001 Water Quality Report.(2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  24. Fresno Water Division, 2003 Water Quality Report. (2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  25. Fresno Water Division, 2015 Water Quality Report.(2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  26. What's On Tap? Fresno (pdf). (2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  27. What's On Tap? Fresno (pdf). (2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  28. Fresno Water Division, 2001 Water Quality Report.(2002). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  29. Fresno Water Division, 2015 Water Quality Report. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  30. Fresno Water Division, 2001 Water Quality Report.Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  31. Fresno Water Division, 2015 Water Quality Report Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  32. Fresno Water Division, 2015 Water Quality Report Retrieved November 14, 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/fresno.pdf
  33. Ross, K.(2013).California Agricultural Statistics Review. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  34. Reservoir Storage Date. (2016, November 14). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://cdec.water.ca.gov/reservoir.html
  35. Total Seasonal Rainfall. (2016). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.laalmanac.com/weather/we13.htm
  36. Total Seasonal Rainfall. (2016). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.laalmanac.com/weather/we13.htm
  37. Sommer, L. (n.d.). California Reservoirs Are Dumping Water in a Drought, But Science Could Change That. Retrieved November 14, 2016
  38. Fresno's Declining Groundwater Levels. (2009). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5085C3E1-7F55-4996-8B5E-A1AE1FD2C74A/25785/WaterLevelChart.pdf Archived 2016-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
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