[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 9/10/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

September 10, 2008

 

 

Metropolitan plan could curb harvest

The San Diego Tribune- 9/10/08

By Mike Lee

 

The Metropolitan Water District plans to end a 14-year-old program that gives discounted rates to farmers in Southern California. The move is likely to reduce the amount of food produced in the region.

Growers in San Diego County account for about two-thirds of the water sold through the program, which offers lower prices in exchange for supply cutbacks during dry years.

 

Some growers are willing to pay higher rates for a more reliable water supply, while others – particularly avocado farmers – said losing the discounts will make it hard to stay in business in an era of quickly rising costs for fuel and fertilizer.

 

“I just don't see how the avocado industry can make it. I have been doing this for 34 years and it looks like this is the end of the road to me,” said Russ Hatfield, an avocado farmer in Fallbrook.

 

Under Metropolitan's program, growers obtain a price break by agreeing to have their water allotment cut by 30 percent or more when the region's supplies run low. This year was the first time that the agency imposed restrictions.

 

Yesterday, the agency's board discussed phasing out the discount pricing over five years. A final decision isn't expected until October.

 

The proposal allows farmers to opt out of the discount program in January. It also outlines new conservation incentives to help farmers who pay full price install highly efficient irrigation equipment. Metropolitan also might pay farmers to not irrigate some parcels.

 

“If the program is going to end, at least this is a bit of a soft landing instead of an instant end,” said Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.

 

He said the days are numbered for irrigation discounts because Metropolitan's board consists mainly of representatives for urban water districts that dislike giving farmers price breaks while the agency's reserves are dwindling and conservation mandates are growing.

 

Jeffrey Kightlinger, Metropolitan's general manager, said the program for farmers no longer makes sense because the agency would have to impose restrictions almost every year given the drought and other water-supply constraints across California.

 

He said there's still a future for agriculture in Southern California, but that farmers will have to select only high-value crops – such as flowers and strawberries – to cover their full-price water costs.

 

Avocado growers face the toughest challenge because they have thin profit margins and typically lack other crop options, Larson said.

“When you look at the kind of ground (avocados) grow on – the real steep hillsides – that land will never convert to another ag use,” he said.

 

The situation is filled with difficult questions for hundreds of North County farmers such as Hatfield, for whom water is the main expense. The discount water program saves him thousands of dollars a year, he said.

 

Hatfield said he'll probably take a few months to decide whether to drop out of the program in 2009.

 

Even farmers who opt to pay full price next year would be subject to any reductions in the regional water supply, just like non-farmers.

 

 That means growers could face another round of cutbacks next year unless a wet winter ends the statewide drought, said Dave Seymour, general manager at the Rainbow Municipal Water District in Fallbrook.

 

He said farmers with just a few acres of land are likely to exit the discount program quickly while owners of larger groves will probably hang on to their price breaks next year.

 

“It's going to be a short-term blessing for people if they can get out of the program and get as much water as they need,” Seymour said. “But in the long run, they are going to have to pay a higher price for that water and that's going to cut into the bottom line.” #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080910-9999-1m10water.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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