Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Doug Obegi, Sacramento
Bee
There's no question that
California is facing one of the worst droughts in its history. As a state that
uses more water than we have available - even in "wet" years - there
are some critical decisions we need to make about how to move forward.
But as we decide how to spend
billions of dollars on the water solutions needed to carry us into the future,
it's critical that we address the short-term needs of this historic drought
without getting tunnel vision and losing sight of what's going to be best in
the long run for the businesses and individuals who live and work here.
Coalition response... Doug Obegi's portfolio option doesn't provide sufficient water to
maintain food production on much of the highly productive land on the San
Joaquin Valley's Westside. Along with those farms come jobs for tens of
thousands of people in communities like Firebaugh, Huron, San Joaquin and
Mendota. Obegi's callous disregard for the people and communities that depend
on agriculture is utterly shameful. Rather than seeking options that sustain
farmland and rural economies that have produced food and fiber since the late
1800s, Obegi and co-author Kim Delfino would rather see millions of acre-feet
of water flushed out to the ocean with no measurable economic or environmental
benefits.
Water Use
From: Carolee Krieger, San
Francisco Chronicle
California produces more than 80
percent of the world's almonds, accounting for an export gross of more than
$2.5 billion. Almonds, in short, are a profitable crop. But there's a big
problem with these new plantings in the San Joaquin Valley. Almonds are thirsty.
California's almond orchards use
almost 9 percent of the state's agricultural water supply, or about 3.5 million
acre feet. That's enough water to supply the domestic needs of the Los Angeles
Basin and metropolitan San Diego combined - about 75 percent of the state's
population.
Drought
From: Garth Stapley, Modesto
Bee
Nut farmers and other Modesto
Irrigation District customers can wait to water crops as late as Oct. 3. That's
two weeks later than initially planned, giving trees a better chance of
surviving the drought and being healthy enough to produce again next year.
The MID board also agreed Tuesday
to accommodate another round of farmer-to-farmer water transfers with a Sept. 2
application deadline. And the district might offer to sell some extra water
reserved in April by a few farmers who haven't asked or paid for it since then.
From: Charles Feldman, CBS LA,
KNX 1070
California is at a "tipping
point," say leading climatologists, as a historic drought enters its
fourth year with no end in sight.
The numbers are both informative
and scary: For the first time in 15 years, the entire state finds itself under
drought conditions; and our last official "rain year" in Southern
California was one of the driest in 500 years, based on an analysis of tree
rings. It's "very unusual" to have these extremely dry years, says
Lynn Ingram, professor of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley.
From: Staff, KSEE 24
Citrus growers and lawmakers
gathered in the Valley Tuesday to push for a water bond for the November
ballot. The group called for support in the middle of a dry orchard to show the
drought's devastation.
Regulations
From: Staff, Porterville
Recorder
Farmers who are already reeling
from a lack of water to irrigate their crops this summer are being hit with an
annual acreage fee to meet a mandated program to monitor water runoff from
irrigated lands.
The Central Valley Regional Water
Quality Control Board in September of 2013 adopted new waste discharge
requirements to protect ground and surface water from irrigated agricultural
discharges for the Tulare Lake Basin area. That led to a plan to monitor groundwater
and what impacts irrigation has on that groundwater.
Farming News
From: Staff, KNSD 7
A San Diego lettuce farmer was
invited to the White House Tuesday to be recognized as a "Champion of
Change." As NBC 7's Greg Bledsoe explains, this farm uses 80 percent less
water than conventional lettuce farms. [Video]
Press Releases
From: Jared Huffman, Office of
Congressman Huffman
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San
Rafael) today led a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
outlining a strong opposition to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The
letter, cosigned by California Reps. George Miller, Mike Thompson, Doris
Matsui, John Garamendi, Barbara Lee, Jackie Speier, and Jerry McNerney, was
offered as part of the public review and comment period, which ends today.
From: John Garamendi, Office
of Congressman Garamendi
Yesterday, Congressman John
Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a leader on water policy in California, released
his public comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the
Governor's Bay Delta Conservation Plan's (BDCP) proposed twin tunnels
boondoggle.
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