Made in Kern County
by Nora Siqin Xue
Riding down highway 33, known locally as the “Petroleum Highway,” a small packed van winded through the Central Valley. It passed through the continuing rows of almonds that are bloom by the California cool winter and mild spring, then soon transcended into a gigantic oil production field that drives California’s economy for generations.
After 21 years of living in Kern County, Alan Martinez, a third-year UCSB environmental science student, was thrilled to travel to his hometown during a class trip.
However, he soon learned a disturbing fact about the “Halos” and “Cutie” Mandarin oranges grown in the Central Valley that are popular in supermarkets all over the United States.
During the field trip, Gustavo Aguirre, Kern Environmental Enforcement Network Coordinator, guided the tour and explained that many food crops in the area are grown with “produced” water. Oil production wastewater is “purified” by adding groundwater to the wastewater mix and resold to local water districts for farming. The polluted water also affects livestock, Aguirre said.
“I was sad that was happening in my hometown,” Martinez said. “It’s something that I wouldn’t want to happen. I can’t imagine my food being grown there with that water. I wouldn’t want to eat it if I knew where it came from.”
Located in Kern County, the 115-year-old Kern River Oilfield is the third largest oil field in California and the tenth largest in the United States. According to UCSB environmental studies professor Julie Maldonado, the oil field is about 20 square miles with 10,000 producing wells, approximately producing 67,000 barrels of oil and 783,000 barrels of “produced” water every day.
The current operator of the Kern River Field, Chevron, has been selling this recycled oil field wastewater to the Cawelo Water District and the North Kern Water Storage District for more than 20 years. The water travels the canal to 90 farms growing pistachios, almonds, grapes, citrus fruits and other crops, which are widely purchased in grocery stores and exported to global markets.
Grapes, almonds, pistachios, milk and citrus are Kern County’s top five commodities in gross income. They accomplish $2.8 billion or 60 percent of the total gross value of Kern County agriculture. For Kern County, the fourth most productive agricultural county in California, water is the lifeblood of the community.
However, the water quality remains controversial. In 2010, Water Defense, a New York-based environmental group, collected water samples from Cawelo and found high levels of toxic compounds in wastewater, including acetone, methylene chloride and hydrocarbons.
Professor Maldonado has devoted many research hours to understanding Kern County’s oil production in the past decade. She pointed out that Kern County, adhering with oil production, drought and agriculture issues, was one of case studies in the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. While acknowledging Kern County’s oil field and water system may raise everyday environmental issues, she found it inspiring to show the site to her students.
During the toxic tour, Aguirre told students that the seedless Mandarin oranges grown by the Wonderful Company, known as “Cuties” which have subsequently been rebranded “Halos” were observed being irrigated by the Cawelo Water District. The irrigation water, as it came out of the drip hoses under the trees, clearly and strongly smelled like it contained hydrocarbons.
A peer-reviewed research article by Ashley Cohen from the University of California, Davis reported that hydraulic fracturing is a wastewater recycling technique currently used in California for supplying crop irrigation. This method mixes together chemicals with a large amount of water, which produces an excess of fluids and eventually separates natural gas, oil and wastewater.
Hydraulic fracturing proprietary blends contain several hundred compounds and many of them are linked with health risks, such as cancer, endocrine disruption and individual organ deterioration. Besides, wastewater includes methane, highly concentrated salts and radioactive materials.
Cohen showed that hydraulic fracturing wastewater chemicals and Kern County water reuse site samples have several overlapping elements, which are considered risky for human health.
In addition, the researcher stated that even the most effective wastewater treatment technologies fail to completely remove toxic compounds from the water and are often selectively applied due to high cost.
On the other side, the local water official denied that water generated during hydraulic fracturing was implemented for agricultural purposes. Based on the Cawelo Water District’s recent announcement, a third-party environmental toxicologist Dr. Heriberto Robles analyzed the testing data of Cawelo produced water sample and measured the quantity of chemical compounds.
It’s reported that in Cawelo’s produced water supply, the organic compounds are safe for drinking and agriculture because they do not exceed the standards. More specifically, the acetone levels are 280 times below the maximum concentration considered safe for drinking water and the petroleum levels of hydrocarbons are 750 times below safe drinking water standards.
The Cawelo Water District asserted that they are committed to working with regulators to guarantee the recycled wastewater is within the regulatory quality standard and is healthy for irrigation in California. To confirm results from former research, they are planning more produced water and crops assessment in the next steps.
“The findings are relatively recent like the last two months,” Kern County organizer for Clean Water Action, Rosanna Esparza, said, “There is no definitive answer that yes the water is safe, or no the water isn’t safe.”
The rising uncertainty about the recycled produced water quality has continuingly puzzled Alan Martinez, the young resident of Kern County. “I guess a lot of people are living with some of that food,” Martinez said, “I don’t know how healthy that is.”
For him, Kern County was once the dearest destination. Lived at Shafter for most of his childhood and now lives in Bakersfield, Martinez said, “I liked it. I really did. The best thing about it was all my best friends live three blocks next to each other.”
Through first-hand experience, this young college student has learned the connection between oil production and agriculture in his hometown. By taking a step into the field of participatory research, Martinez observed the wastewater recycling system and experienced the pesticides and smells, and ultimately created a different path in his life story.
Returning from the toxic tour, Martinez shared his personal experience with others about the disconcerting impacts of oil and gas production. His family and friends were shocked and disgusted by the fact that their food is grown with recycled produced water.
Allegedly Cawelo Water Storage has been delivering irrigation water mixed with treated Chevron Kern River Oil Field water for more than two decades. Most local residents are not aware that this is happening. Martinez said that if he did not have the chance in class, he probably would never been to these places.
“Those people live in the city we saw, who is going to these area to see what’s going on?” Martinez said, “No one.”
As Esparza mentioned, to support the environmental justice, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has been gathering panel of experts to discuss human health concerns regarding the use of oil field produced water used for agricultural production. State officials, along with other agencies and representatives, have discussed produced water quality, treatment requirements and crop toxics. They highlighted potential health risks of oil field produced water used for agricultural production and proposed further solutions.
Besides the regulation the government has been working towards right now, Martinez claimed that if most residents where given the toxic tour of their own home area, it will create social change where enough people oppose the “purifying” of oil well water for food crops. Toxic tourism is good way to relay that information, as it gives the tourist as real life integration with the problem.
“No treated water should irrigate areas where food is grown,” Martinez said, “There will be a lot to pass forward.” He plans to pursue environmental science management in graduate school and take the necessary steps to change the situation in his hometown.
“We can’t look at these things in isolation. It’s not just about oil development; it’s not just about agriculture. All these things are together, which makes an interesting case,” professor Maldonado said, “In California, we think how we live environmental marine, but we forget how much this issue is happening right here.”
