1. Salt/Nutrient Management Plans
and
Basin Plan Amendments
Darrin Polhemus Deputy Director, Division of Water Quality State Water Resources Control Board July 15, 2010

2. Introduction
Salt/Nutrient Management Plans required by the Recycled Water Policy
For all groundwater basins
Stakeholders prepare salt/nutrient management plans
Regional Boards adopt implementation plans based on the salt/nutrient management plans as basin plan amendments

3. Salt/Nutrient Management Plans
Plans must include:
Implementation plan
Monitoring plan, including constituents of emerging concern (CECs)
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis
Plans must consider:
All sources of salts and nutrients
Basin hydrogeology
Recycled water use and storm water recharge

4. Salt/Nutrient Management Plans and Basin Plan Amendments
State Water Board staff prepared draft document templates for Regional Board’s basin planning process (May 17, 2010 drafts released on July 12, 2010)
Purpose is to streamline the process
Documents will create a standardized basin plan framework, but allow for regional flexibility

5. Salt/Nutrient Management Plans and Basin Plan Amendments
Documents designed to accommodate range of basin and salt/nutrient plan complexity
Can accommodate additional water quality issues, such as metals and constituents of emerging concern
Documents include:
Suggested salt/nutrient plan elements table of contents to support the Regional Board’s process
Standardized basin plan list of groundwater basins and associated beneficial uses
Basin plan amendment in table format
Environmental analysis with CEQA check list

6. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Elements
Required by the Recycled Water Policy
Monitoring Plan
Assess basin groundwater quality
Constituents and frequency
Monitor area of groundwater and surface water connectivity
Identify responsible stakeholder implementing the monitoring
CECs in recycled water

7. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Elements
Required by the Recycled Water Policy (cont.)
Water Recycling and Stormwater Recharge/Use Goals and Objectives
Salt/Nutrient Source Identification
Basin/Sub-Basin Assimilative Capacity
Loading Rates
Fate and Transport of Salt/Nutrients
Antidegradation Analysis
Implementation Measures to Manage S/N Loading

8. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Suggested Elements
Groundwater Basin Overview
Physiographic description
Groundwater basin identification and boundaries
Watershed boundaries
Geology
Hydrogeology/Hydrology
Recharge areas
Climate
Land cover and land use
Water sources

9. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Suggested Elements
Basin Water Quality
Groundwater quality: Past and present
Beneficial uses
Surface water quality: Effect on groundwater
Delivered water, imported water, and recycled water

10. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Suggested Elements
Water Balance & Salt/Nutrient Balances
Conceptual model
Basin inflow/outflow
Source identification
Loading estimates
Basin “assimilative capacity”
Fate and transport of salt/nutrients

11. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan: Suggested Elements
Salt/Nutrient Management Strategies
Load reduction goals
Changes in land development and use
Salt/Nutrient management options
Feasibility analysis
Cost analysis

12. Salt/Nutrient Management Plan
The need for additional studies will be dictated by the complexity of the basin
Type and number of sources of salts/nutrients
Quantity (load) of salt/nutrient discharged
Impairments and/or threats to groundwater quality and beneficial uses
Data gaps

13. Basin Plan Amendments for Salt/Nutrients
Envision three types of Basin Plan Amendments, characteristics include:
Individual Plan-basin large in size, complex land-use, heavily used, water quality threatened
High Salinity Plan-coastal basins with naturally high salinity not currently used as a source of water and interior naturally saline basin (Res. No )
No Threat Plan-basins with minimal or no known current threat to water quality; address all basins within a Region with single basin plan amendment

14. Progress to Date
February 2009 State Water Board adopts Recycled Water Policy
May RW Policy became effective
July State Water Board adopts General Permit Waste Discharge Requirements for Landscape Irrigation Uses of Municipal Recycled Water
August State Water Board memo to Regional Water Boards on implementing RW Policy
September coordination meetings between State Water Board and WateReuse begin

15. Progress to Date (cont.)
September Water Boards establish Salt/Nutrient Management Group to coordinate Water Boards’ role
November State Water Board hires Recycled Water Ombudsperson Jagroop Khela
November WateReuse holds 3 kick-off workshops, State Water Board participates
May Salt/Nutrient Management Group presents draft basin plan amendment templates
June CEC Advisory Panel Report

16. Regional Water Boards’ Progress
North Coast Water Board- stakeholder group starts to plan process for Santa Rosa Plains Basin; and proposing a basin plan amendment for groundwater with the intent to address the requirements of the Recycled Water Policy on a region basis
Central Coast Water Board- conducted two workshop sessions: March 3 and March 10, refer to Regional Board website for information
Lahontan Water Board- discusses S/N plan requirements at the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) meetings and two watershed group meetings; development of SNMP effort in the Antelope Valley

17. Regional Water Boards’ Progress
Los Angeles Water Board- contacting stakeholders to form a SNMP group for the Santa Clara River area
Santa Ana Water Board- adopted a resolution, “Declaration of Conformance with the Recycled Water Policy” in March 2010

18. Regional Water Boards’ Progress (cont.)
Central Valley Water Board- In February, the "Salt and Nitrate Sources Pilot Implementation Study Report" finalized and posted on the Central Valley Salinity Coalition web site (
San Diego Water Board- Following Oct kick-off meeting San Diego County Water Authority and Southern California Salinity Coalition begin preparing Tiered Guidelines for Preparation of Salt and Nutrient Management Plans for San Diego Region, and a White Paper on strategies for compliance with iron and manganese discharge requirements.

19. Future Activities
State Water Board consideration of recommendations from CEC advisory panel – planned for Fall, 2010
Continue working with DWR to allow Prop 84 funds to be used for development of salt/nutrient management plans
Collection of information on recycled water use
State Water Board Information Item
Planned for October 2010
Implementation of Recycled Water Policy
Status of Salt/Nutrient Management Plans

20. How can we assist you? Darrin Polhemus, Deputy Director
(916)
Liz Haven, Assistant Deputy Director
(916)
Gordon Innes, Senior Water Resources Control Engineer
(916)
Jagroop Khela, Water Recycling Ombudsperson
(916)