Should California use taxpayer dollars to build more dams? [Sacramento Bee]
As
California struggles through a third year of drought, elected officials from
both parties are proposing to spend billions of dollars in public money on new
dams and reservoirs. Seven different bills are pending in the Legislature that
would use varying amounts of state bond funding to launch a new era of dam
construction with the aim of increasing the state’s capacity to store precious
mountain snowmelt. The surge of proposals has stoked familiar arguments in
California’s historic battles over limited water supplies:…But this year, as
California faces long-term supply shortages, some water policy experts are
raising deeper questions: Is there enough water left in California to justify
the cost of dams? If taxpayers do front some money, what are they really
buying? Are they propping up a project with shaky economics, or buying
something with real public value?
Sacramento
Valley will be a patchwork of planted and barren land [Chico Enterprise-Record]
The
fading tan hills and flat pasture lands of the valley already give a glimpse of
things to come….This year rice acreage in the Central Valley will be down about
100,000 acres, and rice in Butte County looks like it will be down 17 percent,
estimated Navid Khan, deputy ag commissioner. If you travel past the Sacramento
River westward, you'll see tens of thousands of acres of barren land, where
normally tomatoes, sunflowers and vegetables are grown….The impact on
communities that depend on agricultural jobs will be profound, Kahn said. Crop
dusters said planting flights are down 15-22 percent. Butte County Rice Growers
Association told Kahn rice seed sales have dipped 15-18 percent. Industries
that sell fertilizer, pesticides, tractors and trucks will be in a slump. Many
growers aren't hiring a full crew, he added….
Drought
drives drilling frenzy forgGroundwater in California [KQED Radio]
Steve
Arthur practically lives out of his truck these days. But he’s not homeless. He
runs one of Fresno’s busiest well drilling companies….Counties in the farm-rich
Central Valley are issuing record numbers of permits for new water wells.
Arthur says his company’s got an eight-month waiting list....“You have to
literally grab these guys and drag ‘em to your property and say ‘Please, please
drill me a well!,’” laments citrus farmer Matt Fisher, who’s been scrambling to
keep his trees alive after learning that he won’t get any water from federal
reservoirs this year. “I have even heard of drilling companies that won’t tell
growers who’s in front of them, because guys are trying to buy the other guy’s
spot in line,” says Fisher.
Editorial: Our View: Best
response on water issues would be preemptive action [Marysville
Appeal-Democrat]
Here's
a suggestion for leaders of regional agricultural concerns, rural government
entities and communities, water agencies — anyone concerned about having and
being able to use water: Start thinking preemptively. Put together a roundtable
of stakeholders, including representatives of as many factions as possible, be
as open-minded as possible, and propose the sorts of water regulations that
California really ought to have in place that won't sucker punch North
California interests. Why? Because we're pretty sure that, right now, there are
dozens, maybe hundreds, of legislators, attorneys and special interest groups
rubbing their hands over the bounty of legislative possibilities….And most of
them are not from here and aren't acquainted with concerns of rice farmers,
orchardists, farming communities ...
Study
finds medical pot farms draining streams dry [Associated Press]
Some
drought-stricken rivers and streams in Northern California's coastal forests
are being polluted and sucked dry by water-guzzling medical marijuana farms,
wildlife officials say — an issue that has spurred at least one county to try
to outlaw personal grows. State fish and wildlife officials say much of the
marijuana being grown in northern counties under the state's medical pot law is
not being used for legal, personal use, but for sale both in California and
states where pot is still illegal. This demand is fueling backyard and
larger-scale pot farming, especially in remote Lake, Humboldt and Mendocino
counties on the densely forested North Coast, officials said.
Ag
crime unit keeping eye on local farms [Stockton Record]
Big
or small, high value or petty, agricultural crime continues to plague every
corner of San Joaquin County even as farmers and ranchers and other rural
residents work with organizations and the Sheriff's Office to rein it in.
"It's not bolted down, it walks away," said Bruce Blodgett, executive
director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation….Blodgett's organization has
had a strong relationship with the sheriff's Rural Crime Task Force for a
number of years. It offers its members "Net Alerts" via computer and
smartphone detailing recent crimes reported to the sheriff….The rural crime alert
program is one of three benefits Farm Bureau members can sign up for through
Farm Team San Joaquin. The private, nonprofit organization also sponsors the
Owner Applied Number program to help identify stolen equipment and offers Farm
Watch signs for $10 apiece, alerting the criminally minded that even out in the
country they are being observed.
Ag
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