San Joaquin Valley Water Pollution Essay

Water Pollution in San Joaquin Valley San Joaquin Valley is a place that stretches from 7 different counties such as Stanislaus to Kern county. San Joaquin Valley is known for their agriculture land since the late 19th century, which feeds most of the United States with the vegetables and fruits that are grown in the valley. The rich life of life in agricultural fields rely on the water supply that the valley contains such as groundwater and water on shore. Throughout the past decades, the water quality in San Joaquin Valley becomes to decrease from clean water to polluted water. In recent years, the water is becoming an issue towards the people residing in San Joaquin Valley, which is affecting people’s health by consuming polluted water

Farmers began to grow their crops in San Joaquin Valley for more than 100 years. Farms in the valley produce mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, and dairy and they are the main manufacturers in international markets and major suppliers in the United States (Hanak & Arnold, 2017). Farmers are using polluted groundwater to grow their crops and harming the environment by drying rivers and causing people to get health problems. The reason that there are pesticides in nitrates in groundwater in San Joaquin Valley may be the fact that there is a long history of farming and irrigation and generally permeable sediments (Burow & Dubrowvsky, 2014). The first organization that noticed the growth of nitrates in groundwater is the Regional Aquifier System Analyses Program. In 1995, the National Water Quality Assessment Program collected water samples from thirty domestic wells to understand the concentrations and occurrence of pesticides and nitrates (Burow & Dubrowsky,