I-Team Investigation: Dust to Data, new monitors and cameras lead to new air pollution discoveries
COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ)- Dust and Haze around the Coachella Valley are nothing new, but many concerns have been raised about what we’re breathing in, following Tropical Storm Hilary.
News Channel 3 is holding officials accountable for initiatives to fix the problem and digging into the process. What we found is not only about getting answers, but also about clearing the air.
How concerned are people when it comes to dust in the air around the Coachella Valley?
Cindy Hahn of Rancho Mirage echoed other people's observations, saying, "When it's bad, I feel it."
KESQ News Channel 3 has been tracking dust and air quality concerns for years now, even before Hilary, because it’s always dusty when it's windy-- That's not new.
This South Coast Air Quality Management District graphic shows that dust levels after the storm are basically the same as before.
Locally conducted research has shown our high-dust days aggravate serious respiratory, heart, and other health conditions, and also increase hospital E-R visits-- even deaths.
Local leaders say dusty, dirty air can also negatively affect our local economy and quality of life.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District says our brown skies on windy days are not filled with tiny PM10 particles of ground-up sand smaller than the width of a human hair. That can get sucked into your lungs and then can't get out.
The agency says it's instead primarily Super-Course PM-- larger than PM10-- and generally not associated with negative health impacts. But it can still negatively impact our quality of life by reducing visibility and by creating conditions that could chase people from our outdoor music festivals and sporting events.
This was all revealed recently to local leaders by South Coast AQMD representatives.
To learn more about what's in our air since Hilary, South Coast AQMD has collaborated with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and UC Riverside to install seven air-quality monitoring sites around the desert. The readings at one of those new sites in North Cathedral City have been eye-opening.
Scott Epstein, a South Coast Air Quality Management District Air Quality Assessment Manager, said, “We wanted to find a spot we thought would be really dusty, and we found it.”
Epstein says the monitoring site in the Rio Vista community, just north of Vista Chino and east of the Whitewater Wash, has recorded dust levels more than twice the average of other nearby monitoring sites and just 3 miles east of one of the cleanest air quality monitoring sites in Palm Springs.
Sarah Rees, South Coast AQMD Deputy Executive Officer said, “We do see the dust is very specific. In some areas, you can have a very dusty condition, and then a mile away it’s relatively clean.” That realization of wildly differing readings and very localized areas of greater concern is new information to South Coast AQMD. In Indio, Amistad High School, also near the wash, is also recording higher levels of dust than other nearby monitoring sites.
The new air monitors have already given our local air quality forecasts a new definition, reflecting live data from the Cathedral City monitoring site. It was not included on earlier maps.
South Coast AQMD has also deployed three environmental monitoring cameras around the Coachella Valley to pinpoint where this windblown dust is primarily coming from. One camera is up near the tram in San Jacinto State Park, overlooking this northwestern portion of the valley. A second camera is up on Toro Peak looking down at the area from Indio to the north Salton Sea, and a third camera is located east of the valley looking back west near Cactus City.
They're revealing the areas of greatest concern, primarily Whitewater Wash from Whitewater through Palm Springs and into Cathedral City, and any other exposed sandy spots. Epstein said, “We’re doing some image analysis using some AI-developed tools to process those images to detect dust blooms.”
Digging for answers, we wanted to know more about how South Coast AQMD says it's using Artificial Intelligence to enhance the imagery from its cameras, revealing more detail. Jeff Stahl asked Rees about how the software improves raw images. Rees said, “When you run that image through the processing, you really see where the plumes are taking off from. You can pinpoint those areas where it's coming from, and you see that certain parts of the soil are a lot more dusty than others, and so you can really target those regions.”
Comparing the original images with AI processing helps scientists see the problem areas better, which is key to starting mitigation efforts to reduce pollution.
South Coast AQMD says it also signed a contract with U.C. Riverside in January to obtain satellite and field measurements to obtain high-resolution surface-type data throughout the region. This information will be used to generate a detailed picture over the next two years. What about now?
Holding officials accountable, we spoke to Riverside County District 4 Supervisor and South Coast AQMD Board member, Manuel Perez. "We do have more air monitors. We do have some soil stabilization," Perez said, adding, "We do have some mitigation with the street sweeping plan.” Jeff Stahl said, “But you want the dust mitigation to start now, not at the end of these studies.” Perez replied, saying, “Look, the end of the study is long-term, and those are larger plots of land. We know where the majority of that dust is coming from. It’s coming from conservation land. It’s coming from the Whitewater area. So we need to start having those conversations with the EPA. We need to start having those conversations with CARB (California Air Resources Board). We can’t do it alone,” Perez added.
Back on the streets of the Coachella Valley, everyone agrees that keeping the air we breathe clean is important for our future.
Victor Martinez of Palm Desert said, "If they can fix it, it'd be nice. Less dust."
Cathedral City Councilmember Nancy Ross agreed, saying about the dust and our air concerning her, "100 percent. It's been going on forever, but that doesn't mean it isn't of high concern." Ross added, “It is a mammoth problem to take on, and I understand that. But those big problems can’t be ignored because they’re big.”
It’s important to note that the process of laying green down to suppress dust emissions and even planting on conservation land would likely face many roadblocks due to the involvement of various entities. The South Coast AQMD says that’s why it’s important to start having those discussions now.
Our latest I-Team Investigation-- "Dust to Data" airs all new at 6:00 p.m. tonight on KESQ News Channel 3.
