Peltier to succeed Nelson as Authority Executive Director Mike Stearns, Chairman of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, announced that Jason Peltier will take over as Executive Director of the organization, replacing Dan Nelson who will retire at the end of 2015. Stearns indicated that Peltier was named the successor to Nelson as part […]
State Water Resources Control Board could cost California’s agricultural economy $4.5 billion
Farmers throughout the Central Valley have been working hard and assuming huge personal risks in support of the Sacramento River Temperature Management Plan to protect salmon and still provide water to their farms. “Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of water is being loaned to the United States Bureau of Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries Service, […]
Bipartisan members of Congress seek balanced Shasta temperature plan
State Water Resources Control Board curtailment is another blow to farmers
Today’s (6-12-15) curtailment order by the State Water Resources Control Board to shut off water supplies to pre-1914 users with permits that began in 1903 or later was not completely unexpected. However, this order demonstrates the seriousness of the current drought gripping our state and the damage being felt by rural communities. Today’s curtailment order comes […]
Six things Moby gets wrong about California farming
Recording artist Moby has a lot to say in Rolling Stone about the way California farmers grow food. We’re using this post to address six of his most egregious errors. 1. Moby says “very few of the things we do as humans actually create benefit for anyone.” Farmers use the water they have to do something […]
What do fish eat? Fish.
UPDATED 5-29-15 Assembly Member Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) has introduced AB 1201, a legislative bill that would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop and initiate a science-based approach that helps address predation by non-native species on Delta species. According to analysis prepared by Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee staff, the bill would accomplish […]
It takes water to grow food
It takes water to grow food Are we really using too much water to grow food in California? The simple fact is that it takes water to grow food no matter where in the world you till the soil. Critics claim that the consumption of California farm products is somehow contributing to the drought. That […]
Drought Fact Sheet – May 2015 (revised 5-26-15)
In May of 2015, almost 75% of farms had sustained cutbacks of 80% or more in water supplies. Learn more about the 2011-2017 California drought in this Drought Fact Sheet, dated May 26, 2015. [gview file=”https://farmwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/California-Agriculture-Drought-Fact-Sheet05262015.pdf”] 2011-2017 California Drought
Many Delta Stressors Impacting Delta Smelt and Delta Health
There are far bigger issues affecting the Delta than water exports and returning to a time prior to Western development is unrealistic. To describe the Delta as altered is to say that New York City is populous or California water politics contentious. Since the 19th century when locals began to reclaim the marshlands, dike the […]
Drought Fact Sheet – April 2015
In April of 2015, farms in California had sustained multiple years of severely restricted water supplies, and went unmentioned in a declaration by Governor Brown requiring mandatory conservation among California’s urban water users. Recognizing the significant efforts by agriculture, Governor Brown rebuked attacks that he hadn’t asked enough from California’s farms and rural communities in […]








