California Groundwater Conference
Tony Morgan, PG, CHG, Principal Hydrogeologist, will present “California Water in 2024: A Year of Challenges, Change, and Consequences” and Jean-Luc Cartron, PhD, Biologist and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Lead, will present “PFAS Contamination of Wildlife at Holloman Lake: Record High Blood and Tissue Levels and Implications for Human Health” at the 2025 American Ground Water Trust (AGWT)-Association of Ground Water Agencies (AGWA) conference, which is taking place from February 3 to February 4 in Ontario, California. Luis Busso, PG, Senior Hydrogeologist will also be present and available to discuss DBS&A’s expertise in hydrology, hydrogeology, and related disciplines that provides clients with technical guidance to ensure optimal development, use, and management of groundwater, surface water, and recycled water resources.
As NEPA Lead, Dr. Cartron leads DBS&A’s natural resource team, consisting of renowned, high-caliber biologists and ecologists with the expertise to conduct research and perform the audits, inventories, technical analysis, and required reporting for compliance with federal and state environmental laws, including NEPA.
The objective of AGWT conferences is to showcase topical and/or controversial groundwater issues and to facilitate information sharing among landowners, groundwater end-users, regulators, management agencies, scientists, engineers, lawyers, and citizens who have economic or environmental interests in water resources. Learn more. DBS&A is proud to be a Groundwater Champion in sponsorship of the AGWT.
The AGWA was formed in 1994 by a group of eight groundwater basin management agencies. In 1995, it was incorporated in Southern California as a nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. Learn more.
Learn more about the event here.
Presentation Abstracts
California Water in 2024: A Year of Challenges, Change, and Consequences
Tony Morgan, PG, CHG
2024 was a pivotal year for California’s water management marked by legal shifts, infrastructure decisions, and ongoing struggles with drought, and water supply and quality. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Chevron doctrine has the potential to reshape regulatory interpretations. While Proposition 4 and new conservation legislation aimed to help secure the state’s water future, budget deficits threatened critical water programs, forcing difficult policy decisions. Reservoir levels fluctuated drastically, and over 400 water systems failed to meet state standards, highlighting the challenges of ensuring safe drinking water. Falling agricultural land values signaled the increasing impact of regulatory-imposed groundwater restrictions. As professionals in groundwater management, understanding these events and their interdependencies is key to navigating California’s uncertain water future.
PFAS contamination of wildlife at Holloman Lake: record-high blood and tissue levels and implications for human health
Jean-Luc E. Cartron1, 2, Christopher C. Witt2, Jonathan L. Dunnum2, Chauncey R. Gadek2, Joseph A. Cook2, and Andrew B. Johnson2
1 Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.
2 University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology
In the last decade, PFAS contamination has been detected in groundwater, surface water, soils, and sediments at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) in Otero County, New Mexico. From 2021 to 2023, we collected 99 liver, blood, and muscle samples from 74 different animals to study wildlife PFAS contamination at a wastewater lake located on the base and known as an Audubon-designated Important Bird Area. Twenty of the twenty-three bird and mammal species sampled were heavily contaminated, representing middle trophic levels and aquatic to wetland to desert microhabitats, potentially implicating multiple pathways for PFAS uptake. Of particular concern were findings of very high levels of PFOS and other compounds in duck species that are hunted locally and at other wetlands in New Mexico. Continuous movement of waterfowl between Holloman Lake and other bodies of water within the region raises the possibility that hunters elsewhere may also be exposed to contaminated duck meat. Contamination of large game mammals (oryx and pronghorn) is also possible at Holloman Lake and downgradient where animals drink at stock tanks filled with water from possibly contaminated wells. Research continues to better identify PFAS exposure and migration pathways and health-related risks to humans and human communities. Read more on the topic.