Is Brine Just Fine? USGS Scientist Helps Evaluate Demonstration Wetland Test

Demonstration wetland at Henderson, NV.

The Southern California Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation is supporting the involvement of USGS botanist Joan Daniels, a wetland specialist who is helping to monitor and evaluate a constructed wetland in Oxnard, CA. The wetland demonstration project at the City of Oxnard's wastewater recycling plant is part of an effort to discover if "reject water" from the plant's process can be used to help restore wetlands habitat. Currently, Daniels and Reclamation colleague Katharine Dahm are preparing the water quality and plant/sediment monitoring plan. Daniels has already taken the plant and sediment baseline samples, which are being analyzed at Colorado State University's Soil, Water, and Plant Laboratory in Fort Collins, CO. Once the City of Oxnard begins to add briny water (from the reverse osmosis process used to treat the wastewater) to the wetland, Daniels will begin monitoring the plant survival and participating in the evaluation of the wetland's water treatment abilities. The work at this demonstration site was described in a recent Ventura County (CA) Star article.

For more information contact: Joan S. (Thullen) Daniels