Report reveals some progress in the Central
Valley, though many environmental challenges remain
The Central Valley
environment is getting healthier, but not fast enough. Its air quality is still
among the worst in the nation, according to a report released today.
The Great Valley Center
and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University
of California, Merced, jointly produced "The State ofthe Great CentralValley: Assessing the Region Via Indicators – The Environment2006-2011.” The report tracks a variety of environmental indicators
within the Central Valley and shows mixed
results.
The good news is there has been a reduction in the level
of a number of key air quality indicators, a recharge of watersheds to near
normal levels, a slowing in the loss of prime agricultural land to urbanization
and an increased restoration of wetland habitats.
The Central Valley's
depressed economy has dramatically slowed the use of prime land for new homes
and commercial space. It has also given local and regional governments time to
prepare and begin using blueprints to improve urban housing density and
transportation choices.
However, the Central Valley
has many red flags when it comes to the environment.
The number of days ozone levels were above state and
federal air quality standards has increased overall since 2005, and almost all
counties in the region are not meeting the one-hour and eight-hour air quality
standards for many days each year. The percentage of the Valley’s population at
risk for respiratory problems because of poor air quality outpaces other California regions.
The level of nitrates in drinking water has increased
because farmers are using nitrogen-based fertilizers and planting
nitrogen-fixing cover crops. Poor soil drainage has caused damage to fragile
ecosystems. A great deal of energy is being used to move waste materials to
landfills, presenting an opportunity for more recycling. Many counties have not
reduced their waste production or energy consumption. In some cases, the numbers
have increased beyond the proportional rise in population.
Gathering the data for this year’s report was challenging
because of state and local budget cuts that limited the collection of
information and the monitoring of air, water, species diversity, habitat
conservation and resource management. Among the five recommendations for future action:
Increase data gathering and improve sharing information, and support renewable
energy sources for sustainable growth.
The report tracks environmental indicators as they relate
to carbon monoxide, ozone and particulate matter; water quality and levels in
our watersheds; pesticide use, soil drainage and land use; species of concern,
fish, birds and wetland habitats; and waste production and energy
consumption. The data sets, which underlie and correlate with many of the
other assessments of regional well-being, are grouped in sections describing
air, water, land use, species and habitat, and resources and energy.
Included in the report are profiles of half a dozen successful efforts to conserve and build capacity for the future.
Included in the report are profiles of half a dozen successful efforts to conserve and build capacity for the future.
“We included stories of environmental best practices to
show that there are organizations and individuals working hard to make a
positive impact in our Valley,” Great Valley Center Executive Director Dejeuné
Shelton said. “Some of these successful programs could serve as models for
similar environmental initiatives in other areas of our Valley.”
A highlight of the report is a public policy essay by UC Merced engineering Professor Roger Bales, director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, on the need for a sustainable water supply to meet the growing needs of the expanding Central Valley population with the additional stresses of climate change.
"The State of the Great Central Valley: The
Environment (Third Edition)" is part of an ongoing regional initiative of
the Great Valley Center (GVC) to track conditions in one of California’s fastest growing regions: the
19-county Great Central Valley. The data presented in the report were gathered
by the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and present a snapshot of information
providing tools for measuring the community well-being of the Valley. This
third edition revisits indicators introduced by the GVC in 2001 and revised in
2005, and includes several new ones. Past reports can be viewed on the GVC'sIndicators Report Series website.
