Editor’s Note: The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) recently published its February update, which can be read in its entirety here.
Dairies, Cattle Ranches to Receive Early March Letter from Water Board Regarding New Modesto Nitrate Management Zone Resolutions
In early March, dairies and certain cattle operations in the Modesto area will receive a letter from the Central Valley Water Board announcing a tentative resolution and public comment period for the Modesto Nitrate Management Zone Implementation Plan (MZIP). The resolution proposes to approve the MZIP, which focuses on ensuring safe drinking water through well testing, replacement water, and long-term solutions, while phasing in nitrate reduction efforts over relatively long time frames. Dairies that are members of the Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program (CVDRMP) are already in compliance and do not need to take immediate action. Similar nitrate management resolutions are expected in other groundwater basins, and continued attention to manure management is strongly advised.
What do dairies and cattle facilities need to know?
In early March, dairies in the Modesto area will receive a letter from the Central Valley Water Board (Water Board) announcing a new tentative resolution and the opening of a public comment period. A similar letter will be sent to non-milking confined cattle operations around the Central Valley. This article is intended to provide information so dairy and cattle owner/operators may understand what the letter and the proposed resolution contain. The key take-home message for dairies and cattle operations is, don’t panic, because:
- If you are a member of the Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program, you are already in compliance with what the proposed resolution and associated orders are currently asking for,
- There is no immediate need for you to do anything else, and
- Future specific obligations are to be developed and phased in over time and you will be given plenty of notice about what those are, well in advance of any deadlines.
What is the Water Board letter about?
The Water Board is announcing to water quality permit holders and the public, via the letter and other methods, that it is proposing to take an action, and it is opening a public comment period. Specifically, the Water Board says it intends to approve a plan submitted by the Valley Water Collaborative on behalf of all water quality permit holders in the Modesto Nitrate Management Zone. The management zone covers portions of Stanislaus County (see map on next page). The plan the board intends to approve is called a Management Zone Implementation Plan (or MZIP). You can find a copy of the Modesto MZIP here, but be warned that it is a very large document. Therefore, we summarize its key elements here.
What is the Modesto Management Zone Implementation Plan?
The plan is a detailed blueprint for assuring a safe rural drinking water supply in the Modesto Groundwater Basin. The plan is already under way. Water quality permit holders in the area have agreed to provide free well testing to rural domestic well users, and if the wells test too high for nitrate, free replacement water is offered. The plan calls for both interim solutions like bottled water delivery, and longer-term solutions phased in over time, such as consolidation with/connection to larger public water systems or in-home treatment systems.
In exchange, the Water Board grants an “exception” to all participating water quality permit holders, including dairies and cattle operations, from current water quality objectives for nitrate. That exception can extend up to 35 years, giving permit holders the time they need to meet the water quality standards – standards that for most are not feasible to meet with today’s practices and technology.
What do dairies and cattle facilities receiving the letter need to do?
Dairies and cattle facilities receiving the Water Board letter do not need to do anything immediately. Industry groups are actively engaged in the public process. As noted before, if you are a dairy or cattle operation in the Modesto Management Zone, the proposed resolution does apply to you, but you are already in compliance with it for now.
What about dairies and cattle facilities in other areas?
The Water Board has plans to implement similar orders over the next year or so in other Nitrate Management Zones, including in the Kings, Kaweah, Chowchilla, Turlock and Tule groundwater basins. We will continue to advise you as these are rolled out, and again, in the near term, CVDRMP membership constitutes compliance.
What about the state dairy order?
The State Water Resources Control Board released a draft dairy order in December 2024. It is currently being revised and a new version is expected to be released for public review sometime this year. The current tentative Modesto order is different in that it only applies in the Modesto subbasin area and applies to all water quality permit holders. We will keep you advised about the state dairy order as information becomes available.
Words to the wise about manure management
For several years now, CDQAP, CVDRMP, Dairy Cares and producer trade associations have all advised dairies to increase the amount of attention they pay to manure management, and to develop plans and expertise to improve accounting for manure nitrogen and exporting or treating surplus manure. Funding is available via CDFA’s Alternative Manure Management Program and Dairy Plus, and through federally funded programs like USDA NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program. With the release of the tentative Modesto resolution, this advice is more important than ever. Producers are urged to work with trusted consultants and their trade associations and co-operative representatives to make sure you are taking the steps now that will position you for success in the future.
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