The Southern California Salinity Coalition (SCSC) has released the final report of the Salinity Management Study Update Workshop, held on 1 June 2012. is now available to download.
The workshop was held by the US Bureau of Reclamation, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and SCSC to revisit salinity challenges and potential solutions to salinity management issues in Southern California.
Attendees included representatives from water and wastewater agencies, city utilities, universities, federal agencies, consulting firms, agricultural interests, salinity coalitions and a local military base.
The workshop focused on four objectives:
· Identify challenges and potential actions
· Update Reclamation’s Salinity Economic Impact Model
· Identify and assess regional salinity conditions
· Assess future water supply salinity.
The workshop’s final report includes a summary of the workshop, accomplishments and ongoing efforts since the 1999 Salinity Management Action Plan, results from the workshop surveys, summary of the working group discussions, and key recommendations in addressing salinity management challenges and issues.
Some of the key recommendations include:
· Increase public awareness of salinity issues and promote practical solutions.
· Integrate salinity management with regional planning efforts and policies.
· Engage in regulatory oversight of salinity management.
· Strengthen and develop partnerships to further salinity management efforts.
The workshop report will be used to review and update the 1999 Salinity Management Study, which presented the findings and recommendations of an investigation of the impacts of total dissolved solids, or salinity, in Southern California water supplies. In addition, some of the input will be recommended for use in other salinity management efforts in the future, such as in the development of salt and nutrient management plans.