Theme
Out of the 6 major themes developed amongst group members, I have decided to pursue the impact of winery practices on regional water supplies in Sonoma County. I have attempted to find sources that outline; costs (monetary, environmental, social etc.) associated with water management schemes, general agricultural trends and viticulture practices, current societal debates surrounding vineyard water-use, and sustainable alternatives.
Grey Lit
Bland, Alastair. “The wrath of grapes.” Bohemian. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Bohemian is a local Californian newspaper distributed in Sonoma County. Bland’s article is interested in the political implications of the wine industry’s stronghold in the region and how its preferential relationship with the County has enabled unregulated water withdrawal from local streams and rivers. The newspaper article draws attention to the corruption of the legal system, arguing that certain vineyard owners have proceeded with environmentally questionable development plans by skirting much of the law. Often times the lack of regulation for proposed wineries has included the omission of environmental impact reports or the proper assessment of environmental risks. The article illuminates the intersection between a legal framework and corporate stakeholder interests by discussing how gains of the wine industry have promoted the mismanagement of regional water supplies and stressed the current water shortage.
Parrish, Will. “Feature: Coho vs. pinot – pacific Sun.” Pacific Sun. N.p., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
The newspaper article explores the threat of local Sonoma vineyard water use practices/schemes (namely irrigation) on the survival of endangered salmon and at-risk trout populations. As discussed, a commonly employed protective practice called “frost-guarding” uses overhead sprinklers to form a protective layer of ice to cover budding grapes during the winter months. The large water intake necessary for the protective practice is coupled with the unregulated implementation of pumps by wineries, which do not align with the jurisdictional requirements of the California State Water Code. The environmental, political, and economic trends as outlined by Parrish, are useful for a holistic understanding of the threatening relationship between salmon populations and water-misuse by local vineyards.
Peer Review
Newburn, D. A., Brozovic, N., & Mezzatesta, M. (2011). Agricultural water security and instream flows for endangered species. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(4), 1212-1228. doi:10.1093/ajae/aar039
In their peer review study, Grantham et al. (2011) explore the relationship between agricultural water security and the implementation of environmental flow protections in the eastern portion of the Russian River basin in Sonoma County. They argue that restrictive environmental policies are linked with larger impacts for water users (greatest loss in water storage), and particularly vineyards, which “represent the dominant agricultural use in the region” (p. 316). Using GIS- based models, the study seeks to quantify the “tradeoffs” between flow protections in the river basin and water security for agricultural use, which includes; availability and demand, agricultural needs, and level of flow requirements. The research does provide significant insight into the topic thus far, highlighting a current gap in the research. Many anecdotal and scientific sources have so far focused their attention on the risk of agricultural water use on threatened fish populations, but Grantham et al. make a direct link and claim about the 2 key stakeholders by arguing that environmental security indeed implicates agricultural water use as well. To their note, “the ecological benefit of the environmental flow policies (i.e. protection of bypass flow days) was not always proportional to their water security impacts)” (325).
Deitch, M. J., Kondolf, G. M., & Merenlender, A. M. (2009). Hydrologic impacts of small-scale instream diversions for frost and heat protection in the california wine country. River Research and Applications, 25(2), 118-134. doi:10.1002/rra.1100
The study takes place in eastern Sonoma County, where streamflows were monitored at 7 different locations within sub-catchments of the Maacama and Franz Creek. The project aims to fill a gap in the current research on flow regimes, examining the effects of smaller-scale water projects and diversions on streamflow. Manipulating flows by way of smaller, individual, and more dispersed diversions (as opposed to large-scale, centralized water projects like dams) may not have large individual impacts, but cumulative ones. In Sonoma County, where “virtually all agricultural water needs are met individually and locally” (Deitch et al., 2009, p. 119), water withdrawals tend to parallel individual needs, which typically occur when streamflow is already low/more vulnerable (i.e. in the dry season/summer months). This finding is significant because agricultural water diversions made for both frost protection (“frost-guarding”) and heat protection practices used by vineyards are heavily dependent on weather conditions and consequently of relevance to our case study when observed from the perspective of current regional drought conditions. Furthermore, the study addresses another current consensus that small, individual diversions, especially when they are dispersed over time and space, post particular challenges for measurement. The research thus provides some insight into how management practices may be able to deter particular ecological consequences if coupled with a more continuous and regulatory monitoring process.
Buelow, M. C., Steenwerth, K., Silva, L. C. R., & Parikh, S. J. (2015). Characterization of winery wastewater for reuse in california. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 66(3), 302-310. doi:10.5344/ajev.2015.14110
Buelow et al.’s study is contextualized within a larger discussion about the increasing demand for fresh water sources. As a result, the research was interested in the usability of treated winery wastewater (WWW) as a management alternative to fresh water sources for viticulture practices (ex. for irrigation and landscaping). The research objective was to identify WWW treatment options and to assess the hazards of salinity levels of WWW. In order to test this, samples from 18 wineries were first gathered by winery employees and then assessed at UC Davis’s Dept. of Land, Air and Water Resources lab for a variety of chemical characteristics, including acidity levels (i.e. pH, electrical conductivity, the concentration of cation and anions, levels of organic carbon, and biological oxygen demand). As a result, “the study strongly suggests that WWW has great potential for onsite reuse” (Buelow et al., 2015, p. 309). The evidence is quite remarkable considering it presents “the first data set of its kind to support California growers and vintners in the reuse of treated winery wastewater (WWW)” according to United States Department of Agriculture. The study is particularly useful because it highlights an alternative solution to a problem (lack of fresh water) that has plagued Sonoma County. Irrigation practices have currently exhausted the existing regional water shortage, so anything that can potentially alleviate the burden proves progressive.
Moran, T. C. (2012). Water into wine. Boom, 2(1), 78. doi:10.1525/boom.2012.2.1.78
Water into Wine is not centered on any main argument in particular, but rather comprehensively outlines the human development in Sonoma County, fish and current endangered statuses, hopes for reconciliation, and future prospects. Moran names the current regional water conditions as the “extinction vortex”, claiming that annual peaks in human demands for water, and location of human development, prove incompatible with natural flow patterns and water supply in the different catchments of the Russian River. Furthermore, the author addresses a future habitat modification model that could re-shape the creek bed (Dry Creek) in order to make it more suitable for juvenile coho Salmon. Although costly in its own right, the system is cheaper than many alternatives and the “outcome could be very important to the recovery of protected fish” according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (Moran, 2012, p. 85). The source is useful for the case study project because it outlines the history of river planning in Sonoma County, providing context for the transformation of Dry Creek Valley into a vineyard monoculture, while also making general claims about human development’s impact on native fish and wildlife’s capacity to survive in the Russian River. Although the work may not be as extensively cited as others, or with a specific research objective in mind, it is noteworthy because it draws information from many useful local sources, including state and federal agencies like NMFS.
Raw Data
North Sonoma County Agricultural Reuse Project- Executive Summary
The document (March 2009) is a project proposal put forth by the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA). The executive summary for the project outlines the purpose/objective of the project, background information, public and agency involvement, while mainly focusing on environmental impacts and available mitigation measures of the project itself. The SCWA is responsible for regulating the flow of the Russian River, supplying water to cities and public agencies, flood control, and providing wastewater management services throughout Sonoma County. The project emerged in the context of current regional and federal concerns regarding agricultural practices and their impacts on fisheries resources and habitat within the Russian River and its tributaries. As stated, the SCWA “believes the use of recycled water to offset surface and groundwater sources used by agricultural entities in the Russian River […] could benefit fisheries in the Russian River watershed” (p. 3). The goal of the reuse project is to ultimately provide a sustainable and reliable water supply for agricultural use, while reducing the use of surface water in Sonoma County. The proposal is useful because it reveals attempts (even if just proposed) by the County to counter some of the ecological impacts of extensive agricultural water use.
USDA California Agricultural Statistics Crop Yield (2013)
The Crop Year Status report was a joint project conducted between the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service, and California Pacific Regional Field Office. The report was compiled for the 2013 year and distributed on April 2015. It can be gathered that next to almonds, grapes remained California’s third agricultural crop in 2013, and U.S.’s number one. Hence why California grapes accounted for over 90% of utilized grape production in the U.S. (2013) (p. 43). In addition, over 820,000 acres of area were harvested in the 2013 calendar year, a value almost unmatched by any other fruit, nut, or vegetable crop (see below for commentary).
Sonoma County Crop Report (2014)
The Crop Report for Sonoma County (2014) was produced under the Agricultural Commissioner for the Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures. The report outlines the gross production values for regional agricultural production including; winegrapes, apples, nursery, livestock etc. As outlined by the report, although the 2014 calendar year represented the 3rd consecutive year of “severe drought […] the conditions did not have a significant impact on the county’s main crop, winegrapes” (p. 2). The report also notes the total bearing acreage for major crops, their tons per acre, total tons, and subsequently $ per ton. In 2014, the total gross production value for winegrapes equaled $596,972,000, a significantly higher value than any other crop in the region.
Both the local and federal (USDA and Sonoma County) reports above contextualize the dominance of viticulture in Sonoma County, corresponding to claims found in other reports and academic sources that conclude that the industry’s extensive presence in the region ultimately influences the County’s supply of water.