In Fresno, Obama will learn that California water issues are tough to unravel [Fresno Bee]
When
President Barack Obama visits Fresno on Friday to talk about the historic dry
year in California, what should he know?..."If nothing else, the president
needs to have a clear view of this disaster -- it's not just the Central Valley
getting hurt," said farmer Mark Borba, who buys federal water from
Westlands Water District in west Fresno County. Obama is expected to talk about
the federal government's role in coping with the drought. Many water experts
say they expect Obama to offer some kind of financial aid and cooperation of
federal agencies with state and local authorities.
Storm
allows boost in Delta water diversions [Sacramento Bee]
The
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was able to take advantage of increased runoff from
the wet weekend storms to boost water diversions from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta. Reclamation tripled its diversions from the Delta on Sunday and
expects to increase that pumping a little more on Tuesday. Diversions from its
Delta pumping plant near Tracy increased from about 500 cubic feet per second
on Saturday to 1,600 cfs on Sunday. Spokesman Louis Moore said pumping was
expected to increase to 1,900-2,000 cfs Tuesday morning.
*Link may
require paid subscription; text included in attached Word file.
Modesto
Irrigation District proposal would slash water for farms, hike rates [Modesto
Bee]
Because
of minimal mountain snow, Modesto-area farmers this year would get half of last
year’s amount of water under a proposal to be weighed this morning – and they
would pay a lot more for it….If droughtlike conditions continue, the MID
expects to end the irrigation season by Sept. 19 – about three weeks earlier
than usual and far earlier than most growers would need to keep crops alive.
That’s likely to force farmers into even more rigorous well pumping…All farmers
would be asked to vote on higher rates, if proposed by the board, as required
under Proposition 218. To kill the idea, more than half of the district’s 3,100
farmers would have to protest in writing, a tall order that almost never
results in a proposed rate hike’s cancellation.
California
grape harvest in 2013 crushes record [Sacramento Bee]
Good
weather and more acreage helped California’s 2013 grape crush hit a record high
of 4.68 million tons, up nearly 7 percent from the previous record a year ago,
according to statistics released Monday by the California Department of Food
and Agriculture. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of last
year’s grape crush, slightly more than 2.4 million tons, up 5 percent from
2012, according to the preliminary report. The white wine crush totaled 1.82
million tons, up 6 percent from 2012. Raisin-type grape varieties totaled
327,790 tons, up 21 percent from 2012; table-type varieties totaled 126,718
tons, up 28 percent.
*Link may
require paid subscription; text included in attached Word file.
Drought
and forests: Managing California forests is crucial to water supply and quality
[San Jose Mercury News]
2013
was a year of record drought and wildfires in California, and the risks of
droughts and wildfires are only expected to increase in the coming years.
Although there are no easy answers, understanding the relationship between
healthy forests and downstream water supply should be part of the solution. The
Sierra Nevada and other watersheds upstream of the Delta are the primary
sources of the state's water supply, and the quality and quantity of water that
flows through the region are directly linked to the health of these watersheds.
Unfortunately, in many places, the legacy of past management practices has led
to unhealthy forests that are overly dense with brush and small trees. These
conditions have greatly increased the risk of devastating mega-fires like last
year's Rim Fire, leaving burned areas susceptible to landslides and erosion and
jeopardizing downstream water supplies and infrastructure.
Life’s
certainties: death, taxes and illegal bullet-train business plan [San Diego
Union Tribune]
The
California High-Speed Rail Authority last week issued its new business plan for
the embattled $68 billion bullet-train project. But the 2014 iteration — like
previous versions — has a fundamental problem: It’s not legal based on binding
promises made to voters before their 2008 approval of Proposition 1A, which
provided $9.95 billion in bond seed money for a statewide bullet-train system.
As Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled in November, Proposition
1A requires that before the state begins construction, it have funding
identified for the full cost of the first 300-mile segment of the project — an
estimated $31 billion. This was to ensure that the segment would be viable by
itself, with a chance of breaking even or making money, if future funding
wasn’t forthcoming. But the new business plan does no such thing. Instead, it
identifies $10.2 billion in available state and federal funding, and expresses
optimism about securing more state and federal money, as well as private-sector
investment. In other words, it offers the same vague financing plan that Kenny
found too “theoretical” in November.
Ag
Today is distributed by the CFBF Communications/News Division to county Farm
Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes; stories may
not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site
registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
message and please provide your name and e-mail address. For more
information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment