Water Problem in California: How Benefit Farm, Fish & People Simultaneously? (Californian)

Mar.09, 2009 in Drought

(March 9, 2009, The Californian)

The slogan, “food grows where water flows,” is part of a water education campaign by the California Farm Water Coalition (www.CFWC.com). You’ve probably seen it on signs and banners in the San Joaquin Valley. It’s just as true in the Salinas Valley.

There are some important differences here.

Water for farms doesn’t flow in Salinas Valley so much as it moves underground and is pumped from wells to irrigation systems.

Salinas Valley remains largely agricultural, so farms don’t face the same competition with urban users for available water that other regions face.

We don’t depend on water imported from other places. Monterey County land owners, including farmers, ranchers and rural residents, had the foresight to build a system of reservoirs to store water, prevent floods and replenish the underground supply. The latest improvement to that system, the Salinas Valley Water Project, is under construction.

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought emergency, he was confirming the obvious for most of the state. Careful management of water in the Salinas Valley makes us much less susceptible – but not impervious to – a lengthy drought.

The effects of the drought in neighboring San Joaquin Valley are dramatic. Farmers who rely on federal and state water deliveries may have to fallow 847,000 acres. That means they won’t be producing food on that land. It also means they won’t be buying equipment and supplies and they won’t be hiring farm workers. The University of California estimates up to 80,000 jobs will be lost, crippling rural communities that depend on agricultural employment.

The drought is largely a regulatory drought. In the decades since California last built a major, statewide water facility, court rulings have allocated 48 percent of developed water to environmental uses and the state’s population has tripled. Both are demands on California’s water supply that should have been – but weren’t – met with new storage and delivery.

Both environmental and urban uses share a common feature: Their water needs can’t easily be reduced during a shortage. That means cutbacks largely come from agriculture.

Competition with urban uses for water is a big concern for agriculture even in the Salinas Valley. It’s worth repeating that when water is short, people will get the water and farms won’t. Our population continues to grow. The development of a regional water program could add new demands on Salinas Valley water from coastal urban populations.

Various interest groups have stymied water development or buried potential projects with regulatory costs and court challenges. Across the country, these interest groups have backed efforts to “save” rivers by removing dams and exposing both fish and farms to devastating floods and droughts. These same forces have blocked most water solutions along the Central Coast.

Monterey County agriculture can be proud of its foresight in meeting water needs here and will be closely involved with future discussions to solve water problems. Along with all Californians, we need to rethink our priorities and continue to invest in water solutions that benefit farms, fish and people.

* Bob Perkins is executive director of Monterey County Farm Bureau.

(Original Article Here)