Salinity, drainage and selenium problems in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California

Highly productive, irrigated agriculture can be found in California's Central Valley made up of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Tulare Lake basins. High water tables throughout much of the San Joaquin and Tulare Lake portions of the Valley threaten this highly productive region. Due to topographic and environmental constraints much of the region is currently without drainage. In 1990 State and Federal government agencies combined to produce a report that outlined possible steps to deal with the drainage issue. These steps included: 1) Source control (practices to reduce the amount of drainage water); 2) Drainage reuse; 3) Evaporation systems; 4) Land retirement (cease irrigation); 5) Groundwater management; and 6) Discharge to the San Joaquin River. General background information to the history and hydrology of the Valley as well as a discussion of the feasibility and constraints of providing drainage by discharging drain water to the San Joaquin River are presented. In addition a general discussion of the technical and political limitations of providing drainage in the River are discussed.