Friday, October 4, 2013

News articles and links from October 4, 2013


Water Supply

From: Patrick Cavanaugh, California Ag Today

Showing the economics behind a single crop grown in the San Joaquin Valley was the vision of Steve Malanca, General Manager of Thomason Tractor Co, in Firebaugh. With the help of Gayle Holman, Public Affairs Representative with Westland Water District, more than 200 came together in an alfalfa field, west of Firebaugh, filled with the equipment and services necessary to grow the crop.

From: Joan Leon, Santa Maria Times 

Driving around the Santa Maria Valley, we are refreshed with scenes of vigorous agriculture fields. We seem to have enough water to support these agricultural operations. But are these water sources secure?

Driving home on Interstate 5 recently from vacation, we were dismayed to see entire orchards of dead trees, withered crops, fields lying fallow. How did this happen? Signs were posted wrongly blaming the state for lack of water.

Water Quality

From: Alex Breitler, Stockton Record

Farmers protested new water-quality regulations Thursday, saying the proposed rules would bury them in paperwork and chisel away at their profits without necessarily improving pollution.

"Ten years ago, I told my wife I wanted to move to Nebraska. I wish I'd done that," Stockton farmer Richard Rodriguez told the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Delta 

From: Staff, California Public Radio

It's one of the largest sources of water for the world's 8th largest economy. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been called the heart of California's water system. As lawmakers, conservationists, farmers, policy experts and others debate the future of the Delta, this five-part series tells the story of how the region both connects and divides Californians.

Environment Reporter Amy Quinton takes a comprehensive look at how the Delta is tied to the rest of the state and what it means to everyday Californians.

Districts

From: Rob Parsons, Merced Sun-Star 

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed legislation aimed directly at preventing a significant rate hike for Merced Irrigation District electric customers.

The new law, Senate Bill 591, was co-written by Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, and Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, and passed both houses of the state Legislature in August.

In a statement released late Thursday, MID General Manager John Sweigard praised both Merced County legislators and the governor's office.

Salton Sea

From: Keven E. Kelley, Sacramento Bee  

Re "Finally, one California water deal gets done" (Dan Walters, Sept. 30): Despite the court's action upholding the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement for Colorado River water, it did nothing to advance one of the deal's central objectives: prevent the accelerated decline of the Salton Sea.

Drought

From: Angela Bowman, AG Professional

Drought continues its grip on the nation's midsection, and though some areas may see relief in October, the same can't be said for some of the nation's biggest crop-producing states.

click image to zoomDrought MonitorThe Drought Monitor map released on Oct. 3, 2013. In the latest "Drought Monitor" report, the so-called "flash drought" refuses to budge from much of the Midwest. However, some states in the West - primarily California, Nevada and Idaho - still have a long way to go before drought is eradicated.

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