A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 4, 2008
2. Supply –
Farming's parched future: Water allocation puts many in bind as drought worsens
San Diego
Editorial
A drought of water ideas
Area water agencies warn of restrictions: Mandatory cutbacks may be imposed if usage isn't reduced
Editorial
Water crisis won't just evaporate: 'Leaders' in
The
++++++++++++++++++++
Farming's parched future: Water allocation puts many in bind as drought worsens
San Diego
By Michael Gardner and Mike Lee, Staff Writers
In the
Three hundred miles north, in the heart of California, nearly 50,000 acres of San Joaquin Valley cotton fields were left unplanted or abandoned by growers faced with severe water shortages, such as Fred Starrh.
As in real estate, it's all about location. Growers close to major rivers, such as the
Others, dependent on
Caught in the middle are the farmworkers and merchants in rural areas who count on a steady stream of farm dollars for their livelihoods.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, for example, is shipping just 40 percent of the usual allotment of water to growers in the
“It's heart-wrenching,” said Jose Ramirez, city manager of Firebaugh in
Unlike urban areas where drought-related losses have been minimal, some agricultural regions and farming towns are reeling from water cutbacks. State officials have blamed the drought for $245 million in economic losses – and rising.
“There are not enough jobs left,” said Gloria Perez, a laborer from Firebaugh, who helps support eight family members. “If there's no work, I have to go find it. Where that place is at, I don't know.”
In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District shaved 30 percent off water deliveries to farms, such as the avocado groves in
Urban leaders in particular cast jealous eyes at farmers' water allotments, eager to secure more supplies for homes and businesses, especially during droughts.
“(Agriculture's) consumption of a very valuable resource seems out of size with its contribution to the state,” said Marney Cox, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments.
Agriculture is a powerful economic force in some parts of
With worldwide concern over potential food shortages driving some commodity prices higher,
But that takes water. Lots of water.
Growers in the
Osterkamp boosted his grain production from about 400 acres to 1,200 acres this year.
But there is a downside: The Imperial Irrigation District, which has sold water to
“I am afraid that I am not going to plant all my fields,” said Osterkamp, president of the Imperial County Farm Bureau. “If we hadn't transferred water to
The Imperial district has rights to 3.1 million acre-feet of water a year from the Colorado River – about 75 percent of the state's total annual allocation from the river shared by
That's about four times as much water as
The agreement that Imperial district leaders signed to sell water to the San Diego County Water Authority still angers those who believed it threatened the region's agricultural economy by fallowing land.
Not surprisingly, any suggestion that farmers send more water to urban areas doesn't go over well in Imperial.
“We are already doing our part. . . . We are not giving anymore,” said John Pierre Menvielle, president of the Imperial Irrigation District board. “We need every drop of it for farming.”
The
The Bureau of Reclamation has sharply curtailed water deliveries to areas such as the
“Planning for next year is scary,” said Starrh, the cotton grower, who has been forced to divert most of his water to his groves to keep his almond and pistachio trees alive. As a result, 2,000 acres of cotton were lost.
“We're just sitting on the edge,” he said. “You don't know what's going to happen.”
And then there are the critics who question why Starrh and his fellow growers are trying to raise cotton, a subsidized crop, with subsidized water in the first place.
“A lot of people have argued that it really doesn't make any sense to try to grow cotton in . . . what is naturally a near-desert,” said Bill Walker, a spokesman for the Environmental Working Group in
Starrh bristles at such assertions, noting that cotton growers have invested heavily in water-saving technologies. The industry also has shifted to different varieties and has reduced its acreage from 1.6 million acres 30 years ago to 275,000 acres today.
Critics of agricultural deliveries claim that in normal years 80 percent of the state's surface water is applied to crops. Farmers say 40 percent is a more accurate figure when diversions for environmental uses are factored in.
In
The 2008 season has been the first time since the program's inception in 1993 that Metropolitan ordered the reductions to farms. Over the past 15 years, Metropolitan has provided about $200 million in rate reductions to those growers.
“This is the deal everybody cut,” said Brian Thomas, the district's chief financial officer.
Metropolitan has warned of a repeat, particularly if it imposes rationing on municipal and industrial users next year. If urban users are cut more than 10 percent, farmers could lose 40 percent or more, Thomas said.
“We're hoping we don't have to go further,” he said.
The drought is a factor for agriculture in all areas through the state, not just inland valleys.
Shortages are hitting ranchers along the
Even after thinning her herd, Fitzhugh had to dip into loose hay that had been stored by her grandparents about 50 years ago.
“We've had stock ponds go dry. We've had springs fail,” Fitzhugh said.
Other farmers have sufficient supplies – for now.
“We are at full supply,” said Don Bransford, who farms rice in the Colusa area, which has been protected from cuts thanks to legal rights to water out of the nearby
Good thing, too, Bransford said. Fuel and fertilizer prices have put a damper on what are expected to be record returns for rice. Next season, farmers may not be as fortunate.
“We are anticipating cuts next year,” Bransford said. “Most everyone does because of the seriousness of the drought.”#
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080804-9999-1n4agwater.html
Editorial
A drought of water ideas
By Thomas D. Elias
Almost 20 years ago, the usually verdant
Things were worst there, but the rest of the state also had serious problems, as many cities passed laws against daytime lawn watering and "drought police" made rounds to enforce those regulations along with rules against watering down walkways, sidewalks and driveways.
Several wet years ensued, and Californians became relaxed again. But drought is back, despite a couple of wetter than usual months last winter. The rains and mountain snowfall of January and February were followed by a record-dry March and April, and in early May, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, largest source of California water supplies, was at 67 percent of normal, down from 97 percent in February.
Add to that the court-ordered cutbacks of water shipments from the delta of the
Because almost everything in
It's true that voters will be asked to vote yes or no on everything from gay marriage to legislative redistricting and children's hospital expansions this fall. But ignore the need for water and everything else becomes moot.
In the new drought,
This time, it's been residents of
In
Meanwhile, the East Bay district, serving residents from Berkeley to Danville and from the Carquinez Strait to Castro Valley in Alameda County, in May demanded a 20 percent cut on water use by its customers, except those using less than 100 gallons per day. Single-family homes and businesses will have to cut back slightly more than apartment buildings and condominiums.
That's the first quantitative water rationing plan imposed anywhere in California since the early 1990s, when many cities and counties began demanding installation of low-flow shower heads and toilets not just in new construction, but even in existing homes and buildings.
The
With great uncertainty about next winter's snowfalls, the district can't allow profligate use of supplies on hand.
But even if all that is accomplished, along with new restrictions on lawn watering and other water uses, it will take more to meet an expected 15 percent increase in demand by 2030.
One positive suggestion came last spring from Democratic state Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, who proposed setting up a $5 million hatchery to expand the population of delta smelt, the endangered, silvery minnow-like fish whose survival is the aim of the delta pumping reductions. Since January, farms and cities have lost more than 1 million acre feet of water because of that cutback, water that has simply flowed out to sea when it might otherwise have been put to some use.
Breed enough smelt to end their endangered status, and part of the current water problem is solved.
Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi summed up the situation well in an essay the other day. "
Those efforts plainly will have to include some kind of new storage facilities to save winter flood waters that ordinarily are wasted. There also must be strong consideration of desalinization plants, such as
The bottom line:
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_10080336
Area water agencies warn of restrictions: Mandatory cutbacks may be imposed if usage isn't reduced
You might have missed the televised public service announcements asking that you cut back on water usage. Or you were buying popcorn when a similar ad ran before the movies on the big screen. And somehow you overlooked the rebate programs at local hardware stores offering cash if you buy water-saving appliances.
So the folks who supply water to about three-quarters of
If you don't, they may make you do it.
"We have a crisis that is potentially looming, so please keep your water use in check," said Eric Bergh, manager of resources for Calleguas Municipal Water District, which supplies part or all of the water to the 600,000 residents east of the
The district gets its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which gets water from the Sacramento River Delta and the
Despite the dry conditions and ads asking for voluntary conservation measures, Calleguas has had about a 5 percent increase in water usage over the past three months compared to the same time last year. Even if the demand for more water because of hotter days over the past few months is taken into consideration, water usage would be the same as last year, but Bergh was hoping to see a decline.
With two dry winters, shrinking reserves and less water coming from the Sacramento Delta, if people don't start voluntarily conserving, mandatory conservation may be enacted, he said.
"Things are looking pretty grim," he said. "We want to do all we can to convey to the public to step up so we can avoid mandatory restrictions next year."
Other districts have already enacted conservation measures, including Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which serves 65,000 customers in the eastern
It enacted 10 percent voluntary reduction measures July 1, some of which include no washing down driveways, no water service at restaurants unless requested and no watering during the hottest parts of the day.
Still, water usage is slightly up compared to last year in that district too.
Customers need to get ready
General Manager John Mundy said the measures are being enacted now to get customers ready for what could be a challenging period next year, when less water could be available from the Metropolitan Water District, where Las Virgenes gets its water.
"We are concerned if folks don't cut back, it's going to be a lot more pain next year," he said.
In
Casitas Municipal Water, which supplies water to
When Mundy went through water rationing in the 1990s, the restrictions were sprung on people overnight and were poorly received.
But his district is trying to warm people up to the idea of reduced use now so potential rationing might not be so hard, he said.
If Metropolitan does enact rationing and it trickles down to providers like Las Virgenes, users could be forced to pay premiums for going over their allotted usage. A typical $100 bill for two months of service could dramatically increase, as users would pay three to four times their regular fees for going over their allocated amounts. That's why the district and others are doing as much as they can to urge customers to save water now.
In the coming months, the Calleguas district is going to start putting together water budgets for people to let them know where they can make cuts in use.
Bergh said an aggressive campaign in which all water districts participate could help people learn ways to curb usage.
Outdoor landscaping
The majority of residential water usage — as much as 70 percent — goes toward outdoor landscaping, which could easily be reduced. A Web site — http://www.bewaterwise.com — is set up to direct people on how to curb their use around the house.
"We are in fairly dire standings, and given the uncertainty of next winter, we have some very, very real concerns," Bergh said.#
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/04/area-water-agencies-warn-of-restrictions/
Editorial
Water crisis won't just evaporate: 'Leaders' in
The
Everybody has an answer to
Everyone has an answer -- but no one, it seems, is ready for a workable compromise.
The result is that we wallow in a crisis that is only going to get worse. The current drought, it's predicted, is likely to extend into next year as well. The considerable damage that has been done is only the beginning -- and yet we're no closer to long-term solutions than we were a decade ago.
Farm losses to the drought totaled nearly $250 million in mid-July -- almost $75 million of that in the Valley -- according to state figures. Growers are abandoning crops, and workers are losing jobs. And our "leaders" in
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein proposed a new bond measure last month for $9.3 billion to fund water supply and conservation projects. It's a promising combination of new surface projects, repairs to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, underground storage and conservation efforts. Something like that will certainly be needed; the size of the problem is that great.
But there are also several billion dollars from earlier initiatives -- Proposition 84 (passed by voters in 2006), Proposition 50 (2002) and Proposition 13 (2000) -- that remain unspent. Efforts to do so have fallen victim to the internecine warfare among Republicans and Democrats in the Capitol.
Meanwhile, the state's population continues to grow, just as supplies are weakening, in part because of the effects of global climate change.
The neglect of the water crisis is similar to the farrago of a budget process we're witnessing. It is increasingly apparent to most of us that some combination of spending cuts and tax increases is going to be necessary to close the monumental $15 billion budget gap. Nobody likes that, but it's the reality of the situation.
Likewise with water: Many people are opposed to new dams because of their environmental impacts and great cost. But dams are part of an overall solution -- and the longer we wait, the more costly they become. Proponents of dams often shrug off the merits of increased conservation, but that, too, is essential -- and offers a tremendous potential for saving water.
There is a middle ground on water, but -- as with the budget -- the middle ground is no-man's land in
It's a genuine crisis we're facing. Many areas of the state could face water rationing before too long. The losses in the ag industry will ripple through the rest of the state's economy. The essential task of building the state's job base will suffer, as existing businesses find themselves unable to grow and new businesses never materialize.
The cost of doing nothing is not zero. Quite the opposite. The cost of doing nothing -- our status quo -- will be enormous for this once-golden state.#
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/771033.html
No comments:
Post a Comment