Southern California Agricultural Water Team

Water Quality Regulation:

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LA/Ventura Ag Waiver Program- Water Board Staff Annual Report (PDF file, 1 MB)

Water Runoff program gains five more years

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Conditional Waivers for Agriculture

As water applied for irrigation flows to surface streams or percolates into the ground, it may carry with it residual contaminants such as nutrients or pesticides that had been applied to the crop. Runoff from irrigated lands is subject to regulation by regional water boards since the runoff (including percolation to groundwater) carries various contaminants to the receiving stream or aquifer. In the past, most regional water boards covered these discharges under a blanket waiver which provided a broad exemption from further regulation. These earlier waivers, in most, if not all cases, acknowledged the existence of a water quality problem from irrigation runoff but required no active measures on the part of the grower.

Only recently have the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards begun to make their irrigated agriculture waivers more stringent. This was prompted by new legislation that required each regional board to reconsider the status of existing waivers it had issued in the past and to renew those waivers or let them lapse. Had the waivers been allowed to lapse, individual permits from each potential source would have been required.
Each regional water board has taken a different approach to controlling runoff from agricultural lands. Currently, four of the nine regional boards have each adopted what is called a "conditional waiver" or "conditional Ag waiver" for irrigation runoff. The conditional waiver allows the discharge to occur but growers are required to take specific actions. Monitoring of waters downstream of the source of irrigated lands is a key component of these waivers. Monitoring is accomplished through participation in monitoring coalitions or groups to provide more cost effective results although the opportunity exists for individual growers to act independent of any group.

Conditional Ag waivers are formally known as Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges from Irrigated Lands. Despite its long title, the waiver’s key concept is straightforward. The conditional Ag waiver allows the Regional Board to get more information on water quality; identify exactly where the pollutants are coming from; and determine why established tolerances are being exceeded. The conditional Ag waiver requires potential contributors of the pollutants (which could be growers) to adopt in-field measures, known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), to prevent pollutants from finding their way into streams, rivers and groundwater.

The Central Valley Regional Water Board was the first to adopt this new approach that relies on increased monitoring of surface waters to verify that no adverse water quality effects are occurring from runoff associated with irrigated agriculture in July 2003. The Central Coast Regional Water Board adopted a similar conditional waiver in July 2004 and the Los Angeles Regional Water board in November 2005. The latter has jurisdiction over growers in Los Angeles as well as Ventura County. San Diego was the latest to adopt a conditional waiver in January 2008. The San Diego Regional Water board began developing a new conditional Ag waiver in late 2006. Prior to the adoption of the new waiver, San Diego already had one in place but it is not one of the "newer" versions that require grower registration. On March 27, 2008 the San Diego Farm Bureau held a workshop to provide better understanding of water quality runoff management and inform growers about the new irrigated agricultural waiver and how it will affect your operation. The California Avocado Commission will continue to closely watch and provide updates on this and other conditional waivers on this website.

Follow the links below to read about the three California conditional Ag waiver programs.

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