Northern California leaders frame their position on water bond [Sacramento Bee]
Cynical
observers of California politics sometimes assume the real reason for a new
statewide water bond is to pay for projects that take water from the north and
ship it south. But on Monday, a number of Northern California leaders made it
clear they are prepared to support a water bond for the November ballot – under
certain conditions.
About
three dozen politicians and water managers representing the North State Water
Alliance convened on the Capitol steps Monday to outline for lawmakers five
general principles they believe must guide a water bond….The five principles:
Existing water rights’ priorities and laws must be maintained; a bond should
contribute to sustainable groundwater management; it should strongly emphasize
water conservation and recycling; it should include projects to restore
critical migratory corridors for salmon and waterfowl; and any money dedicated
to new reservoirs should pay for dedicated environmental benefits and enhanced
flexibility of the California water system as a whole.
California
farmers ask: hey buddy, can you spare some water? [National Public Radio]
Imagine
if a gallon of milk cost $3 in your town, but 100 miles away it cost $100, or
even $200. Something similar is happening right now in California with water
that farmers use to irrigate their crops. Some farmers are paying 50 or even
100 times more for that water than others who live just an hour's drive away.
The situation is provoking debate about whether water in California should move
more freely, so that it can be sold to the highest bidder.
The
'deepest straw wins' in Central Valley scramble for groundwater [Capital Public
Radio]
…The
drought, the increased reliance on groundwater and the patchwork system of
groundwater management in California is creating a scramble for water in the
San Joaquin Valley.
Farmers
are seeing unprecedented reductions in their allotments to surface water.
Homeowners are watching their private wells run dry. Seventy year-old Ruth
Griffin spent $75,000 to build a brand new house just outside the town of
Kingsburg, south of Fresno….About a month before she planned a move into her
new home, her well went dry…. "They're part of the problem too, because
they’re there," says California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger….Wenger
says he’s never seen such severe affects on California agriculture, not because
this is the driest year, but because of the unprecedented cut backs on surface
water.
North
County water district bill will likely be amended [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
A
bill to create a Paso Robles groundwater management district will likely be
amended to address concerns that property owners in the district would have too
much influence as it is currently written. At the recommendation of the
California Office of Legislative Counsel and the Senate Governance and Finance
Committee, negotiations are underway to amend AB 2453, the Paso Robles basin
water district bill, in order to allow non-landowners to hold the three
at-large seats on the board of directors. The other six members of the board of
directors would still be landowners….As the bill is currently written, all nine
members of the board of directors must be landowners in the district. The
amendment would change the bill to allow any registered voter in the district
to be allowed to run for its three at-large seats.
Growers
grapple with drought [Orange County Register]
Growers
at farmers markets these days all voice the same one-word concern: water.
Those
who buy their water from municipalities are paying much more for it, and some
of those who are dependent on state allocations can’t get it at any price. The
most fortunate are those who have wells on their property, but even they aren’t
resting easy….Some farmers are letting some of their trees die, diverting
scarce water from, for example, pomegranate trees to almonds and pistachios,
which typically earn higher yields. The impact of California’s drought at
Southern California markets has been delayed for several reasons, experts
say….Experts say the true extent of drought impact will come later this summer
when the tomatoes, melons and peppers normally would be in full harvest.
Lawsuits
against Tanimura & Antle dismissed [Salinas Californian]
In
the world of food-safety law, it would seem that a pathogen linked to a grower
either killed a consumer or it did not. But never underestimate the ability of
opposing attorneys to create gray areas. To hear Tanimura & Antle tell it,
not only did the threat of trial prompt a food-poisoning lawyer to dismiss a
wrongful death lawsuit against the Salinas-based lettuce producer, but T&A
is now in a fight to recover every dime of its legal costs, according to
interviews with the company and court documents. On the flip side, Bill Marler,
the Seattle-based attorney who brings the majority of lawsuits against Salinas
Valley growers over contaminated produce, said that not only is T&A being
disingenuous, it is also going after an aged widower for $800 in court costs.
Ag
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