Supervisors
approve ban on new groundwater wells [Ventura County Star]
An
emergency ordinance temporarily banning new groundwater wells was passed 4-1 by
the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday despite strong opposition
from growers and others. The moratorium, put forward by Supervisor Steve
Bennett, required a four-vote supermajority to succeed. Supervisor Peter Foy
voted no. The measure took effect immediately. While the ordinance, on paper,
appears to cover much of the county, its real-world impact will be concentrated
mostly around Piru, Fillmore and the Ojai Valley. Nevertheless, hours of
testimony from agriculture interests, contractors and petroleum interests
raised a raft of concerns, including the taking of property rights and the lack
of time for input and analysis after the ordinance was unveiled only last week.
Farmers
sue state over drought water decisions [Fresno Bee]
East
San Joaquin Valley growers are suing state water authorities over drought
decisions, claiming east-side communities and farms got no federal water after
the state illegally denied deliveries to a separate group of landowners with
senior water rights. The case was filed Friday in Fresno County Superior Court
against the State Water Resources Control Board, which issued emergency orders
this year to divide California’s drought-strained water supply. The decisions
prevented east-siders from getting even a small amount of water, farm leaders
say. The Friant Water Authority, representing 15,000 growers who buy water from
Millerton Lake and irrigate 1 million acres from Chowchilla to Bakersfield, is
asking the court to prevent the scenario from happening again.
Prop.
1 aims to relieve drought — but not this one [Los Angeles Times]
California's
stubborn drought helped push a $7.5-billion water bond through the Legislature
and onto the November ballot. But even if voters approve Proposition 1, it
won't provide relief any time soon. "It's going to be a long time before
we see anything really happen from it," said Paul Wenger, president of the
California Farm Bureau Federation, which backs the bond. A priority of Gov.
Jerry Brown, the measure has gained substantial support by spreading money
around for a range of water projects that proponents argue are vital to
California's future. The bond measure could bankroll such things as a new dam
in the Sacramento Valley, stream protections in the Sierra Nevada and treatment
of contaminated groundwater in the Los Angeles Basin.
Labor
issue, data stall tunnel approval [Salinas Californian]
The
biggest water project in the Salinas Valley in many decades will have to wait a
couple of weeks for a green light because of a labor controversy and multiple
requests for more data on cost estimates of the $48 million Interlake Tunnel.
The project that would add billions of gallons of stored water from winter
rains in the Salinas Valley ran afoul of quick approval Tuesday during a joint
meeting of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and the county Water
Resources Agency Board of Directors….Nancy Isakson from the Salinas Valley
Water Coalition and Norm Groot from the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said
following Drake’s presentation that it is important that the underlying data of
the costs and benefits be released to the public. “There is broad support from
the agriculture community for this project,” Groot told the boards, “but we
need to see those technical numbers so we can provide answers to our
constituents when we are asked.”
Ag
land value soars in Yuba-Sutter [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
The
rise in the popularity of walnuts orchards and the value of a secure water
supply to grow them has caused agriculture land values in Yuba-Sutter to
skyrocket as southern landowners turn their eyes north to expand operations.
The price for an acre of a walnut orchard, in some areas, has doubled. Driving
the increase is an all-time high commodity price for walnuts and a drought that
has made clear the discrepancy between senior and junior water rights….Water
supply and commodity prices ignited the increase, said Sarbdeep Atwal, a
third-generation farmer and board member of the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau.
Sacramento
Valley farmers are asked: Help the ducks [Sacramento Bee]
Farmers
in the Sacramento Valley are being asked to lend a hand to migrating waterfowl
arriving this winter to a drought-parched landscape. Valley rice farmers
normally flood about 300,000 acres after harvest to decompose the leftover rice
straw. This flooded land then becomes vital habitat for ducks and geese. But
the California Rice Commission estimated earlier this year that only about
50,000 acres of rice fields would be flooded due to the drought. As a result,
millions of birds traveling the Pacific Flyway this winter will find a hard
time finding habitat. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is hoping to improve that picture by
offering farmers an incentive to flood land.
Ag
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