Central Valley's growing concern: Crops raised with oil field water

[Trillo]

Source: LA Times

Here in California's thirsty farm belt, where pumpjacks nod amid neat rows of crops, it's a proposition that seems to make sense: using treated oil field wastewater to irrigate crops.

Oil giant Chevron recycles 21 million gallons of that water each day and sells it to farmers who use it on about 45,000 acres of crops, about 10% of Kern County's farmland.

State and local officials praise the 2-decade-old program as a national model for coping with the region's water shortages. As California's four-year drought lingers and authorities scramble to conserve every drop, agricultural officials have said that more companies are seeking permits to begin similar programs. The heightened interest in recycling oil field wastewater has raised concern over the adequacy of safety measures in place to prevent contamination from toxic oil production chemicals.

Until now, government authorities have only required limited testing of recycled irrigation water, checking for naturally occurring toxins such as salts and arsenic, using decades-old monitoring standards. They haven't screened for the range of chemicals used in modern oil production.

read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-oil-water-20150503-story.html

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Hat tip to Peg Mitchell.

[KamaAina]

1. That should read "America's growing concern".

After all, Kern County's diorama in the Capitol (all 58 counties have one, even tiny Alpine) says "Kern County fuels the world, feeds the world, defends the world...".

[Trillo]

2. Agreed, we learned that way back in elementary school.

Also, the idea that it's okay to use fracking-contaminated water to irrigate crops seems surreal. I don't even know if I believe the idea that almonds are exempt from concerns, though I'd believe they have a lower water content than some other crops.

(I didn't think to change the title, just used the LBN convention. Feel free to repost in GD in a day or two.)