Water Bond
From: Editorial Staff,
Riverside Press-Enterprise
Another two years of stalling
will not ensure a reliable long-term supply of water for California. The state
cannot afford to let ideological battles stifle progress once again on
addressing the state's water issues. Legislators should revamp a proposed water
bond to pare the cost, scrape out the political pork and concentrate any new
spending on the state's most pressing water needs.
From: Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee
From: Dan Walters, Fresno Bee
From: Dan Walters, Modesto Bee
When Jerry Brown pushed a major
water plan through the Legislature during his first governorship, he violated
one of the cardinal - albeit unspoken - rules of Capitol politics.
That maxim is that any major
policy change must have virtually unanimous support from all stakeholders or
those left out will use California's many political and legal tools to block
its implementation.
Water Supply
From: Steve Knell & Jeff
Shields, Manteca Bulletin
A few weeks ago, Senator
Feinstein made news by calling for significant measures to address California's
dire water supply situation, including the construction of more storage and
perhaps even modifications to the Endangered Species Act. These measures, even
if approved, will take years to come to fruition. Indeed, Senator Feinstein
lamented that despite authorization for feasibility studies regarding new
storage provided over a decade ago, some of the feasibility studies themselves
won't be done until 2016. In the meantime, New Melones Reservoir sits more than
half empty at a time when SSJID and OID have water that can be stored for
future use by agriculture and to meet environmental needs.
From: Len Ramirez, KPIX-5 TV
NorCal farmers have been dealt a
double-whammy. Len Ramirez tells s state cuts and dry weather are turning
fields into dust.
From: Juliet McKenna,
Agua-Zona
A basic tenet of Arizona water
management system is that we must concern ourselves with California's water
management system. No, it is not not just because California is our likeable
neighbor to the west. Because both states rely on the Colorado River to meet
big chunks of municipal and agricultural water demand, Arizona's concern is
simply based on self-interest. Stresses in California's in-state water supplies
could lead to increased stresses on the Colorado River - bad news for the
entire basin.
From: Norm Groot, Salinas
Californian
Farmers strive for highly
efficient use of water when growing their crops, realizing this is a precious
resource not to be wasted. More research and newer technology continues to
refine how water is used to grow crops - using less water and only when the
plant requires moisture.
More than 60 percent of our
irrigated crop lands in Monterey County now utilize drip-tape irrigation as a
means to deliver water only to the root zone of the plant when needed. Water
use for crop production is actually lower in recent years while yields continue
to grow each year. Yes, it takes a lot of water to grow the crops that we all
find so plentiful in our supermarkets, but new techniques are helping to
conserve water use in ways our grandfathers never dreamed of.
From: Bill Lindelof,
Sacramento Bee
Rainfall measurements in the
Sacramento Valley and foothills ranged from 65 to 90 percent of normal for the
boom-or-bust water year that ended June 30, according to the National Weather
Service.
Most of the rain occurred in two
months: November and December. Then, the weather spigot turned off.
Delta
From: Kent Davy, San Diego
Union-Tribune
Last week, we loaded up the
cooler with produce from the garden and zipped through the Central Valley heat
and by some dead, waterless orchards to Berkeley, where my brother and his
family live (and eat well).
The produce (green beans, snow
peas, zucchini, jalapenos, plums and peaches destined for my favorite cook and
Queen of the Kitchen sister-in-law who now knows the secrets to making her own
bagels) is, frankly, the gift of water bought and brought from a long ways away
to keep my garden green.
Transfers
From: Editorial Staff, Modesto
Bee
The letter wasn't worded quite
this informally, but basically it said:
Dear Neighbors, We didn't realize
you might be in trouble. We have enough water for our own needs this year and
actually some to spare. If you need some water this year, we'd be happy to talk
to you about it. And ditto for next year if the rainfall is again low.
Meetings
From: Staff, Vacaville
Reporter
The Northern Solano Democratic
Club will talk about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan at its next meeting at 7
p.m. Monday at the Benicia Grill II, 2390 Texas St., Fairfield.
Melinda Terry, manager of the
North Delta Water Agency, will speak on Northern California water issues and
the two-tunnel system being proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown to deliver water to
Southern California.
From: Bay Delta Conservation
Plan
A BDCP Public Meeting is
scheduled for July 17 in Sacramento. The meeting will provide an update on BDCP
Administrative Draft Chapters 8-12. View the draft meeting agenda here.
Project staff will be available
to review Administrative Draft BDCP materials and discuss comments and
questions beginning at 12 p.m. and continuing until 6 p.m. The presentation
portion of the meeting will run from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
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