The Sacramento Branch has continued to have good attendance at the Branch meetings, which have provided social and networking opportunities over a good variety of technical discussions. We are currently working with CSUS to develop a local student presence for the organization. 

An overview of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program was provided at the February meeting, held on Thursday the 27th at the royal Hong King Lum Restaurant in Sacramento. Mary Scoonover, a Deputy Attorney General in the Land Section of the Public Rights Division of the California Department of Justice, provided the informative, broad brush overview of the program, which was very interesting. The CALFED Bay-Delta Program is a cooperative effort among state and federal agencies and the public to ensure a healthy ecosystem, reliable water supplies, good water quality, and stable levees in California's Bay-Delta system. The program mission is to develop a long-term comprehensive plan that will ensure ecological health and improve water management for beneficial uses of the Bay-Delta. The program started in June 1995 as a collaborative effort to address a declining ecosystem, uncertain water supplies, imperiled water quality, and unstable levees in California's Bay-Delta, the region where the San Francisco Bay meets the Sacramento/San Joaquin River estuary. This 738,000 acre area of channels, sloughs, and islands is a critical habitat for 120 fish and wildlife species. It also serves as the hub of California's water distribution system, supplying drinking water to approximately 20 million people in northern, central, and southern California and irrigation water to roughly 4 million acres of farmland. The CALFED Bay-Delta Program has been divided into three phases. Phase 1, conducted in 1995 and 1996, included the problem identification, mission statement, guiding policy, and three alternative solutions development for the Bay-Delta problems. In Phase II (ongoing), the feasibility of the three alternative solutions is being evaluated, a comparative analysis conducted, and a preferred alternative solution will be selected. Phase III, currently scheduled for late 1998, or early 1999 and projected to require many years to complete, will involve implementing the selected alternative. For more information, visit CALFED's home page at [http://calfed.ca.gov]. 

Joseph C, Stagner, PE, provided an interesting presentation on a development on groundwater remediation technology featuring simultaneous in-well air-lift pumping and treatment by aeration of groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (see article in the next issue). This remarkably simple device (no moving parts), the Multi-Stage In-Well Aerator (Aerator), is considerably less expensive in initial capital costs and operation and maintenance costs than conventional air stripping. The Aerator capitalizes on the high Henry's Law constants of most solvents, and operates on essentially the same principles as a conventional air stripper. Engineering design parameters for the Aerator include the air/water flow ratio, number of successive aeration passes, water temperature, concentration and Henry's Law constant of target contaminants. Mr. Stagner, who presently holds the position of Solid Waste Manager with the University of California Davis, discussed how the Aerator was employed in a remedial action. 

The April meeting was held on the evening of the 24th at Placer Hall, California State University Sacramento, the joint facilities of the CSUS Geology Department and the Water Resources Division of the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) California District office.  

An overview of injection pilot tests to assess feasibility of storage and recovery of imported surface water from production wells, City of Lancaster, California, was presented by Steve Phillips, Hydrologist with the USGS. The purpose of the tests is to determine the general feasibility of injecting and recovering imported surface water through the existing production wells, and to collect data required for development of an injection program management tool. Early (1994) tests showed unexpectedly large changes in land surface with the onset of injection, so measurement and analysis of these changes became a secondary goal in subsequent tests (April 1996, November 1996 to April 1997).  

Several methods were used to monitor the hydraulic effects of injection, and to learn more about the relation between injection and aquifer system deformation. Water levels were measured continuously or periodically in wells near the injection site. Microgravity surveys were made to measure mass changes for the purposes of mapping the position of the water table and determining water storage capacity of the aquifer. Aquifer-system deformation was measured directly with a two-stage borehole extensometer, and indirectly with a continuous GPS station, first-order leveling, and an L-shaped array of tiltmeters. These data will be utilized to constrain a numerical model of groundwater flow and aquifer-system deformation, which will be linked to optimization tools for use in managing an injection program. Also provided was an overview of the USGS California regional activities, presented by Walt Swain, Hydrologist with the USGS.  

The USGS is a pure research organization, with no data generated being proprietary. Current USGS programs in California include: earthquake hazard assessment and mapping; flood forecasting/surface water data collection and monitoring; volcanic hazard assessment and monitoring; landslide hazard studies and map development; San Francisco Bay/Delta System monitoring and assessment; marine waste assessment and mapping; Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary studies; San Joaquin-Tulare, Sacramento, and Santa Ana River Basin National Water Quality Assessment Program long term monitoring for changes in water quality; water supply/water management including a comprehensive approach integrating surface and groundwater resources; investigation of saltwater intrusion into Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties; geologic resource studies and mapping; reduction of environmental impacts of mining through better byproduct recovery; mercury distribution and source identification in the Cache Creek drainage area; studies on threatened or endangered species throughout California, as well as focused evaluations of the rare desert tortoise and Mojave Desert; southeastern California Colorado Desert assessment that includes studies of the environmental impact of mined and un-mined mineral deposits, baseline and background studies to protect numerous threatened and protected species; Sierra Nevada Ecosystem studies; topographic mapping.  

For more information: USGS, Placer Hall, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6129; phone (916) 278-3026; e-mail [dc_ca@usgs.gov]; California District Home Page [http://water.wr.usgs.gov/]; USGS Home Page [http://www.usgs.gov/]; for USGS reports, maps and products call 1-800-USA-MAPS. 

The following two meeting will be reported in the next Issue of HydroVisions. 

May 22, 1997 - Litigation of Groundwater Contamination Cases - Minefields and Pitfalls - Dan Costa, Esq., of Diepenbrock & Costa of Sacramento provided a discussion on the litigation process, including initial investigations, prosecuting and defending groundwater contamination actions, presentation of expert witness testimony, and typical issues such as fingerprinting of sources, contaminant migration history, procedural hurtles, importance of good record keeping, availability of insurance coverage, and settlement negotiation. 

June 19, 1997 - MTBE in California: An Overview - The oxygenate methyl tert- butyl ether (MTBE), added to reformulated gasoline to meet Federal and State requirements for cleaner burning fuel, has become a technical, regulatory and political focal point of controversy in California. The presentation, by Susan Henry, PhD, of Kennedy Jenks Consultants, provided an updated overview of issues associated with the use of MTBE in California and resultant impacts on groundwater and drinking water supplies. 

Future planned meetings of the Sacramento Branch include: 

July 17, 1997 - Statistics in Groundwater - To be presented by Barbara Heinsch of EMCON, Inc. - Hear an interesting presentation on a challenging subject. To be held at the royal Hong King Lum Restaurant, Sacramento. 

August 21, 1997 - USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) - An overview of the NAWQA program, design of the Sacramento studies, and results of the San Joaquin Valley studies. To be presented by Karen Borrow-Fogg and Barbara Rushdon of the USGS at Placer Hall, California State University Sacramento.