CV-SALTS
Providing safe drinking water and managing water quality in the Central Valley for long-term sustainability.
The CV-SALTS Program is a collaborative initiative among business, government, and community organizations to address nitrate and salt accumulation affecting water supplies.
Who Are We?
CV-SALTS investigates salt and nitrate water quality challenges in the Central Valley and develops and recommends policies and actions to improve quality and efficiency for all users. The program includes representatives from growers, dairies, industries, local communities, government agencies, environmental and community organizations, and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.
What Problems Do We Solve?
In some areas of the Valley, nitrate has accumulated in groundwater to the point that drinking water for rural households and small water systems does not meet safe standards. Across the Valley, rising salt levels threaten to turn this productive basin into a land where the water is not fit to drink and land not capable of growing crops.
What Are Our Goals?
Our Programs
Nitrate Control Program
Provide safe drinking water, reduce nitrate impacts to water supplies, restore groundwater quality, where reasonable and feasible.
Salt Control Program
Develop and implement long-term solutions for managing salt in the Central Valley.
Surveillance & Monitoring Program
Tracking trends helps target solutions and measure progress over time.
What Makes Us Effective
Collaboration
CV-SALTS is a unique partnership among government, permittees, and communities working together on the water quality challenges in the Central Valley.
Effectiveness
CV-SALTS continues to design and implement better solutions to water quality problems for people and business.
Adaptability
CV-SALTS develops actions and regulations that adapt to the breadth and diversity of the Central Valley to achieve water quality goals efficiently and effectively.
Efficiency
CV-SALTS supports and promotes collaborative solutions for regions and local groundwater basins in the Valley. The shared solutions reduce compliance costs for each permittee.
Science-Based
CV-SALTS funds and supports extensive studies to understand causes, limitations, and potential solutions so that workable actions and policies are developed from a solid foundation.
CV-SALTS: By The Numbers
Latest News
CV-SALTS Celebrates A Five-Year Anniversary of Water Quality Progress
A well-received Water Quality Summit was held an online on June 30, 2025, focused on water quality in the Central Valley. Workshop panelists included CV-SALTS program staff and regulated participants, elected officials, local community leaders, and State and Regional Water Board staff.
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The goals for the workshop included:
- Develop a wider recognition of the CV-SALTS program and its effectiveness.
- Build trust in the unique public/private partnership and how it is advancing water quality in the Valley.
- Reinforce and expand local partnerships on salt and nitrate management.
- Lay a foundation for future funding.
The Summit was well received. More than 300 water quality professionals and community leaders from all over the Central Valley participated in the workshop and learned about the local and regional partnerships that are addressing nitrate contamination and long-term salt accumulation. A post-Summit poll revealed that 89% of the participants found the workshop valuable. More than 100 participants stepped forward to contribute to future work.
Prioritization & Optimization Study Releases Baseline Characterization Report
The CV-SALTS Salt Control Program recently released the Baseline Characterization Report (BCR) as part of its Prioritization and Optimization Study (P&O Study). This report describes current salinity conditions, including unique physical and climatic factors that distinguish each region within the Central Valley.
The Final Baseline Characterization Report (BCR) (March 2024) and accompanying Appendices can be found on the Salt Program Current Documents page.
A two page summary of the BCR is now available.
CV-SALTS Program Overview Video
