Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for the Modesto Irrigation District (MID), the heavens opened and delivered a world of trouble in falling water. In the arcane parlance of irrigation districts, “falling water” is water that falls from dams and spillways to provide electricity. Some districts impose on their customers a “Falling Water Charge.” The Falling Water Charge is an attempt to capture the value […]
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Tuolumne River Trust Commits to Dos Rios Restoration
“The people in this room aren’t like other people,” said award-winning outdoor writer Tom Stienstra. “We don’t have blood in our veins, we have river water.” Thus began Stienstra’s animated ode to California rivers in general and to the Tuolumne River in particular. Stienstra, who may know California’s many rivers as well as anyone, calls the Tuolumne the “Mighty T,” and claims it’s the premier river in the state. […]
LAFCo Policy More Complicated than Bee Article Implies, by Scott Calkins
Last Wednesday’s LAFCo decision to require mitigation for encroachment onto ag land met with wide approval, but Scott Calkins has an insider’s view that might temper the celebration. No one denies the decision was a big step forward, but parts of the policy are cause for real concern. Here’s Scott with the inside story. I attended the LAFCo meeting on September 26, 2012 and read the article that appeared […]
Restore the San Joaquin River for Jobs, Farms, and Fish
Mike Wade, Executive Director of the Farm Water Coalition, is an outstanding advocate for farmers. He always has a good command of facts and is ever-vigilant for threats to farmers’ water supplies. Recently, however, he’s been too narrowly focused on the needs of a few farmers at the expense of farmers in general, especially those who farm the San Joaquin Delta. Wade’s recent criticism of a study that shows […]
Underdogs Celebrate Defeat of MID Water Sale
Only a few years ago, he was mugged and left for dead by the Powers that Bee, but Sunday night former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino was back in his element as he hosted a victory celebration for the many players who somehow managed the defeat of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale to San Francisco. “We’re not spiking the football and we’re not dancing in the end zone,” […]
Bee Fails on Water story, Blames MID
Every once in a while the curtain lifts just enough to reveal exactly what today’s Modesto Bee is really all about. That’s what happened in its September 19 editorial, when the Bee tried to tiptoe away from its role in the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale fiasco.In what has become typical Bee fashion, the only game in town tried to blame the MID for the controversy and rancor […]
Modesto Terminates Water Transfer to SFPUC, from the Tuolumne River Trust
On September 18 the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) voted to terminate negotiations for a transfer (sale) of 2,240 acre feet of water to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to supplement dry year supplies. The decision was met with enthusiasm by farmers, environmentalists and the City of Modesto. Had the water transfer gone through, the SFPUC would have been obligated to pay MID $1.5 million per year regardless […]
How the Modesto Irrigation District Lost Trust and Credibility
“I’m not going to give them one damned drop,” said Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Director Paul Warda in October of 2010.Warda’s defiant comment came in response to news that the State Water Resources Control Board had determined that in order to insure the survival of native salmon, there could be a 40 percent reduction in the amount of water farmers and urban residents take from the Merced, Tuolumne and […]
Did the Congressman Take a Bribe? You Be the Judge, by Bruce Frohman
Congressman Devin Nunes and Jeff Denham have both signed the Grover Norquist pledge. Both are against restoring the San Joaquin River, a project which would bring thousands of jobs to the San Joaquin Valley. Here, Bruce Frohman explores some of the dire consequences of signing the Norquist pledge. My Congressman signed a pledge to the Grover Norquist political action organization not to raise taxes under any circumstance. Grover Norquist […]
Read the Letter the Bee and the MID Don’t Want You to See
Monday, we broke news that over a month ago the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau (SCFB) sent a letter to the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors (MID) informing them of the Farm Bureau’s position that the proposed sale of water to San Francisco is illegal. Apparently, the Modesto Bee received a copy of the letter about the same time it was sent, yet has published nothing about it, despite, […]