• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Are Bee Editors and MID Directors Equally Clueless About Future Water Supplies?

July 25, 2012 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

 

Tuolumne River, Modesto, July 25, 2012

Sunday, July 22, the Modesto Bee’s big story was on the declining use of irrigation water by local farmers. The story was accompanied by a large photograph of Don Pedro Reservoir, full almost to the point of overflowing.

Most of the story seemed to support the Modesto Irrigation District’s (MID) water sale by assuring Bee readers that the District has plenty of water. As is often the case in journalism, the real story is in the details the Bee story omitted.

Close followers of the water sale will remember that early on in the story the Tuolumne River Trust pointed out that water usage in the four counties served by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is down. In fact, in recent years, the SFPUC has not used its full allotment of water. It should also be noted that San Francisco has failed to implement the kind of conservation measures adopted by other west coast cities, including Seattle and Los Angeles.

So if the farmers don’t need it, and the SFPUC doesn’t need it, why all the fuss about water?

The water controversy is about realities a growing group of insiders know all too well. The illusion of plentiful water can be maintained only by ignoring devastated fisheries, polluted rivers, dead wetlands and a collapsing San Joaquin Delta. Moreover, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the State of California are not only aware of these realities, they are virtually certain to act soon to remedy them

The most elementary remedy will be in the form of increased flows in our rivers, especially the Tuolumne and San Joaquin Rivers, both of which have been overused and abused for decades. No one knows yet how much these increased flows will affect  water rights, but current water users don’t want to take any chances with their own allotment, especially given the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change on the water supply.

San Francisco, as it has done since the gold rush, is trying to gain dominant control of  a resource even more precious than gold. And the MID is in dire need of money, so the SFPUC sees a golden opportunity.

The Modesto Bee came out in favor of the MID water sale even before John Mensinger and Larry Byrd revealed serious problems with the contract. The Bee has maintained its position despite increasing evidence that the contract is the trigger for an attempt to give the SFPUC future control of nearly thirty thousand acre feet of water.

And “future control” is what the water game in the arid American west has always been about. The takeaway passage from the Bee story makes it abundantly clear the MID has no sense of future demand:

“We’re putting together a comprehensive demand model,” said Walt Ward, MID assistant general manager of water operations. “We’re really going to look at what our long-term demand is.” Ward said the MID doesn’t have a handle on its current surplus because water availability “is not exact.” “These numbers change year in and year out,” he said.

The water controversy is not about how much water is in Don Pedro Reservoir. It’s not even about how much local farmers use, or how much the SFPUC uses—it’s about the certainty of future shortages. And it’s most especially about who has dibs on what has always been the most needed resource in the American west. San Francisco is just trying to cut to the front of the line.

And if the MID doesn’t know how much water it will need in the future, neither does the Modesto Bee. That’s why credibility for both Bee editors and the MID is falling even faster than water levels on the lower Tuolumne River—both are promoting a sale that may result in severe scarcity for Valley citizens and farmers.

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: MID water sale, MID water transfer, SFPUC water transfer, Tuolumne River

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave Thomas says

    July 26, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Absolutely correct! “…its about the certainty of future shortages.”

    We WILL have dry years, and if climate change continues, we WILL risk becoming
    the next dust bowl.

    Reply
  2. amylmaris says

    August 2, 2012 at 2:16 am

    Eric,
    I am a current community columnist and a visiting editor for the Bee. I appreciate your insight. I have a bad feeling in my gut about selling, “transferring” water to SF, but can’t seem to get a handle on the facts. One thing seems clear. The sale, as you pointed out doesn’t seem to take into account the possibilities of future drought, or if it does it only protects SF.

    Amy

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      August 2, 2012 at 3:52 am

      Nice to hear from you Amy. Consider this: the 2,000 acre feet will produce a little over one million dollars/yr. Why doesn’t MID generate that money with rate increases? Many farmers have already agreed to pay more. Why did so many people agree to the transfer without reading the contract? And finally, why don’t we see how much water it’s going to take to restore the fisheries and delta before we start talking about “excess water.” Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  3. Jerry Jackman says

    August 4, 2012 at 11:52 pm

    Eric advances the argument well. What I would like to see is a rationale for why MID should continue to sell highly subsidized water to farmers and cattlemen. like Director Larry Bird, but not sign a lucrative contract to sell water to San Francisco. Modesto and irrigators are given water at less than $10 per acre foot while SF would be paying $700 per acre foot! Clearly there is strong incentive to conserve water purchased for $700. I am amused that the Farm Bureau finally took a position against the sale proposal but has nothing to say about the subsidies they receive. It would be fascinating if the Modesto City Council were to sue to effectively dictate to the MID “Directors” to try to maintain and extend the subsidized rates the city receives. I have high confidence in Mayor Marsh to resolve this despite the posturing of council colleagues. Larry Bird has done fine work to illuminate the facts pertaining to the canal system upgrades enable this continuing debate. Except for the insults to MID Directors and staff its all healthy.

    Reply
  4. Marco Moreno says

    August 25, 2012 at 8:31 pm

    …Mr. Wheaton expressed a willingness to fully cooperate with agriculturist fairly, in good faith, and in a spirit of friendly and mutual understanding. He assured the prospective users of the water that it could be furnished for the sum of one dollar and a quarter an acre on short term contracts…
    Elias Sol
    Stories of Stanislaus
    Chapter II

    Even 140 years ago they knew a long term contract is no good for business…just saying!

    * The Wheaton Dam was constructed in 1852 and it uses the water rights on the Tuolumne River. Mr. Wheaton was the major stockholder of the Tuolumne Water Company.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

Find us on Facebook

pp
The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design