Drought
From: Joel Kotkin, Forbes.com
As all the Californians who
celebrated the deluge of rain that fell the week before last know, it did not
do much to ameliorate the state's deep drought. We are likely to enter our
traditionally dry spring, summer and fall in a crisis likely to exacerbate the
ever greater estrangement between the state's squabbling regions and classes.
There are two prevailing views
about how to deal with the drought. Farming interests in the Central Valley
want the state to fund construction of additional water storage capacity so
that the 700,000 acres of some of world's richest farmland now fallowed by
steep water cutbacks can be put back into production.
Coalition response... According to the Department of Water Resources California farms use 41
percent of the state's dedicated water supply, not the perpetually misstated 75
percent. Almost half goes to dedicated environmental purposes but rarely does
anyone acknowledge the laws and regulations that purposefully set aside water
for the environment.
California is also a leading
innovator in irrigation technology and techniques. Between 1967 and 2007
California farmers have almost doubled their production on 14 percent LESS
water. An investment of almost $3 billion upgrading irrigation systems to high
efficiency drip and micro sprinklers on more than 2.4 million acres helps keep
California farms competitive in a world market. California-grown products are
cheaper, fresher and safer for local consumers than they are anywhere else and
that means more of our money can do other things in the economy than just go to
put food on the table.
Water Supply
From: Staff, Westside Connect
Farmers in the Central California
Irrigation District received noticed over the weekend that a 2014 water
allocation already at historic lows is in jeopardy of further cuts.
Chris White, the district's
general manager, said an order by the California State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB) staff could effectively slash CCID's water allocation for 2014 to
5-15 percent of normal. The district had previously planned for a record-low 50
percent allocation.
"The (SWRCB) staff has
formulated a new operations plan for 2014 with the stated purpose of trying to
keep enough water in reservoirs to deliver water to municipal health and safety
agencies through 2015 even if extremely dry conditions persist," White
commented Monday. "It would reduce exchange contractors (such as CCID) to
what we estimate at 5 percent to 15 percent. That would be devastating. What do
you grow on a 5 percent allocation?".
Delta
From: Laura Anthony, KGO-TV
We've had some rain recently, but
not enough and now the Contra Costa Water District says the salinity in the
Delta is much higher than it should be and that has plenty of planners
releasing much more water right now than they would like to.
The Antioch Marina is normally
the location where the salt water from the ocean meets the fresh water from the
Sierra, but this year that line is pushed much farther east and the Contra
Costa Water District says that has far reaching implications.
Drought
From: Tim Johnson, NCWA Blog
The full extent of the drought's
impact on the number of acres of rice planted this year is unknowable at this
time. There are simply too many factors left to play out before our last fields
are planted for anyone to know the final outcome.
The things that rice farmers are
looking at include: how much surface water is available; can I pump
groundwater; are prices going to be enough to offset increased pumping costs?
Finally, will it rain more between now and the middle of May? (We certainly
hope so!)
From: Jason Kandel, KNBC-4
A timeline look at the key events
of the California drought of 2014.
Fisheries
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
Starting next month, millions of
young California salmon could be migrating to the ocean in tanker trucks
instead of swimming downstream in the Sacramento River.
On Monday, state and federal
wildlife officials announced a plan to move hatchery-raised salmon by truck in
the event the state's ongoing drought makes the Sacramento River and its
tributaries inhospitable for the fish. They fear the rivers could become too
shallow and warm to sustain salmon trying to migrate to sea on their own.
From: Garth Stapley, Modesto
Bee
While not curing a three-year
drought, recent rains are allowing irrigation districts to delay the start of
irrigation season in hopes of having a bit more water in the fall.
The Modesto Irrigation District
board this morning will review a plan to begin delivering water March 30, three
weeks later than initially thought. The Oakdale Irrigation District likely will
postpone its season's start to Monday, and the South San Joaquin Irrigation
District board today will consider doing the same.
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