Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 17, 2009
3. Watersheds –
Kangaroo rat, Congress keep Madera Co. water plan bottled up
Fresno
By Mark Grossi
The Madera Water Bank has been touted for a decade as a savior for
Yet the underground water storage project, which is a hit with farmers, environmentalists and legislators, is still on the drawing board.
As a third year of drought unfolds, officials search the proposed bank site for
Madera Irrigation District, the third group to work on the water bank proposal in the last 10 years, says the project should be on a faster track because of the drought.
"Sure, I'd feel good if I had the project ready right now, because we really could use it," said farmer Carl Janzen, the district board president. "But it's not ready, and part of the problem is all the hoops we have to jump through."
The bank is well worth the effort, say most water experts. It would hold enough water to fill half of
During wet years, the district would pipe extra water from area rivers to the grasslands southwest of
The water bank could provide more than 40% of the water needed by district farmers each year.
Instead, delays continue. Over the last 10 years, legal action, political maneuvers and suspicion have stalled two attempts to build a water bank on almost 14,000 acres.
Residents and county officials have long feared the underground water would be sold to
Madera Irrigation District picked up the idea in 2005, promising that locals would run the bank and that water would not leave the county. There were still doubts, legal action and political battles, but the district has moved beyond most of the controversy.
Now, in addition to endangered species considerations, there is delay in Congress. The House last week failed to pass a federal public lands bill that would have authorized many
The bill is expected to be reworked and possibly pass in the next several weeks. Once the project is authorized, it can go through the federal appropriations process for about $22 million, which will help pay for planning, pipelines and wells.
For irrigation officials, the bigger frustration might be the environmental documentation for the endangered
There currently are no known populations of the rat within its historical range in
The last time a
"This is a unique subspecies," said Patrick Kelly, director of the Endangered Species Recovery Program. "It would be tragic if it was extinct."
Since the rat is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the irrigation district must conduct a thorough search of the area, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Thousands of attempts to trap the animals have come up empty, said district manager Lance Johnson. He said there are plenty of Herman's kangaroo rats, but no
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1265463.html
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