From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Delta tunnel fight to be long, costly, panelists warn

Coalition response…Concerns about how water decisions might affect Stockton businesses and the region’s economy deserve consideration, as do the impacts felt in San Joaquin Valley’s rural communities when water deliveries are reduced. Farmers, cities and businesses south of the Delta have experienced water losses for the past 20 years. Business owners in the western Fresno County community of Firebaugh are reporting losses of 25-30 percent this year because of water deliveries being cut back by 20 percent. See “Farm Water and the Business Crisis” at http://bit.ly/1cIxKqD.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s (BDCP) two objectives, as mandated by the State Legislature, will restore the Delta ecosystem and create a reliable supply of water. Fears that accomplishing these two goals might drain the Sacramento River are baseless. The State Water Resources Control Board establishes required flows through the Delta and BDCP must adhere to those standards.

Any suggestion that construction on BDCP could have already started ignores the legal requirements to conduct an Environmental Impact Study, which has not yet been completed. Federal fishery agencies must also approve the Plan before it is implemented, something that also has yet to get underway.

Factual information regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is available at http://baydeltaconservationplan.com.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Anything but Twin Tunnels

Coalition response…Alternatives to the Plan fail to achieve the two goals established by the Legislature in 2009 – achieving water supply reliability and restoring the Delta ecosystem. Biologists, researchers, economists and others have looked at the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposed tunnels and have concluded the current Plan is the best option to answer the State Legislature that demanded restoration of the Delta ecosystem and creation of a reliable water supply. Individuals and organizations continue to surface objections that have already been answered by years of research.

The water that currently flows through the Delta is taken by in-Delta users first and then delivered to 25 million Californians and nearly 4,000 farms south of the Delta. Those south of Delta users have suffered through 20 years of water supply cuts due to Endangered Species Act regulations. Why isn’t anyone talking about that?

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Ambitious Calif. river restoration problem plagued

Coalition response…The restoration of the San Joaquin River is not going as planned. Cost overruns, financing difficulties, delays in constructing needed projects and operational efforts that have resulted in farmland being flooded have plagued the restoration plan. Cannon Michael’s suggestion should be given serious consideration. The “wait and see” attitude articulated by the fishery agency representative may be a significant part of the problem. Federal agencies have the luxury of time and little accountability for deadlines. Farmers do not.

 

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Los Angeles’ water future remains challenged by drought, short supplies

Coalition response…Dr. William Patzert misses a key point in his comments about agricultural water use. Farmers use water to grow the food people in Southern California and across the nation buy at the grocery store. It may seem to Patzert that farm water use is high but farmers and consumers are actually on the same side of the table. Consumers want a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at an affordable price for their families. Farmers need dependable water supplies to grow them.

Since 2003 San Joaquin Valley farmers have invested more than $2 billion on upgraded irrigation systems. In recent decades food production has doubled while the amount of water used to grow it has remained about the same. On-farm water use efficiency is state of the art. Dr. Patzert would do well to examine the benefits consumers derive from California farms rather than simply accusing farmers of using too much water.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Opinion: Protesting a pipe dream for more water

Coalition response…Nick DiCroce should be ashamed of his misleading descriptions of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and California water rights.

The BDCP is in response to a 2009 mandate by the State Legislature to restore the ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta and to create a reliable water supply for 25 million Californians and 3 million acres of productive farmland. In recent years the supply of water that flows through the Delta for delivery to users has been reduced by as much as 90 percent.

His comment that “No cost-benefit analysis has been conducted.” doesn’t square with readily available, published economic data. And he mixes construction costs with total costs, which includes financing, in an attempt to illustrate out-of-control spending. An analysis headed by economist David Sunding of UC Berkeley reveals that the State’s economy will receive an $84 billion benefit from the overall project. Read Dr. Sunding’s economic impacts report here.

In fact, the total cost for construction, operation and maintenance is only about $5 per month for Southern California residents. That’s a small price to pay to protect the safety and reliability of our water supply. Why didn’t Nick mention that?

Claiming that California’s water resources are oversubscribed by a factor of five ignores the fact that water rights are issued for specific uses at specific places and time. That means water can be used at one place and time to generate power, and then a second time to irrigate a field of tomatoes and once again for washing clothes in a city or town. Water is used over and over in California and rights for each of those uses are unique.

Plenty of factual information exists on how California can protect its water supply at an affordable cost at www.baydeltaconservationplan.com.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Opinion: Smart water plan needed for California

Coalition response…While Rep. Garamendi includes several good proposals in his water plan, his suggestion for moving water through the Delta does not provide a reliable water supply for farmers and others who are currently suffering under 20 years of water supply cuts due to Endangered Species Act regulations. The State Legislature called for a plan in 2009 that would restore the Delta ecosystem and provide California with a reliable water supply. Bay Delta Conservation Plan researchers have looked at numerous tunnel proposals and have concluded the current twin tunnel plan provides the best opportunity to meet the Legislature’s mandate.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Column: Delta water fight starts in SoCal

Coalition response…Without a reliable supply of water flowing to California farms the locally grown food supply that consumers expect in their grocery stores could be threatened. If water supplies continue to be reduced to San Joaquin Valley farmers as in recent years because of federal regulations to protect fish in the Delta, less farmland will be planted and consumers may have fewer choices.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposed tunnels are designed to provide a reliable water supply that is important to farmers. That is part of the reasoning that farmers and water agencies have already paid more than $140 million to develop the Plan. They recognize the importance of keeping water flowing that they already have a right to receive and are paying the costs to deliver it.

The Plan will also restore the ecosystem of the Delta and increase the habitat for fish and wildlife. This added habitat will not only provide a food supply for fish but also protection from predator fish.

The Plan and its proposed tunnels are vastly different than the 1992 Peripheral Canal. The capacity of the tunnels is only 9,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), compared to 21,800 cfs for the Peripheral Canal. The Plan also provides flexibility to maintain in-Delta water quality with through-Delta operations while the Peripheral Canal was fully isolated with no through-Delta operations. Learn more at https://farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.

From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Blog: River restoration update

Coalition response….Your readers should understand that the estimated cost for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program now exceeds $1.1 billion and could climb over $2 billion, according to the Bureau of Reclamation’s 2012 framework document. This means the final cost could more than double the reported $900 million. Funding for the restoration efforts have been difficult to obtain from the federal budget.

While more than $100 million has already been spent for studies, monitoring, application expenses and overhead, not one infrastructure project identified in the Program has been started. These projects are considered necessary to reroute the river channel and provide protection for salmon.

These projects would also safeguard against negative impacts to farmland adjacent to the river. In 2010 when interim flows sent increased levels of water down the river, seepage occurred and farmland was flooded. The federal government was required to pay for the damages encountered by the farmers.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to complete these projects before building a hatchery and releasing salmon into the river? Currently, there is no clear path for the fish to reach the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Without these projects it is doubtful that the fish will survive their journey.

Oct. 21, 2013
Release Immediate

FARM WATER AND THE BUSINESS CRISIS

Businesses and cities lose money when neighboring farmers do not receive water to grow their crops. That is the message of “Farm Water and the Business Crisis,” a video that portrays the reliance that communities have on a healthy farm economy that is now available at www.farmwater.org.

The short video includes business owners and community leaders from Firebaugh in western Fresno County explaining what happens when farmers are forced to cut back on their planted acreage when water deliveries are reduced.

“When there is water flow, business is great,” says LaVonne Allen, owner of The Farmer’s Daughter restaurant. “The last year I’m probably down 25-30 percent on my business because a lot of people are unemployed. When water and agriculture hurts out here, it hurts everybody.”

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“There’s not the tax revenue for the city. It isn’t getting roads repaired or keeping up with some of the general maintenance that they need to do in the town. The tax revenue has dropped a huge amount,” adds Jim Britton of Britton Ag Consulting.

More than 160 business owners, community leaders and farmers gathered in an alfalfa field near Firebaugh earlier this month with more than 90 pieces of equipment to portray the importance of a reliable water supply.

“The reason for gathering all of this farm equipment in the alfalfa field we chose for this event was to create a visual for people who don’t understand the ag economy we have here in central California with the help of water,” says Steve Malanca of Thomason Tractor Co. in Firebaugh. Malanca originated the idea of bringing together the business community leaders and farmers.

“Four years ago in 2009, federal water contractors along the San Joaquin Valley Westside were told to expect zero deliveries from the federal Central Valley Project. That estimate was eventually raised to 10 percent, which still left hundreds of thousands of acres unplanted and thousands of farm workers out of work. Local businesses felt the effect as sales declined,” according to Executive Director Mike Wade of the California Farm Water Coalition.

With indications of a record low water allocation looming in 2014, Central California farmers are bracing for another difficult year.

“It isn’t just farmers who are bracing for a rocky year,” says Wade. “It is the local tractor dealer, irrigation pipe supplier, auto dealer, financial institution and other businesses who are fearful of the economic consequences thrust upon their businesses from a suffering ag economy.”

“The ag industry for the city of Firebaugh is the main provider of jobs, revenue sources and, really, the whole existence for the city,” adds Ken McDonald, Firebaugh City Manager. “If we didn’t have agriculture, there probably wouldn’t be a need for the city to exist.”

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From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Column: Piepho finds little to recommend in Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Coalition response…Federal ESA regulations cut deliveries of water this year to San Joaquin Valley farmers by 80 percent. No documented proof exists to show that taking this water to protect endangered fish has benefited the species. Almost 4,000 farmers and 25 million Californians are seeking to restore the reliable delivery of water they already have a right to receive. Supervisor Mary Piepho wrongly describes it as “another water grab.”

In his speech near Los Banos on August 18, 1962, President John F. Kennedy praised Californians when he said, “…one part of your state has been willing to help another.” He was, of course, speaking at the groundbreaking of San Luis Reservoir, part of the Central Valley Project (CVP). According to the Bureau of Reclamation’s website, the CVP was originally conceived, “…to protect the Central Valley from crippling water shortages and devastating floods.”  Ironically, the first element constructed as part of the CVP was the Contra Costa Canal, which serves Piepho’s district.

Piepho compares the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposed tunnels to the peripheral canal of 1982. The water capacity of the tunnels is only 9,000 cubic feet per second, compared to 21,800 cfs proposed by the peripheral canal. The Plan also calls for dual conveyance of water through the Delta that will assist in maintaining in-Delta water quality. The peripheral canal would have been operated as an isolated facility with no in-Delta water benefits. Learn more about this comparison at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.

Sadly, attitudes are different today. Politicians willingly twist the facts about projects like the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to suit their own political needs. They ignore history and the intent of Congress to provide water for farmers who grow food for the nation.