Of all the mythologies that dominate San Joaquin Valley politics, the mythology of water may be the most powerful and enduring. The basis of the myth consists of a simple fiction that states, unequivocally, that all valley water is, “our water.” Grammarians, of whom there are fewer and fewer, might ask who is meant by “our,” but such a question would be grossly out of order in a region where […]
Environment
132 Freeway Will Be an Environmental Disaster
Environmentalists are notorious about opposing freeway projects , but the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations have been quiet about the 132 freeway plan. Either the project has not caught their attention or they just don’t care about the Valley because local politics are dominated by anti-environment interest groups. Regardless of the reasons for political silence, a discussion is needed because the 132 freeway will be a disaster. Wildlife Refuge State Route 132 […]
Groundwater Extraction Needs Oversight Now, Says Kennedy
Dr. Vance Kennedy is a retired research hydrologist, with degrees in chemical engineering, geochemistry, and geology. There are hundreds of deep wells in the foothills east of the San Joaquin Valley, especially in Stanislaus and Merced Counties. They are depleting the general water table at an alarming rate. When that water table drops by several hundred feet, no one will be able to live there who relies on groundwater because […]
Will the Water District Double-Down on Dumb?
Considering they’d been walloped by a court ruling the previous week, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) General Manager Steve Knell and water attorney Tim O’Laughlin looked surprisingly confident when they arrived early for Tuesday night’s special board meeting. They were preceded by rumors on social media and elsewhere that O’Laughlin would use Judge Roger Beauchesne’s decision as an excuse to deny water to out-of-district applicants for OID surface water. Beauchesne had […]
The Hidden Truth about Valley Water
The recent deluge throughout Northern California has caused equal parts celebration and outrage. Celebration because it would appear to some the drought is over and outrage because those same celebrants are demonizing anyone who says we’re still in a water emergency. As always, the favored targets for righteous indignation are the government and, “those in environmental groups.” “Why would the state water board tell us we’re still in drought?’ asked […]
OID: How to Endanger a Species
To hear Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) management tell it, 3000 acres is a mere pittance. The acreage is what OID estimates would be fallowed in a program it calls the “On-Farm Conservation Program.” OID claims the area is so small and environmental impacts so low that there’s no need for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The program is currently part of a lawsuit by the Oakdale Groundwater Alliance. Attorneys for […]
OID Suit about More than Water
Over most of its forty-six year history, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been most often associated with developers and urban sprawl. With few exceptions, agriculture was virtually exempt from CEQA review. The almond boom and a six-year drought changed everything. Today, farming is no longer surrounded by a holy aura. The farmer as corporate businessman is as much a part of the ag image as the family farmer […]
Water: “A Pox upon Them All,” says Bruce Frohman
Even though Stanislaus County has suffered only 5 years of drought, citizens of Modesto have been under some form of water rationing for over 20 years. We are permitted to water our yards once a week in winter and twice a week in summer. Many of us allow our lawns to die each summer in order to conserve water “for the good of the community.” Our level of disgust with local […]
Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part IV
Mainstream media, especially newspapers, have an obligation to avoid the twin evils of misinformation and fake news, even on the opinion pages. This doesn’t mean we should expect OP/ED contributions to be free from bias, hysteria, hyperbole, name-calling, invective and other traditional tools of political discourse. Distortions though they are, these are long-accustomed elements of our free-speech heritage. But particularly in places where there is only one mainstream news source, […]
Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part III
There are a lot of bad arguments against increased flows along Valley rivers. Many pit people against fish. Others use reductionist tactics, citing the dollar costs of saving threatened species but omitting long-term recovery goals. Some rise from merely bad to bizarre. Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Manager Steve Knell, for example, has decided increased flows are all about saving “220 nesting pair” of salmon. Not surprisingly, Knell concludes that the […]