Wetlands along the central coast are prone to increases of nitrate concentration due to farming activities.
Thanks to recent wetland restoration efforts done by community farmers, that concern has lessened according to a study three decades in the making involving the Moro Cojo Slough.
Ross Clark with Central Coast Wetlands Group explains how that is possible..
“Over 70 acres of wetlands in the Moro Cojo watershed have been able to remove a lot of the nitrate off the land before it gets to the natural ecosystem. For instance, we have one drainage of about a thousand acres of ag land owned by a number of different farmers, that drain into one of our treatment wetlands. We can show that the nitrogen load that comes in is completely removed before it discharges into the natural drainage and into the bay”, Clark said.
In addition to these efforts, water bond funding measures passed by California voters have provided monetary support in improving water quality throughout these farm lands.
