Pubdate: Sat, 10 May 2014
Source: Willits News (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Willits News
Contact:  http://www.willitsnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4085
Author: Will Houston

STUDY SHOWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWS DRYING LOCAL WATERSHEDS

Acreage With Pot Plants Spikes in Humboldt County, Endangered Salmon Threatened

While illegal marijuana grows often catch the blame for causing 
environmental damage, results from a four-year state study show that 
outdoor medical marijuana grows are diverting enough water to suck 
local watersheds dry.

The study examined flow rates and the number of medical marijuana 
grows in three Humboldt County watersheds - Salmon Creek and northern 
and southern Redwood Creek - and Outlet Creek in Mendocino County 
from 2009 to 2012.

Fish and Wildlife environmental scientist Scott Bauer was struck with 
the idea for the study four years ago after the department was 
alerted to a rise in complaints.

"We started getting called out to assess environmental damages of 
these grows," Bauer said. "We thought, 'Wow, this is happening a lot 
more frequently.' We thought maybe we should look at this on a larger scale."

Using Google Earth aerial imagery, Bauer began calculating the 
acreage of land being used for medical marijuana cultivation near 
each watershed. After comparing acreage data from 2009 through 2012, 
Bauer made a "striking" discovery.

"In our study, the amount of area being used for cultivation had 
grown anywhere from 70 to 100 percent," Bauer said. "It essentially doubled."

To calculate the number of cannabis plants being grown in each 
watershed, Bauer - along with members of county sheriff's offices and 
the North Coast Water Quality Control Board - visited 32 grow sites. 
During the site visits, the researchers recorded the spatial 
arrangement and canopy area of the plants, along with how the water 
was being obtained.

After the visits, it was estimated that there are roughly 30,000 
marijuana plants being grown per watershed. Admitting that aerial 
imagery is not as accurate as a direct plant count, Bauer said he was 
confident with the figure.

"The canopy issue was a big one, and we had good sources saying that 
your numbers are too low," he said. "We obviously missed some plants. 
The greenhouse issue was also brought up, with people saying, 'Well, 
what if they're growing tomatoes?' They're in the middle of nowhere, 
and the market is two hours away. For every greenhouse I've ever been 
to, that hasn't been the case."

Using Humboldt Growers Association's estimate that each plant 
requires about 6 gallons of water per day, with a 150-day growing 
season from June through October, Bauer calculated the total amount 
of water used from each watershed. He compared that information with 
flow data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

"If the current level of activity continues, we'll have dry streams 
and less fish," Bauer said. "We found that in three of four 
watersheds, that essentially that cultivation could take all the 
water out of them."

The Humboldt County watershed data showed that water demand for grows 
exceeded the low flow estimates in both Salmon Creek and the southern 
Redwood Creek by nearly 250 percent. For upper Redwood Creek, it was 
23 percent.

If there is any disruption in low flows, the water warms up and you 
get all these negative impacts," Bauer said. "It greatly effects 
survival of juvenile salmon who live in these streams, and sometimes 
they don't come back. This affects our fisheries, sport fishing, 
commercial fishing and all the critters."

North Coast Water Board environmental scientist Stormer Feiler said 
he finds the same problems during his own site visits.

"It breaks up the streams from a continuous flow," Feiler said. "If 
there is not enough pool depth, that's a limitation for what can live 
there. We have to have a good amount of summer water for juvenile salmon."

Out of 150 environmental complaints he assesses each year, Feiler 
said nearly one-third are related to medical marijuana grows.

"Out of those, I get to investigate about half of them," Feiler said. 
"So far, I have not found a site that is in compliance with the law. 
These aren't legal grow sites unless they follow environmental regulations."

Despite medical marijuana being legal in California, Humboldt County 
Sheriff's Office Lt. Wayne Hanson said the methods used to grow the 
plants are often anything but that.

"Very rarely do I run into a legitimate marijuana grow," Hanson said. 
"The sheriff's office is not targeting those folks. But if they 
violate medical marijuana laws in how many plants they are growing or 
destroying the environment, they will be arrested and criminally 
charged. They have to face the consequences."

Hanson estimates that there are more than 5,000 medical marijuana 
grows in the county.

North Coast Water Board Executive Director Matt St. John said that 
there are no regulations specifically addressing environmental damage 
caused by medical marijuana grows.

"The State Water Board directed me to develop a regulatory program 
for the discharges from marijuana operations, and has given us the 
goal of trying to complete that by the end of this calender year," 
St. John said.

St. John said water diversion only makes up a portion of the 
environmental damage caused by grows. Other issues include illegal 
grading to build roads, fertilizer dumping and the use of rodenticides.

State Water Board spokesman Timothy Moran wrote in an email that 
there are still regulations in place regarding water diversions.

"Growers whose activities result in an unauthorized discharge to 
waters of the state, the diversion of water without a water right, 
and/or who fail to file a Statement of Water Diversion and Use when 
required could be subject to administrative civil liability of up to 
$10,000 per day and per violation."

Bauer said he will begin a follow-up study this month examining 
real-time flow data in the watersheds and measuring how fluctuations 
affect indicator organisms.

"Little bugs can tell a lot," Bauer said. "You'll lose certain bugs 
that are sensitive to changing flow patterns. You can compare them to 
reference watersheds that have no flow issues, and if you see certain 
bugs are missing, you can pretty much say there is something going on 
in that watershed."

With these studies, Bauer said he hopes growers will take the steps 
to come into compliance with environmental law.

"The long story short is we want people to conserve water and get 
permits," Bauer said. "Doesn't matter if you're growing grapes or 
tomatoes. It's not about the plant. It's about water quality, which 
affects us."

More information on State Water Board water diversion compliancy for 
medical marijuana growers can be found at 
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/publications_and_forms/available_documents/pdf/2013/130611_MarijuanFactSheet.pdf
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom