AGU: Many of California’s threatened species live in reused water — for better or worse

Photo: During the dry season, about 90% of the water flowing into the LA River is treated wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants.

In the parched west, reusing water is a must. But scientists are still working to understand how reused, treated municipal waste water might impact the environments it’s released into. This water can have negative impacts, such as eutrophication, but can also provide new flow for spots where water had been diverted or dried up long ago. While many studies have explored the impact of reused water on water quality, fewer have examined its impacts on flora and fauna.

A new study maps out California’s watersheds and how much of their water is reused. The researchers found that about one-third of all watersheds get most of their base flow water from treated water. These watersheds are typically densely populated or used for agriculture, such as the Los Angeles Basin, the Inland and Central Valleys, and the San Francisco Bay region.

The researchers then checked to see how many threatened or endangered animal species of a wide variety are present in the watersheds. They found that one-quarter of these species had 100% of their range in watersheds with at least one water treatment plant.

Localized, species-specific research will be necessary to discern […]

Full article: mavensnotebook.com