Economists: Smarter Water Use by Farmers key to Solving Southwest Water Woes
Blog
By Brendon Bosworth
From New West Development – Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The future of water supplies in the Southwest – Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – has been under close scrutiny by scientists, economists and policymakers.
Coalition response...Attempts to establish crop market value per acre-foot of water as the basis governing which crops farmers should or should not plant rings hollow in today’s society. These efforts are akin to socialism that dictates how farmers are to operate regardless of needs of the consuming public or the welfare of individuals. It ignores the reality of the marketplace in which consumers, through their purchases, influence which crops should be grown. This is not a road that the American public should travel.
The comparison of water costs between ag and urban interests is incomplete. Farmers pay the cost for water delivered to their fields. All other irrigation costs associated with growing a crop are the farmer’s responsibility. Urban water users not only pay delivery costs to their supplier but other costs for treatment, pressurization, distribution and more. The urban water user enjoys the luxury of turning a faucet and receiving water. The same does not apply to a farmer who must schedule his irrigations to coincide with the availability of water, which he does not control.
DELTA
BDCP has ‘no predetermined outcome’
Blog
By Alex Breitler
From The Record – Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Jerry Meral, the governor’s point man on the Delta, told a panel of state senators today that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan has no predetermined outcome. Proposals to fix the Delta without building a peripheral canal or tunnel will be considered, he said.
Winnemem leader challenges Feinstein’s idea of ‘peace on the river’
Blog
By Dan Bacher
From IndyBay Media – Tuesday, March 8, 2011
In a letter to participants in the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), California Senator Dianne Feinstein praised the work done on the plan to build a peripheral canal and new dams, drawing criticism from Mark Franco, Headman of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.
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