Delta Stewardship Council Supports Improved Treatment of Sacramento Wastewater

Saying there is sufficient evidence that nutrient loading is affecting the ecosystem, the Delta Stewardship Council voted today to support more stringent discharge requirements for the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Council members affirmed their support for the conclusion reached by Cliff Dahm, the council’s lead scientist, after reviewing changes proposed by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to limit the amount of ammonia discharged into the Sacramento River and the Delta by the wastewater treatment plant. Dahm told council members the ammonia limits proposed by the regional board are “justified based on the available science.”

While science shows there are multiple stressors affecting the Delta ecosystem, evidence suggests that current nutrient loading – especially total ammonia – may be “one of the most important of these stressors,” Dahm told council members. “Dealing with a single stressor will not solve the Delta’s problems,” he noted. “But this would be one action that could help the overall picture.”

After hearing remarks from Dahm as well as Stan Dean, district engineer for the Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District, and Kenneth Landau, assistant executive officer for the regional board, council members voted to concur with Dahm’s conclusion and send a letter to the regional board.

Delta Stewardship Council Chair Phil Isenberg submitted a letter to the regional board earlier this month expressing his personal agreement with Dahm’s assessment.  

A public hearing on the proposed permit is set for December 8-10 at the regional board’s office in Rancho Cordova. Details are available here.