Groundwater
From: J.N. Sbranti, Modesto
Bee
The cumulative impact of rapidly
expanding almond orchards in eastern Stanislaus County soon may create a
massive drain on the region's groundwater supply.
An estimated 4 million newly
planted trees are expected to start consuming as much water as 480,000 people.
That's roughly the population of
Sacramento, and more than twice the population of Modesto.
Coalition response... Reporter J.N. Sbranti mischaracterizes the cost farmers pay for water
when she says, "...city residents get charged for the water they use,
farmers pump groundwater for free..."
Water is a public resource in
California. The only cost for any user is the cost of delivery. That's why it
seems like city residents pay for it and farmers don't. City residents are
paying all of the infrastructure costs to collect, treat and deliver water to
their faucets 24 hours a day. Farmers also pay those costs but they have to be
paid up front through the installation of wells, pumps, pipelines, expensive
irrigation systems and energy. City residents pay those costs too but they're
buried in an affordable monthly bill from their water provider.
Water Supply
From: Natalie DiBlasio, USA
Today
A storm ravaging California is
bringing some of the highest rainfall totals to the Los Angeles area in years,
but meteorologists say "it's not going to be a drought-breaker."
Although the storm lingered
Saturday before moving east, it is just the beginning of what the region needs
to pull out of a major drought, says Michelle Mead, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service in Sacramento.
From: John Holland, Modesto
Bee
Today, irrigation canals will
start flowing toward Oakdale, Escalon and Ripon. In the weeks to come, the
Modesto, Turlock and Merced areas will follow.
In most years, the canals are
strong with water that gets the crops through the heat of summer, much like blood
carrying oxygen to a marathon runner's muscles. This year, in many parts of the
Northern San Joaquin Valley, they will struggle to the finish line.
From: Multiple, San Diego
Union-Tribune
California's current
drought-water crisis has been caused, as usual, by environmental zealots and
liberal government who have stolen California's gold and our economy.Adding
insult to injury, federal official announced that the agricultural Central
Valley Project and California Water Project customers will receive no water
allocations this year.
Indeed, the California Water
Project and the Central Valley Project were created, paid for, and maintained
by farmers and property owners to deliver Northern California water to the
agricultural-rich Central Valley, and 25 million people in Southern California.
From: Al Medvitz, Sacramento
Bee
Drought-stressed farmers on the
west side of California's Central Valley have received a lot of congressional
and presidential attention lately. Because we farm and ranch on the west side
of the Valley, this attention means a lot to us, but not in the way one might
think.
My wife's and my ranch is large,
about 3,700 acres, and we raise wine grapes, alfalfa, sheep and lambs, and
small grains - wheat and barley. Our farm, however, is not in the southern part
of the Valley where farms are served by the Central Valley Project and the
State Water Project. Rather, we are on the western bank of the Sacramento River
farther north but just south of Rio Vista. We farm in the region from where
water is taken to transport south.
From: Norm Groot, Salinas
Californian
Funny how drought intensifies the
discussion on water use, who has it, who doesn't, and who thinks they can grab
a new claim. In the past weeks since Gov. Jerry Brown's drought declaration,
the intensity with which this word is used has come to a feverish pitch.
Everyone is looking at what can
be done with the minimal supplies we have available. We are probably in a
better position than the rest of the state, simply because we have our own
supply system of storage and recharge. Thank you, farmers and ranchers, for
having the foresight to build two big reservoirs, the Castroville Seawater
Intrusion Project and the Salinas Valley Water Project. Without these
facilities, paid for by the agricultural community, our water situation would
be much more dire.
From: Todd Fitchette, Western
Farm Press
Commence firing! In a shot across
the bow, several Sacramento River Settlement (SRS) contractors fired off a
letter to David Murillo, regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
regarding the USBR's decision to provide SRS contractors with a 40 percent
water allocation in the wake of California's epic drought.
Water Storage
From: Garth Stapley, Modesto
Bee
Tuolumne County, which is home to
10 dams and two rivers but has no rights to the water in them, wants a share of
Don Pedro Reservoir's wealth.
The county's demand for fair play
surfaced in a recent flurry of comments submitted by agencies on several
levels, and environmentalists and whitewater rafting outfits, all with
high-stakes interests in a new federal license for the large foothills lake
relied on by millions for drinking and irrigation water, agribusiness,
recreation and electricity.
From: Staff, KSEE 24
Congressman Jim Costa is
introducing legislation to dramatically increase California's ability to store
water.
His plan involves expanding
existing water storage sites at San Luis, Shasta and Temperance Flat. A
recently passed plan in the House doesn't allocate federal funds for storage.
That's something Costa hopes to
change.
No comments:
Post a Comment