Drought
From: Stacy Finz, San
Francisco Chronicle
Frank Imhof, a Sunol cattleman is
checking the weather constantly. If he doesn't get rain soon, "lots of
people are going to be out of a job," he says.
He's considering culling nearly
40 percent of his breeding herd and selling calves that are four to five months
short of their market weight, because he doesn't have enough grass in his
pastures to feed them.
Coalition response... The reality of the drought is that farmers and consumers are closely
linked through California's water supply. When water supplies diminish,
according to data from the University of California, the variety of fresh foods
available at the store diminishes and prices climb. The Governor's recent
drought declaration will help ease conditions to move water to areas that are
hardest hit. A long term solution, such as new storage facilities to capture
more water the next time it is wet will help prevent conditions like this from
happening again.
From: George Skelton, Los
Angeles Times
So it's official: We are in a
serious drought. That means this: Next comes serious flooding. But we'll still
be in a declared drought.
That's just the nature of
California weather patterns - and water politics.
A drought proclamation, as issued
by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday, changes the political climate. It focuses public
attention on the need for costly new waterworks.
Coalition Response... George Skelton is right, water problems in California are causing
hardship throughout the state. The solution, however, is to invest in the kind
of projects that will keep California safe and prosperous. Public funding for
dams, which benefit the public enormously through flood control, shouldn't be
capped at an arbitrary 10 percent. When you consider the lives and property
damage that can be prevented with the right projects, dams are a sound
investment against the flooding Skelton says will inevitably come. It is also
important to understand that water flowing through the Delta to users in the
southern half of the state is apportioned to them under rights issued by the
State of California. No one is "robbing local farmers and fish and
disfiguring one of California's most bucolic areas." The Delta was
irreversibly changed 150 years ago to help produce food for a growing state. It
continues to serve Californians with local food products and delivers water to
fuel the state's trillion dollar economy.
Drought
From: Jay Lund, Sacramento Bee
The 2013 calendar year was the
driest on record for much of California. There is almost no snow in the Sierra
Nevada or Trinity Mountains, and the forecast for January is dry. We are
currently in a drought, though with three months left of our normally wet
season, it remains possible that 2014 will not become a drought year.
From: Peter Fimrite,
Sacramento Bee
The American River looks to Jonas
Minton very much like it did nearly four decades ago when he took a kayak out
into what was then a trickling stream and scraped across the rocks on the
bottom.
That year, 1977, was one of the
driest in California history, a drought that inspired a water conservation
movement, along with low-flow toilets and showerheads, water-saving washing
machines and dishwashers, drip irrigation and recycled water.
From: Mike Wade, Sacramento
Bee
Re "Drought is nature telling us to get serious on saving Delta"
(Viewpoints, Jan. 16): We agree with David Hayes' viewpoint that California is
in a drought, but to claim that the Endangered Species Act is not affecting
this year's water supply is unbelievable. The ESA just one year ago stopped the
export of 815,000 acre-feet of water that ultimately went out to the ocean with
no measurable environmental benefit.
From: Cary Blake, Western Farm
Press
Agriculture reacted positively to
California Governor Edmund Brown's Drought State of Emergency announcement Jan.
17 amid water shortfalls in the driest year in recorded state history.
California's chief executive
directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for extreme
drought conditions.
From: K. Kaufmann, The Desert
Sun
Following one of the driest years
on record in California, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday declared a drought
emergency that will enable the state to seek federal help.
The governor made the
announcement in San Francisco, formally stating what many Californians already
knew after three dry years.
But at a critical time when much
of the West is dry and the Colorado River continues to provide less water than
desired by consumers along its route, including the Coachella Valley, the
declaration was long-awaited. And there's no immediate end to the drought in sight.
From: Staff, Riverside
Press-Enterprise
Californians knew the state faced
serious drought long before last week's official statement. But the governor's
declaration of a drought emergency only added emphasis to the need for sensible
precautions during a dry year. Residents need to step up conservation efforts,
and legislators need to ensure a reliable supply of water for the state.
From: Staff, Modesto Bee
So the drought is official. The
governor proclaimed it such Friday.
Gov. Jerry Brown did it in his
usual pragmatic style, saying "We can't make it rain, but we can be much
better prepared for the terrible consequences that California's drought now
threatens."
The first of those consequences,
he noted, was "dramatically less water for our farms and
communities," then he went on to call for voluntary conservation.
From: Kenneth Cannon,
Bakersfield Californian
It's time to take some drastic
action to remediate the drought in California. There is talk about taking the
best farm land in the world out of production. That is foolish. If there is to
be a shortage of water, let it be in the Los Angeles Basin.
From: Bettina Boxall &
Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown officially
declared a drought emergency in the state Friday, urging residents to cut water
use by 20% and directing state agencies to take a range of steps to ease the
effects of water shortages on agriculture, communities and fish and wildlife.
"We ought to be ready for a
long, continued, persistent effort to restrain our water use," Brown said.
He warned that Californians may be facing unprecedented dry conditions and need
to become "more efficient and more elegant" in how they use natural
resources.
From: Staff, KCRA 3
California is nearly as dry as
it's ever been. High water marks rim half-full reservoirs. Cities are rationing
water. Clerics are praying for rain. Ranchers are selling cattle, and farmers
are fallowing fields.
From: Staff, KXTV 10
In what could become one of
California's biggest crises in years, Gov. Jerry Brown has officially declared
a statewide drought emergency - an action that sets the stage for some new
state and federal efforts and should also focus the attention of Californians
to potential water shortages ahead.
"All I can report to you is
it's not raining today and it's not likely to rain for several weeks,"
said the governor in a news conference Friday morning in San Francisco.
From: Richard Morat,
Sacramento Bee
Re "State of emergency declared in drought"
(Page A1, Jan. 18): The declaration is an understatement of the serious
situation for people, the economy and the natural resources. The drought only
focuses on decades of failed water management. Damage already done to our
rivers and estuarine aquatic resources is already massive. How far will we let
it go?
From: Ellen Van Dyke,
Sacramento Bee
Re "State of emergency declared in drought"
(Page A1, Jan. 18): Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency regarding
the drought, as did the U.S. Department of Agriculture to qualify the state for
federal funds and some farmers for low-interest loans. But why is water
conservation optional?
From: David Siders,
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Jerry Brown announced a
state of emergency Friday that has been all but official for weeks: California
is in a drought.
Brown urged Californians to
reduce water use by 20 percent, saying "we're facing perhaps the worst
drought that California has ever seen since records began being kept about 100
years ago."
Water Rally
From: Staff, KFSN 30
Hundreds of Valley residents held
a huge rally at the state capitol on Thursday.
From: Staff, KSEE 24
About a thousand people from the
Valley made their voices heard in Sacramento today. They took a bus-trip to the
State Capitol and called for drought relief. They want a drought emergency
declaration from the governor, which he's indicated he will do, soon. He also
wants a water bond put on the ballot. Both to help deal with a lack of rain,
and water for valley crops.
The need for water is something
Westside growers experience daily. They need something to moisten their once
fertile land and with no rain in sight, some are seriously concerned. "I'm
sad. i'm disheartened to think at one time this was a very vibrant place,"
said Joel Allen, a local grower.
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