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 […]
Environment
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 […]
Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part II
When James Madison wrote, “No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause,” he didn’t mean people could or even should stop arguing in their own interests; he just meant it was nearly impossible to achieve justice for all when arguing on one’s own behalf. So it is with water in California. State proposals for increased flows along our rivers have resulted in impassioned arguments, most of […]
Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part I
It’s perfectly understandable that anyone taking a stand in favor of increased river flows in the northern San Joaquin Valley is likely to be compared to an assailant of motherhood, apple pie and Fourth of July fireworks. After all, the Valley will indeed take an economic hit from increased flows, and no one wants to take economic hits anywhere or anytime. But that’s the problem. The state has to decide […]
The Real Water Grabs
The signs are up all around Stanislaus County. “Worth your Fight,” they say, and the “o” in “worth” is in the shape of a water drop. Local media and political leaders are shouting, “water grab,” and have plenty of support in their opposition to the state’s proposal to increase flows along Valley rivers. Water, of course, is worth everyone’s fight, and that’s just where the state’s problems begin. King Solomon […]
Parting the Waters: No Ag Miracles
They’re still planting trees. Look anywhere around the northern San Joaquin Valley and you’ll see saplings—mostly almonds—being hurled into the ground like spears. This during the worst drought in memory. Most of the new orchards will have few or no surface water rights. They will be strictly groundwater-dependent. And that’s just one reason opposition to the state’s proposals for increased flows along Valley rivers rings so false. “If you increase […]
Oakdale Irrigation District: How High’s the Water?
Last week, Stanislaus County’s Water Resources Manager Walt Ward circulated a letter from Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) General Manager Steve Knell. In the letter, Knell defended OID’s policy of selling water outside the region. He said the OID business plan depends on water sales and added that there is no local demand for OID water. He said even if there were such a demand, there’s no way to deliver the […]
Vance Kennedy: Bee Editors All Wet on Water
Dr. Vance Kennedy has long been concerned that too many people ignore the long-term hazards of drip irrigation, especially in terms of increased soil salinity and reduced groundwater recharge. A recent Modesto Bee editorial criticizing water subsidies for farmers provoked the following reaction from Dr. Kennedy, an award-winning hydrologist who is retired from the U.S. Geological Survey: I am a 93 year old retired research hydrologist who is concerned about […]
Water: When Markets Fail
Last week, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge William Mayhew ruled that the Oakdale Irrigation District’s (OID) On Farm Conservation Program couldn’t proceed until it addressed environmental concerns raised by Oakdale farmers Louis Brichetto and Robert Frobose. The ruling was yet another in a series of legal setbacks for a district determined to balance its budget with out-of-region water sales, and costs be damned. The district’s ongoing legal woes are just another […]