Elevated salinity and nitrate levels in surface water and groundwater are an increasing water quality concern throughout California, with salinity and nitrate impairments having been identified throughout the Central Valley. Therefore, in 2006, the Central Valley Regional Water
Quality Control Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, and stakeholders began a joint effort to develop a workable plan to address salinity, including nitrates, throughout the region in a comprehensive, consistent and sustainable manner.. Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for
Long-Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) is a collaborative basin planning effort aimed at developing and implementing a comprehensive salinity and nitrate management program. The CV-SALTS Management Practices Subcommittee is working to identify effective management
practices (MPs) that will reduce salinity and nitrate discharges from a multitude of sectors, including drinking and irrigation water, stormwater, wetlands, municipal and industrial wastewater, food processing industries, agriculture, and dairies.