runoff

Methamidophos is extremely toxic to birds, fish and bees and can cause devastating ecosystem impacts if runoff enters waterways or seeps into groundwater.

In the case of Lake Erie and many other bodies of water, toxic algae forms due to a combination of phosphorus-rich farm runoff meeting rising water temperatures due to climate change.

Since 2018, the Salton Sea no longer gets an inflow of fresh water, only agricultural runoff, so it is evaporating and shrinking while the exposed, dry lake bed area is expanding, feeding clouds of particulate.

The overarching goal, as managers of water agencies describe it, is to plan for a warming climate with longer droughts and more extreme storm runoff patterns.

The Mono Lake Committee and other environmental groups have urged the city to reduce reliance on Sierra snowmelt through efforts closer to home, including recycling wastewater, capturing stormwater runoff and cleaning up contaminated groundwater.