A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
July 20, 2007
1. Top Items
Water emergency is declared in
Drought prompts governor to declare state of emergency in Riverside County - Riverside Press Enterprise
Drought emergency in Riverside County - Associated Press
Water emergency is declared in
By Jonathan Abrams, staff writer
After the driest year on record, the governor Thursday declared a state of emergency in
The unrelenting dry spell has heightened fire danger throughout
In Central California's
"The situation in
Schwarzenegger directed the Office of Emergency Services to start drilling water wells or modify existing wells in the county.
Supervisor John F. Tavaglione said he didn't envision the county calling for mandatory water restrictions, but said voluntary conservation efforts needed to be increased.
"Water is going to be a scarce commodity," he said.
For the first time in almost a century, the Menifee farm owned by Mike Bouris' family did not plant a wheat crop this year. Last month, the family decided to stop farming for good.
Bouris said the effect of the drought hit home last month when he auctioned off his farm equipment.
Neighboring farmers, facing losses themselves, could not afford to bid, even at deeply discounted prices. Instead, the equipment was brought by farmers in
"I had to sell things for less than 50 cents on the dollar, and that rang home more than anything," said Bouris, whose family farm had planted wheat the previous 85 years.
The governor's declaration came two days after the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency, stating that reduced water availability had caused an estimated $4 million in crop damage. Earlier this year, a severe freeze hampered farming in the winter months.
Most
"I've never seen it this bad, to this extent, as far as a drought situation," said Steve Pastor, executive director of the Riverside County Farm Bureau. "A lot of farmers didn't even take the chance of planting."
The drought has adversely affected the county's wheat and grain crop and caused some ranchers to remove their cattle and sheep from the area.
"The extreme weather has affected all the crops in
Kings County Agriculture Commissioner Tim Niswander said rainfall in his area had been less than half the annual average and led to the million-dollar crop losses.
Some farmers chose to plow under cotton crops, he said.
"It didn't look like they were going to get a sufficient return," Niswander said.
There is hope that the disaster declaration will trigger federal assistance for farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture must officially recognize the dire conditions before farmers can receive aid.
"Essentially this provides funding for the county for any cost in dealing with this drought, and more importantly, the governor is pursuing loan assistance to help the farmers impacted as a result of this," said Eric Lamoureax, spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services.
But for farmers like Bouris, news of the proclamation came too late. In 2002, the farm did not have a harvest. This year, even planting a crop would have been futile, he said. Instead, he had to lay off longtime workers and auctioned off the trailer he had bought a year ago.
"Maybe the Wheaties will start coming from
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drought20jul20,1,3665483.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Drought prompts governor to declare state of emergency in Riverside County
Riverside Press
By Jim Miller, staff writer
The declaration will propel efforts to get federal aid for the county's small cadre of farmers who rely on rainfall to irrigate grain crops.
Officials estimate that the dry-land farmers have suffered $4 million in losses. The
"That really is the crux of all these actions. Without a state declaration, we can't get a federal declaration," county Agricultural Commissioner John Snyder said.
State assistance also is a possibility. Mary Moreland, deputy director of the county fire department and emergency services, said the county will know more after completing damage-assessment reports.
Thursday's declaration is the second related to this year's paltry rainfall. Last month, Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for
In statements announcing both declarations, Schwarzenegger said the situation "shows how precarious
As part of the administration's water plan, Schwarzenegger has called for new reservoirs and a canal to carry water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, paid for partly by $5.9 billion in borrowing. The Legislature has not acted on the proposal. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_water20.427db5f.html
Drought emergency in Riverside County
Associated Press – 7/20/07
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Thursday for
It is the second such declaration in what has been a very dry year for most of
The emergency order directs state agencies to help
Water agencies throughout
Schwarzenegger is promoting a $5.9 billion bond proposal that would partially fund the building of two dams, a canal to help route fresh water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and various conservation programs.
The governor has said he plans to begin negotiations with lawmakers this summer on a water package. #
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_6419071
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