Maybe the rumors were true. Maybe the Stanislaus aquifer really is flowing uphill. That’s one explanation for what’s going on near Hughson and Denair, where people’s wells have suddenly started running dry. Both towns are considerably downslope from the thousands of acres of new orchards on Stanislaus County’s east side. That’s where powerful pumps have been spreading millions upon millions of gallons of groundwater on what was once arid […]
Environment
Larry Byrd and Eastern Stanislaus County’s Dire Need for Water
Sometimes Larry Byrd must think the water gods are tormenting him. Byrd began serving on the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors early in 2012, just in time to become embroiled in a contentious dispute about selling water to San Francisco. Byrd took an unpopular stand against the sale, then prevailed in an outcome that left a lasting bitterness among almost all the participants in an argument that hasn’t […]
Green is the Color of Money: Stanislaus County’s New Gold Rush
In California, the dream of endless riches that started with the gold rush has never stopped resonating— nor has the inevitable disappointment when the dream turns to a nightmare. The latest rush is occurring right here in the San Joaquin Valley, where money really does grow on trees. A boom in almond and pistachio prices has resulted in what may yet be another harrowing bust in California’s long history of […]
Giant Sucking Sound Threatens Stanislaus County Aquifer
No one knows where the rumor started, and so far no one’s been able to confirm it—the story around Stanislaus County is that the aquifer has started flowing uphill. Implausible as it may seem, the tale is based on growing awareness of just how many giant pumps are operating twenty-four hours a day in the eastern portion of the County. Over the last decade or so, land that once featured […]
Bee Still Pushing Allen Short’s Water Agenda
Only a few short months ago, Allen Short and the Modesto Bee were pushing the sale of “surplus water” to San Francisco. Short was then General Manager of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID). He departed under a cloud, partly because the sale proposal proved immensely unpopular with local farmers and partly because of an internal investigation yet to be revealed to the public. Despite Short’s demise, the Bee is still […]
Stanislaus County’s Sinking Aquifer: How Low Can We Go?
While everyone was watching salmon, someone robbed the water bank. That’s all we can conclude while watching another silly argument about fish while growers in eastern Stanislaus County drain one of the last great aquifers in the San Joaquin Valley. Not that depleting aquifers is anything new around here. Well over fifty years ago we set a dubious record for subsidence, and by all appearances we’re hell-bent on breaking it […]
Latest Update on Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman
In our last report, we outlined problems with the mounds of dirt in the 132 right-of-way near the 99 freeway believed to contain toxic waste. As of this writing, Caltrans is working with the California Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) to determine how heavily contaminated the dirt mounds are and what to do about them. Until a decision is made about remediation of the dirt piles, construction on the eastern end of the […]
Is Stanislaus County Facing a Water Crisis?
The latest refrain from the Valley pro-growth faction is that, “Farmland is increasing.” Drive east in Stanislaus County, and you’re likely to agree. For mile after mile, orchards—mostly almond orchards—cover what was only a short time ago rocky pasture land. The orchards extend all the way onto and even over the rolling foothills that mark the first ascent into the majestic Sierra Nevada. Seemingly a marvel springing from the famously […]
Kristin Olsen Ignores Environmental Concerns About Mining Oil, by Bruce Frohman
In a March 22nd opinion piece appearing in the Modesto Bee, State Assembly Member Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, advocated mining for oil on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Ms. Olsen said that an estimated 15.4 billion barrels of oil are locked in the rocks of the “Monterey Shale Formation,” which extends from Kern County in the south to Stanislaus County in the north. Olsen asserted that large scale mining could add as […]
Modesto Bee Column Establishes New Low in Water Debate
In slightly fewer than six-hundred words that may have set a record for errors per word, last Thursday’s Community Column in the Modesto Bee established a new low in our region’s ongoing debate about water. Written by Turlock’s Mike Romeo, the column contains numerous factual errors and at least one major conceptual error. The conceptual error stems from Romeo’s assumption that those who pay for a dam own the water […]