Pesticides make it into our waterways by runoff, overspray and intentional, illegal dumping, such as when spray equipment is rinsed into waterways. I’ve been concerned with the blending of treated and untreated wastewater mingling with pesticides for a long time because of what I’ve learned about pesticides.

It’s my understanding that the bacteria, viruses and radiation that commonly occur in wastewaters are not entirely removed before being released. In studying pesticides used locally, I’ve come across some that are referred to as “viral enhancing,� or have proven to be a growth medium for bacteria like E. coli.

Imagine just one commonly used pesticide that creates explosive growth of E. coli contacting the bacteria in a wastewater-fed estuary. That can’t be good for wildlife or the crops that wildlife might drip E. coli-rich estuary water on. In the big picture, will releasing 14 million gallons a day of wastewater into the Santa Clara estuary condense rather that dilute a pollution problem where the long-term negative synergistic effects will outweigh any positive, short-term benefits?

Without a comprehensive inventory of every contaminate entering the estuary, and their known interactions, this could be a colossal disaster. Mixing bacteria and viruses with bacteria and viral enhancing chemicals and radiation may be a good plotline for a B-movie, but it hardly seems like a benefit to wildlife, human health, the environment or the agricultural economy.

— Deborah Bechtel, Camarillo