Farm Water News: February 2011

Coalition response...Peter Gleick was wrong when he published recent reports on agricultural water conservation and he’s still wrong, according to the report issued by the Public Policy Institute of California. Irrigation experts have been saying for years that agricultural water conservation is limited. Gleick is about the only one left clinging to these fantastic conservation assumptions. The tide is changing. Policy-makers and the academic community as a whole are realizing that we can’t meet California’s future water supply needs by sacrificing California’s farms.

Smart water policies will cultivate economic, environmental health

Opinion

From San Jose Mercury News – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Coalition response...The Public Policy Institute of California released a report this week on managing California’s water. The authors acknowledged that farmers are businessmen and water conserved on California farms does not create a new supply for other uses. Instead, the water is used on other crops or to recharge the groundwater basin. It is important for people not to fall into the trap of “millions of acre-feet of water can be conserved in agriculture.” The only way to conserve this amount would be fallow acres and drive farmers out of business.

WATER SUPPLY

Water-recycling project advances, awaits federal green-light

Story

From Patterson Irrigator – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Experts call for major reforms in California water management

Story

From Western Farm Press – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Is the Delta too broken to fix?

Editorial

From Chico Enterprise Record – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Are PPIC water reports improving?

Blog

By Jeff Michael, UOP

From Valley Economy – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

DELTA

Delta pump imits eased

from Sacramento Bee – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Farms could get more water in smelt deal

Story

From Fresno Bee – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Temporary truce reached in California delta smelt water restrictions

Story

From LA Times – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Settlement may temporarily ease conflict over Delta water supplies

from San Jose Mercury News – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Settlement may temporarily ease conflict over Delta water supplies

Story

From Contra Costa Times – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Settlements seek to protect delta fish, water flow

from Ventura County Star – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Settlements seek to protect delta fish, water flow

from San Diego Union Tribune – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Settlements seek to protect delta fish, water flow

from Redding Record Searchlight – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Court settlements seek to protect delta fish, water flow

from North County Times – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Settlements seek to protect delta fish, water flow

Story

From Modesto Bee – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Settlement Maintains Scientific Protections for Delta Smelt and Bay-Delta Estuary

Blog

By Doug Obegi, NRDC

From NRDC – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

FISHERIES

Millions needed to return salmon to San Joaquin River

Story

From Fresno Bee – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

COURTS

California judge approves Klamath dam removal surcharge

Story

From Siskiyou Daily News – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

OTHER

The State Water Project: A Marvel Under Stress

Blog

By Tom Philp

From SF Chronicle – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Government water management coming for wine grape growers

Story

From Western Farm Press – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Comments on water transfers taken until Monday evening

Story

From Chico Enterprise Record – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

UC Extension shares ways for farmers to meet possible water quality standards

Story

From Santa Cruz Sentinel – Friday, Feb. 25, 2011

Thursday, February 24, 2011

News articles and links from Feb. 24, 2011

Report on state water seeks balance

from Modesto Bee – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Manage water for today, new study says

Story

From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Coalition response...Claims that farmers use 80% of the state’s water are misleading and ignores the designated allocations of water to the environment, some of which has been taken from the ag and urban communities. Who decided that we can continually shift water to environmental purposes and then disregard that water as part of the state’s supply? The California State Water Plan correctly apportions the state’s use of water at environmental/48%, farming/41% and urban/11%.

Gleick attempts to trumpet the claim that millions of acre feet of water can be saved in agriculture but he is the lone voice making these assertions. Water experts from CSU Fresno and Cal Poly, SLO, have proven his claim to be false. Policy-makers and the academic community are finally recognizing that there is not a lot of water conservation potential in agriculture without land fallowing. That’s bad for the economy and jobs, not just on our farms but also in associated industries.

Pending settlement would ease state rules on catching striped bass

Story

From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Coalition response...Studies have proven that striped bass is one of the leading predators for juvenile salmon making their way through the Delta to the ocean and this pending agreement recognizes that reality. Raising the catch limit on striped bass is the right thing to do.

WATER SUPPLY

Current water policies all wet, book says

Story

From Ventura County Star – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

What’s next for California water?

Blog

By Jay Lund, Ray B. Krone

From California WaterBlog – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Bleak

Blog

By Alex Breitler

From The Record – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Water district board hears water report

Story

From Tehachapi News – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Oregon farmers get another chance at water claim

Story

From Fresno Bee – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

DELTA

Dry levee is southwest Manteca’s last defense

Story

From Manteca Bulletin – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

$1 billion for 6 inches?

Blog

By Alex Breitler

From The Record – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

California’s Delta Stewardship Council Gets Down to Business

Blog

By Richard Frank

From Legal Planet – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Peripheral canal foes introduce bill to protect Delta

Blog

By Dan Bacher

From IndyBay Media – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

FISHERIES

Calif. tries bubble barrier to save young salmon

Story

From Fresno Bee – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

California hopes to fool fishes

Story

From CV Business Times – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

COURTS

IID to file response to amicus brief on QSA suit

Story

From IV Press – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

OTHER

Grants available for farm upgrades

Story

From The Record – Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Obama includes Dam funds in budget

Story

From Porterville Recorder – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

News articles and links from Feb. 23, 2011

Endangered: Delta fish, and economy?

Editorial

From SD Union-Tribune – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Coalition response...This editorial is correct in calling for people to pay increased attention to the Delta, since it supplies irrigation water to several million acres of farm land and drinking water to 25 million Californians. The recent report is the first of several that will be considered by the Delta Stewardship Council. Council members have been chosen to serve based on their expertise and commitment to securing a reliable water future for California. They deserve our support.

Gear up for canal fight

Column

From Vacaville Reporter – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

Coalition response...The opening statement makes no sense at all. If more water is taken out of the Delta than nature provides, then there wouldn’t be any left. The writer makes numerous assumptions that do not include the facts---

1. Water users have publicly stated that they will pay for the water they receive from a new conveyance system.

2. Cotton acreage is down from years ago when it approached a million acres; this year’s estimates place it at only 300,000 acres...and people are buying cotton products.

3. Farmers have adopted water-use efficiency measures. From 1967 to 2007, applied water use fell by 14.6% while crop value increased 84% and production volume almost doubled...that's called doing more with less.

WATER SUPPLY

Speak up if you want water in the river

Column

From Bakersfield Californian – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

S.J. sues over access to American River

Story

From The Record – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

CONGRESS

Feinstein says she’ll look at New Melones

Story

From Sonora Union Democrat – Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

DELTA

Heavy Runoff Could Endanger Delta Levee System

TV news

From KTVU/2 – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011

Lloyd’s February 2011 Radio Show

Radio

From Hydraulic Brotherhood Chronicles – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

OTHER

A Natural Step – Interview with John Laird

Story

From Santa Cruz Good Times – Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011

Economist will speak on water and jobs in Fresno County

Blog

By Mark Grossi

From Fresno Bee – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

Group gets $300K for basin restoration

Story

From Hanford Sentinel – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

News articles and links from Feb. 22, 2011

Federal Circuit Decision a Big Win for Klamath Basin Water Users

Release

From PRWeb – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

WATER SUPPLY

Beyond the politics – an improved water supply outlook for California in 2011

Blog

By Spreck Rosekrans, EDF

From EDF – Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

Feds raise water allotment for west-side farmers

Story

From Fresno Bee – Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

Feds boost water supplies for many Calif. farms

From Modesto Bee – Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

Farmers Welcome the Rain

TV News

From CBS 47/TV – Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011

CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITY

Vogel, Ruhstaller lobby feds for water rights, looser local regulations

Story

From Lodi News Sentinel – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

Feinstein Writes About New Melones

Story

From MyMotherLode – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Reckless house GOP reopens water wounds

Editorial

From Sacramento Bee – Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011

Kern County Water Agency Admits that House Budget Provision Could Cut Supplies for Farmers

Blog

By Barry Nelson, NRDC

From NRDC – Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

Nunes’ ‘wacko friends’

Letter

From Fresno Bee – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

LEGISLATION

Canal foes push for safeguards

Story

From The Record – Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

FISHERIES

California’s Delta Smelt is Raising Your Food Prices

Blog

By Adam Sparks

From BigGovernment – Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011

Salmon numbers up but anglers still wary after unprecedented collapse

From Oakland Tribune – Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011

Salmon numbers up but anglers still wary after unprecedented collapse

Story

From Contra Costa Times – Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

OTHER

Water Board approves funds for Central Valley improvements

Story

From Western Farm Press – Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011

Delta Mendota Canal exposed as underwater junkyard, so why no fence?

TV News

From ABC 10/TV – Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

Farmers program boosts water quality

Story

From IV Press – Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011

Where does the water go?

Column

By John Spencer

From Redding Record-Searchlight – Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

News articles and links from Feb. 18, 2011

Irrigation 100 years ago

Blog

By David Zetland

From Aguanomics – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Coalition response...It is difficult to predict today what will happen in 100 years and, in reference to Katharine Coman’s 1911 article, there is no way that she could have foreseen the problems that confront California’s water use today. Because government stepped forward in constructing the projects that still supply water today, California has developed both economically and socially. Your definition of a Pyrrhic victory ignores the incredible economic growth brought about by water development including water project-created new tax revenues that exceeded the original cost of the projects as far back as the 1980’s, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Suit convinces area districts to pull out of water transfer

Story

From Willows Journal – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Concerned about climate

Blog

By Alex Breitler

From The Record – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Congressman tries to cut dam removal study

Story

From SV Mercury News – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Movement starts to halt Klamath study funding

Story

From Daily News – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

News articles and links from Feb. 17, 2011

Don Pedro hydro relicensing will take years

Blog

By Mark Grossi

From Fresno Bee – Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011

Coalition response...This blog provides some useful background on the upcoming relicensing process for Don Pedro Dam but it misses the bigger picture of what is really at stake. Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts may be required to allocate more flows for the benefit of fish when in fact their facility may have little to do with the current decline in salmon populations. Much of the damage to the river occurred prior to Don Pedro by mining and dredging operations that turned a once wild river into a series of deep, slow moving pools. That makes great habitat for bass and other predators that gobble up baby salmon. In addition, the writer states that salmon “dwindled in numbers after the dam was built in the 1970’s.” In fact, salmon populations on the Tuolumne have experienced boom and bust cycles after the dam was built, the same as they did before it was constructed.

As the relicensing process gets underway lets hope that Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts – and the farmers they serve – aren’t held accountable for problems that cannot be fixed simply by adding more water.

Delta Planners: State promises more water than nature provides

Story

From Oakland Tribune – Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011

Coalition response...(NOTE: This article is a reprint from the Contra Costa Times. CFWC’s response will also be posted to the Oakland Tribune, reaching more readers with farm water facts.) Californians only use a portion of the water that nature provides, despite the opening sentence to this story. The majority of water that falls on our state is consumed by vegetation, soaks into the underground and flows to the ocean. Of the 85 million acre feet of water that is available for use in a normal year, most goes to specific environmental purposes (48%) and the rest goes to agriculture (41%) and municipal/industrial uses (11%). It is important to remember that this Delta draft is the first of several updated drafts that will be issued later this year.

Modesto Irrigation District Sees Lon Way to go For Delta Stewardship Plan

Story

From Water Online – Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011

Joe Grindstaff misquotes the draft Delta Plan 3 out of 4 times

Blog

By Dr. Jeff Michael, UOP

From Valley Economy – Wednesday Feb. 16, 2011

Problems many, solutions few in long-awaited Delta report

Story

From Capitol Weekly – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011

Council Releases First Draft of Delta Plan, Co-equal Goals Doom Plan to Failure

Blog