Category: Farm Water in the News

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Opinion: There’s a better way

Coalition response…While Ken Vogel would like you to believe that California is suffering under an oversubscribed water supply it is important to note that South of Delta CVP water users received 100 percent of their supplies from 1952 to 1989, with the exception of 1977, a severe drought year. Today those supplies have been decimated, not because of an oversubscribed water supply but because of environmental regulations that limit water exports that once served several million acres of productive farmland. Sadly, those regulations have not helped endangered species recover and people like Vogel want to continue to try and fix the problem with a solution that is proven not to work.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

AquAlliance warns not to follow in dry footsteps of the San Joaquin Valley

Coalition response…Characterizing farms along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley as “industrial agriculture” paints the wrong picture of farmers who use Central Valley Project water. Almost 4,000 family farms receive CVP water south of the Delta and they share the same supply that their counterparts in the Sacramento Valley do. Maintaining water supply reliability helps farmers provide jobs and support local community economic activity whether it is in Chico or Mendota. Despite claims from Barbara Vlamis and Jim Brobeck, nothing in the State Water Action Plan or Bay Delta Conservation Plan threatens area-of-origin water rights for users north of the Delta. Both plans are intended to increase the reliability of water farmers and others already have a legal right to use.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Opinion: Will There Be Enough Water for the Twin Tunnels?

Coalition response…Water users are seeking more reliable water supplies from the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Deliveries of water that flows through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have been interrupted in recent years because of drought conditions and Endangered Species Act regulations that are suppose to protect fish. As an example, beginning last December at the same time that water flowing through the Delta was high, regulations meant to protect fish prevented it from being stored for farms to use later in the year. More than 727,000 acre-feet of water went to the ocean instead of helping meet the needs of 25 million Californians and nearly 4,000 family farms. Federal officials have yet to provide information that this action benefited endangered fish.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan could have avoided this loss of water. Read more about it at farmwater.org/watersupplycutshurtusall.pdf.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Groundwater levels falling at alarming rate while lawmakers decide what to do

Coalition response…San Joaquin Valley farmers and water officials recognized the amount of water being pumped from aquifers in the early 1900s as land subsidence was occurring. One of the benefits of the federal and State water projects was to provide a surface supply of water that would curtail the need to pump groundwater at unsustainable levels. Today’s surface supply has been negatively impacted by Environmental Species Act regulations and drought conditions. Consequently, farmers have been forced to increase pumping from the aquifer to maintain farm production and associated jobs and local economic benefits.

One avenue of reducing the reliance on groundwater would be to restore the water lost due to unproven regulations.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Opinion: Twin Tunnels: LA prospers, Fortune 500 farmers thrive & SJ County dies

Coalition response…The State and federal water supply projects significantly aided in the advancements to California’s economy and a way of life sought by many, as indicated in the opening paragraphs by the author. Decades after these projects became operational, the Endangered Species Act was approved by the federal government and has threatened what had once been a reliable water supply.

ESA regulations have taken water away from farmers and 25 million Californians for the protection of endangered fish in the Delta. Federal officials have failed to provide proof that these actions are helping the fish. Combined with drought conditions, these regulations have forced hundreds of thousands of acres to be unplanted and thousands of workers to lose their jobs. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its tunnels provide a solution to reduce the ESA effects on California’s water supply by sending the allowed amount of water through the tunnels instead of pushing fish toward the pumps.

The author’s suggestions that include south Delta tunnels, levee improvements and new south of Delta reservoirs are good ideas but they do not resolve the threat to endangered fish.

Years of study by scientists, biologists and researchers have gone into the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. It is the best option to provide a secure water future for California.

 

From Irrigation Association

Release Immediate

Nolletti, Zoldoske Honored With IA Awards

FALLS CHURCH, VA. (Nov. 8, 2013)— The Irrigation Association presented its annual awards during the General Session, Nov. 7, at the 2013 Irrigation Show and Education Conference in Austin, Texas. The association honored individuals in two categories:

Industry Achievement Award

The Industry Achievement Award was established in 1966 and recognizes an individual whose career demonstrates outstanding contributions to the advancement of the irrigation industry, products, practices, education, research or professionalism.

Vince Nolletti, Paige Electric Co. (Fresno, Calif.) Nolletti is recognized for his outstanding contributions to the industry, which include introducing the first commercially available microprocessor-based irrigation controllers, the KCS system, and increasing awareness of best management practices for electrical aspects of irrigation systems. He has been actively involved in several IA committees since the late 1990s, and he currently serves on the Irrigation Foundation Board of Trustees.

Person of the Year Award

Established in 1952, this honor is awarded to a person outside of the commercial irrigation industry who has made outstanding contributions toward the acceptance of sound irrigation practices or policies. Award recipients receive a lifetime technical membership to the Irrigation Association.

David Zoldoske, PhD, CID, Center for Irrigation Technology, California State University, Fresno Dr. Zoldoske has been a strong leader in the irrigation industry for many years — both at the national and international level. Some of his most notable contributions include serving as project director for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Irrigation Technology Center and representing the United States in the development of international equipment standards. As the director of the Center for Irrigation Technology, Dr. Zoldoske has established the center as an internationally renowned irrigation testing facility — a facility that is now the primary testing lab for WaterSense-labeled irrigation products. He also served on the IA Executive Committee for five years and was president from 2004 to 2005.

An IA membership is not mandatory to nominate a candidate or to be nominated. Recipients are selected by the IA Awards and Honors Committee based on overall strength of the candidate.

For more information or to nominate an individual for one of IA’s awards, visit www.irrigation.org/awards.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Delta tunnel fight to be long, costly, panelists warn

Coalition response…Concerns about how water decisions might affect Stockton businesses and the region’s economy deserve consideration, as do the impacts felt in San Joaquin Valley’s rural communities when water deliveries are reduced. Farmers, cities and businesses south of the Delta have experienced water losses for the past 20 years. Business owners in the western Fresno County community of Firebaugh are reporting losses of 25-30 percent this year because of water deliveries being cut back by 20 percent. See “Farm Water and the Business Crisis” at http://bit.ly/1cIxKqD.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s (BDCP) two objectives, as mandated by the State Legislature, will restore the Delta ecosystem and create a reliable supply of water. Fears that accomplishing these two goals might drain the Sacramento River are baseless. The State Water Resources Control Board establishes required flows through the Delta and BDCP must adhere to those standards.

Any suggestion that construction on BDCP could have already started ignores the legal requirements to conduct an Environmental Impact Study, which has not yet been completed. Federal fishery agencies must also approve the Plan before it is implemented, something that also has yet to get underway.

Factual information regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is available at http://baydeltaconservationplan.com.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Anything but Twin Tunnels

Coalition response…Alternatives to the Plan fail to achieve the two goals established by the Legislature in 2009 – achieving water supply reliability and restoring the Delta ecosystem. Biologists, researchers, economists and others have looked at the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposed tunnels and have concluded the current Plan is the best option to answer the State Legislature that demanded restoration of the Delta ecosystem and creation of a reliable water supply. Individuals and organizations continue to surface objections that have already been answered by years of research.

The water that currently flows through the Delta is taken by in-Delta users first and then delivered to 25 million Californians and nearly 4,000 farms south of the Delta. Those south of Delta users have suffered through 20 years of water supply cuts due to Endangered Species Act regulations. Why isn’t anyone talking about that?

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Ambitious Calif. river restoration problem plagued

Coalition response…The restoration of the San Joaquin River is not going as planned. Cost overruns, financing difficulties, delays in constructing needed projects and operational efforts that have resulted in farmland being flooded have plagued the restoration plan. Cannon Michael’s suggestion should be given serious consideration. The “wait and see” attitude articulated by the fishery agency representative may be a significant part of the problem. Federal agencies have the luxury of time and little accountability for deadlines. Farmers do not.

 

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Los Angeles’ water future remains challenged by drought, short supplies

Coalition response…Dr. William Patzert misses a key point in his comments about agricultural water use. Farmers use water to grow the food people in Southern California and across the nation buy at the grocery store. It may seem to Patzert that farm water use is high but farmers and consumers are actually on the same side of the table. Consumers want a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at an affordable price for their families. Farmers need dependable water supplies to grow them.

Since 2003 San Joaquin Valley farmers have invested more than $2 billion on upgraded irrigation systems. In recent decades food production has doubled while the amount of water used to grow it has remained about the same. On-farm water use efficiency is state of the art. Dr. Patzert would do well to examine the benefits consumers derive from California farms rather than simply accusing farmers of using too much water.