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

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part III

December 5, 2016 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

OID General Manager Steve Knell
OID General Manager Steve Knell

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 costs—$1,000,000 per nesting pair—aren’t worth the effort.

Not content with a merely fanciful mischaracterization of the state’s proposal, Knell goes on to an even more delusional scenario. In Knell’s fully-warped version of motives behind increased flows, it’s all about, “protein on the plate.”

According to Knell, “The state wants us to fallow 100,000 acres of farmland, [and] absorb $260,000,000 in annual economic losses in order to generate 22,000 pounds of fish protein.” He then adds, “You can generate the same 22,000 pounds of protein from what comes off just 10 acres of almond trees.”

Gee, we’re sure glad Mr. Knell has cleared up our confusion. Now that we know river water is all about protein, we can all stop worrying about sustainable salmon runs, San Joaquin Delta farmers, and the role of fresh water in maintaining the Delta and San Francisco Bay ecosystem.

We can stop troubling ourselves with frivolous concerns about salt-water intrusion, harm from non-native species like water hyacinths, dangers posed by cyanobacteria blooms, and all other sundry side effects of low flows. Yes, now that we know increased flows aren’t about living rivers and complex webs of life, we can get down to the serious business of producing protein.

And if Mr. Knell’s numbers are right, we can even save him and ourselves from many of the state’s ongoing water problems. After all, it’s Mr. Knell who finds it necessary to send OID water south every year.

Yes, this same general manager of the most water-rich district in the San Joaquin Valley, who is all of a sudden expressing concerns about groundwater deficits and local ag production, is the one who even in drought years has found it expedient to sell water to buyers like Westlands Water District. OID water sales are necessary because OID’s senior customers pay well under five dollars an acre foot for water, a sum far below what is needed just for operation and maintenance costs, not to mention district improvements.

But now that we know water and rivers are all about protein, we can free up enough water for everyone and maybe even run a bargain sale. The key element—who knows how we all missed it—is soybeans.

Mr. Knell clearly thinks that the protein-producing advantages of almonds over fish offer ironclad arguments against increasing river flows. But if we’re really serious about producing protein, we can harness the hidden powers of soybeans and have both more protein and more water.

Consider this: one cup of soybeans contains twenty-nine grams of protein compared to a mere twenty grams for one cup of almonds. But that’s not all: Soybeans need only nineteen inches of water from planting to harvest. Compare that figure to the thirty-six to forty-eight inches needed by almonds.

The advantages of soybeans to almonds are almost too self-evident. Once we calculate the benefit ratios of river flows to protein production, we can reduce overall water use by replacing almond orchards with fields of protein-rich and water-miserly soybeans. We’ll have more protein and more water as well. Thanks to Mr. Knell, we’ll be in a win-win situation for everyone.

Some will argue that reducing the value of rivers to a mere matter of protein production is absurdly simplistic, but then there are naysayers in every crowd.

Filed Under: Environment, Featured

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Herman says

    December 6, 2016 at 3:39 pm

    Good article, I am considering dropping my EVERGREEN support for Capital Public.Radio because of their maddening”almond trees are not unique among trees in their need for water” HELLO! We don ‘t see millions of acres monocropped of Magnolis, do we?

    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

Colombian parrot conservationist murdered - BirdWatching
Colombian parrot conservationist murdered – BirdWatching
www.birdwatchingdaily.com
Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year.
Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year.
The Washington Post Fact Checker’s database of Trump claims, originally launched as a project to track his first 100 days, offers a window into his obsessions.
www.washingtonpost.com
The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News
The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News
Falsehoods almost always beat out the truth on Twitter, penetrating further, faster, and deeper into the social network than accurate information.
www.theatlantic.com
Could a homegrown coronavirus strain be partly to blame for California's surge?
Could a homegrown coronavirus strain be partly to blame for California’s surge?
California scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain that appears to be propagating faster than any other variant in the Golden State.
www.latimes.com
The Worst President in History
The Worst President in History
Three particular failures secure Trump’s status as the worst chief executive ever to hold the office.
www.theatlantic.com
Trump forces seek primary revenge on GOP impeachment backers
Trump forces seek primary revenge on GOP impeachment backers
Candidates, donors and local party officials are already organizing against the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.
www.politico.com
McCarthy Falsely Denies Voting To Overturn Election Results
McCarthy Falsely Denies Voting To Overturn Election Results
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Thursday denied that he, in fact, voted to overturn the election results as…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Audubon Files Lawsuit to Protect Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Audubon Files Lawsuit to Protect Migratory Bird Treaty Act
A coalition of conservation groups is going to court to overturn Trump Administration’s weakening of the landmark bird protection law.
www.audubon.org
Californians scramble for shots amid slow vaccine rollout | CalMatters
Californians scramble for shots amid slow vaccine rollout | CalMatters
Gov. Newsom said the feds failed to deliver promised vaccine supplies, but he expects Californians with their first shots to be able to secure their second.
calmatters.org
David Brooks column: Trump ignites a war within the church
David Brooks column: Trump ignites a war within the church
“Over the last 72 hours, I have received multiple death threats and thousands upon thousands of emails from Christians saying the nastiest and most vulgar things I have ever heard toward my family and ministry. I have been labeled a coward, sellout, a traitor to the Holy Spirit, and cussed out at least 500 times.”
www.courant.com
Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
thehill.com
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
“Words alone are not enough.” Corporate moves to halt political funding and decry the forces behind the Jan. 6 riot have accelerated a broader movement in business to address social and political issues.
www.wsj.com
I've hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
I’ve hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
After last week the label seems not just acceptable, but necessary.
www.newsweek.com

Find us on Facebook

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 © 2021 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