Water supply
Blog
By Barry Nelson
From NRDC - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Coalition response...The author is correct in saying "We need to design water solutions
that will work in the coming century." But those designs will be faulty
and inadequate if they are developed according to the new NRDC report, which
repeats suggestions by the Pacific Institute for saving 700,000 acre-feet of
water by California farmers. The suggestions in the Institute's 2010 report
overstated the water use efficiency potential on California farms by at least a
factor of two and maybe much, much more.
Claiming that farmers can
conserve such huge amounts of water by switching to less water intensive crops
and adopting sprinkler/drip irrigation systems to replace gravity/flood
irrigation simply ignores reality. The decision to plant which crop is
governed by the marketplace and will constantly change for some farmers.
Telling a farmer which crop he or she is allowed to plant is a sure-fire way to
run them out of business. That increases unemployment, reduces food choices at
the grocery store and increases prices for consumers who are already strapped
by a weak economy.
There are numerous
factors---soil, weather, cost, energy, etc.---a farmer must consider in
determining which irrigation practice to implement. California farmers have
already invested more than $2 billion in upgraded irrigation systems since 2003
and more improvements occur every year. Consumers benefit from the innovation
and efficiency on California farms. Forcing changes that don't make sense is a
recipe for disaster.
Water quality
Blog
By Glen Martin
From Huffington Post - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Coalition response...The author needs to take some time and visit the westside of the San
Joaquin Valley to see for himself the current efforts by farmers to grow a
healthy supply of fruits and vegetables while preventing selenium from reaching
the San Joaquin River. A visit would reveal the fallacies that he includes in
the article and the fact that today's situation is vastly different from what
happened at Kesterson a generation ago.
Farmers in the 100,000-acre
Grassland Drainage Area have worked with environmental organizations and
State/federal agencies since 1995 to reduce the drainage from their lands. More
than 57,500 acre-feet of drainage water was discharged in 1995 before the
establishment of the Grassland Bypass Project (GBP). That number dropped to
14,500 acre-feet, a 75% reduction, by 2010. In addition, the amount of
selenium, salt and boron (all naturally occurring minerals) reaching the river
was reduced by 87%, 72% and 64% respectively.
Based on the success of the
project, the Regional Water Quality Control Board approved the continuance of
the GBP efforts to December 2019. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
termed the GBP "a success story (visit http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/ca_san.cfm
to read the EPA report).
Anyone interested in seeing the
success achieved in managing Westside water supplies in a way that continues to
produce safe, healthful and affordable food products while protecting
environmental resources can contact us for a tour. The facts speak for
themselves.
DELTA
Story
From Sacramento Bee - Thursday, June 21, 2012
Story
From ACWA - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Blog
By John Bass
From Delta National Park - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
FISHERIES
Blog
By Mark Grossi
From Fresno Beehive - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
LEGISLATURE
Story
From SF Examiner - Wednesday, June 20, 2012
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