Column
By Leon Kaye
From The Guardian - Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
Coalition response...As pointed out by this article, San Joaquin Valley farmers are
responding to challenges in their efforts to produce a food supply that is
distributed around the world. They have adapted improved management practices
that have increased their water use efficiency. From 1967 to 2007, California
farmers' water use fell by 14.6% while increasing the value of agricultural
commodities by 84%. Recent reports indicate a worldwide food supply shortage
could be ahead of us and this increased production will help reduce any impacts
from food shortages.
Reports of tainted soils too
often focus only on the problem and does not include the positive actions that
are being taken to remedy these situations. Farmers in the Grasslands Bypass
Project, about 100,000 acres of prime farmland, are working with local water
districts, government agencies and environmental organizations to remove
minerals from their drainage water before it reaches the San Joaquin River.
Adapting drip irrigation systems, recycling drainage water with fresh water,
lowering of irrigation wells and more have achieved significant results.
More than 57,500 acre-feet of
drainage water was discharged through drainage channels in 1995 before this
group began to take action. That number dropped to 14,500 acre-feet in 2010, a
75% reduction. The amount of selenium, salt and boron were reduced by 87%, 72%
and 64% respectively.
A significant result of directly
approaching this issue has been the removal of a section of the San Joaquin
River from the list of impaired water bodies by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. EPA described the Grassland effort a "success
story" in a recent publication; read the report at http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/ca_san.cfm.
San Joaquin Valley farmers and
their counterparts across the State are working to provide a food supply for
the world that is healthy, affordable and safe.
Delta
Story
From River News Herald - Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
Coalition response...Water has been an issue even from the days of the Gold Rush and
Californians have stepped forward to find solutions that benefit the entire
State. That is the process in which the BDCP is directed---provide a reliable
water supply and at the same time protect the Delta ecosystem. No one is
advocating a taking of all the water or leaving the Delta region in such dire
straights that farms and communities dry up.
It is disappointing that a news
publication would republish inflammatory opinions as facts when describing the
Bay Delta Conservation Plan. In truth, conveyance options being studied today
are much different than the 1982 Peripheral Canal proposal. See a side-by-side
comparison at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.
In addition, claims that new
conveyance will "drain the Delta" ignore the fact that diversions
will be adjusted based on the amount of water in the system, such as in wet,
normal and dry years. When less water is available diversions will be smaller
or stopped altogether. See a chart on how it will work at www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf.
If California is to secure a
reliable water supply and a healthy ecosystem then discussions on achieving
both must be based on facts.
Fisheries
Editorial
From Sonoma News - Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
Coalition response...Continuing to blame deliveries of water that flow through the Delta as a
"significant cause" for the drop in the salmon population does a
disservice to the public that deserves factual information. The report by the two
organizations failed to include current reports that present a different
picture.
Scientists from the Pacific
Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service have
identified poor ocean conditions---warm temperatures and reduced food
supply---as the leading cause of the drop in salmon numbers.
Since the adoption of CVPIA,
studies conducted by the California Department of Fish & Game and UC Davis
have shown a strong increasing trend in the abundance of warm water predatory
fish in the Delta, including largemouth bass, that feed on juvenile salmon as
they make their way through the Delta. The result is predator species consuming
and replacing native fish species in the Delta --- http://www.farmwater.org/centrarchids.pdf.
As admitted by the author, the
index report compiled by NRDC and the Golden Gate Salmon Association contains
no new information. It's too bad that it doesn't because maybe greater
acknowledgement of factors impacting salmon population to a greater degree than
the pumps would be recognized. Instead, the author and the two organizations
continue to blame the pumps for the low salmon numbers while ignoring the
significance of recent scientific studies.
WATER SUPPLY
Story
From Stockton Record - Monday, Jan. 7, 2013
Editorial
From Redding Record Searchlight - Monday, Jan. 7, 2013
Story
From Marysville Appeal-Democrat - Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013
Audio report
From California Report - Friday, Jan. 4, 2013
Story
From Imperial Valley Press - Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013
Letter
From Sacramento Bee - Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
DELTA
Story
Friom Benecia Herald - Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
PEOPLE
Story
From Imperial Valley Press - Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013
Story
From Modesto Bee - Friday, Jan. 4, 2013
