Farming News
From: Eric Holthouse, Slate
In California's vast Central
Valley, agriculture is king. But the king appears fatally ill, and no worthy
replacement is in sight, as the area noticeably reverts into the desert it was
little more than a century ago. Signs line the back roads here that run
parallel to wide irrigation ditches:
"Pray for rain"
"No water = No jobs"
As I've already discussed in the
Thirsty West series, city-dwelling Californians are a bit insulated from
near-term water shortages thanks to the state's intricate tentacles of
aqueducts, pipelines, and canals that divert water from the snowcapped Sierras
to the urban core along the coast. Rapid population growth looms ominously, but
for now, you'll still be able to brush your teeth in Oakland and Burbank.
Coalition response... Author Eric Holthaus spent a short amount of time in our state to
capture an understanding of agriculture and the water needed to produce a food
supply that feeds our nation and others around the world. He correctly
indicates that "We can't eat without California" when considering the
over 400 crops grown by our farmers. But his perspective on farm water is a bit
askew.
Water is a very complicated issue
and it takes years to fully comprehend how it is used in California by the
environment, farmers and families and businesses. Contrary to the author's
assertion, agriculture does not use 80 percent of California's water. Every
five years the California Department of Food and Agriculture releases a Water
Plan that details how water is used. The current Water Plan that is now under
review describes water use as: environmental, 49 percent; agriculture, 41
percent; and urban, 10 percent.
California almonds, like other
commodities that are exported, provide an economic lifeline to many beyond the
farm, including truckers, processors, dockworkers and others. In other words,
the water that is used to grow almonds provides jobs that people rely on to
care for their families.
During this third consecutive
year of drought farmers are scrambling to secure water supplies to grow their
crops and keep trees and vines alive. This rush to find water is not only
caused by the ongoing drought but also federal regulations aimed to protect
endangered species in our State's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Water that
could have been used to grow a healthy and affordable food supply has been
redirected to fish in the Delta. Last year 800,000 acre-feet of water were
given over to the fish and another 450,000 acre-feet this year. Unfortunately,
scientists cannot tell us if these water diversions are helping the fish.
Because of this lack of water
being delivered to our farms, farmers have been forced to turn to underlying
aquifers for the water they need. This dropping of groundwater levels could have
been avoided if reasonable regulations were in existence to allow farmers to
receive the water they have a legal right to receive.
Water Supply
From: Staff, KSEE 24
Valley leaders want to change a
recent water decision that could dry up East Side farms. Fresno Mayor Ashley
Swearengin, Orange Cove Mayor Gabriel Jimenez and Friant water officials held a
press conference about an hour ago at Fresno City Hall.
They said the Bureau of
Reclamation is not following procedure and ignoring senior water rights when
allocating water. The bureau is releasing water but Friant water users won't
get any. It means East side farms could dry up.
From: Michael Doyle,
McClatchey DC
Flood control projects in
California's Central Valley get a boost in a long-awaited water resources bill
now flowing toward final congressional approval. Under the tiller of some
well-placed California lawmakers, the Water Resources Reform and Development
Act authorizes major levee work protecting the likes of Sacramento County's
Natomas Basin, the Stanislaus County town of Newman and the Sutter County town
of Yuba City.
"Sacramento faces some of
the nation's most severe flood risks," noted Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.,
adding that she is "pleased that this bipartisan legislation includes
critical flood control that protects lives and property in California."
Drought
From: Carolyn Lochhead, San
Francisco Chronicle
Sen. Dianne Feinstein will try to
fast-track farm-friendly drought legislation through the Senate over the
objections of environmentalists, who the senator complains have done nothing to
help her adapt California's aging water system to deal with climate change and
the addition of millions of thirsty residents.
Environmentalists "have
never been helpful to me in producing good water policy," the California
Democrat said. "You can't have a water infrastructure for 16 million
people and say, 'Oh, it's fine for 38 million people,' when we're losing the
Sierra Nevada snowpack.' "
San Joaquin River
From: Staff, The Business
Journal
The Friant Water Authority says
its getting the short end of the stick as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
announced plans to release water from Millerton Lake to benefit wildlife
refuges and junior contractors farther west instead of serving growers in the Fresno
area.
On May 15, the agency will begin
using supplies from the Central Valley Project's Friant Dam to meet contractual
obligations with the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority on
the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
From: Robert Rodriguez, Fresno
Bee
Farmers, water district officials
and city leaders expressed frustration Thursday over the decision by federal
managers to tap water from Friant Dam to meet a long-standing obligation with
west-side landowners.
Mario Santoyo, who represents the
Latino Water Coalition, said the federal Bureau of Reclamation acted
prematurely by using water from Millerton Lake. He said water from other
sources, including reservoirs at Shasta and San Luis, should have been used
instead of Friant Dam.
From: Gene Haagenson, Fresno
Bee
They've turned on the faucet at
Friant Dam. Most of the water is heading for farms in Merced County. It's the
first time in 70 years water has been diverted there, but the government has a
contractual obligation to provide it even though its leaves other water users
high and dry.
You'd think this surge of water,
during a drought would be welcome. But even the farmers who are receiving this
water are not pleased. Cannon Michael said, "We have really no choice and
it's a terrible position to be in."
Groundwater
From: J.N. Sbranti, Modesto
Bee
Everyone knows Stanislaus County
farmers are pumping lots of groundwater to irrigate their crops this season,
but no one knows for sure how much they're pumping or whether they're
overdrafting the region's aquifers. And, apparently, farmers aren't too keen
about revealing their information.
Stanislaus' Water Advisory
Committee is wrestling with proposals about how - and whether - to get that
pumping and water level data from agricultural well owners.
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