• 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

How to Lose the Water Game

February 6, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Tuolumne River Near Modesto
Tuolumne River Near Modesto

Here in the northern San Joaquin Valley, there’s no better way to curry political favor than by assailing the state’s proposals to increase unimpaired flows on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers. And even though it’s a losing position, everyone’s doing it.

“Water grab,” they say, almost in unison. Invariably, talk of “our water” is followed by a lengthy recitation of the economic harm to the region when water from local rivers is allotted for fish, delta farmers, the delta ecosystem, and other long-suffering entities.

Consider this: The Tuolumne River now receives between 15 and 17 percent unimpaired flows. That means well over 80 percent of the water from the Tuolumne River is diverted before it reaches the San Joaquin Delta. Most of the diversions are for agriculture.

Those who say an increase in unimpaired flows will harm local economies are right. But such economic arguments don’t just apply locally. In today’s water world gone mad, one person’s economic gain is another’s economic loss.

When water is seen in purely economic terms, values get tossed aside. Among the first to go are “fairness,” “sustainability,” and “objectivity.”

How fair is it to boost one economy at the expense of another? In recent years, the salmon industry has taken huge losses. Scientists say a major reason is reduced river flows. Increases in unimpaired flows are meant to help salmon fishermen and all the others who benefit from salmon.

Delta farmers are also suffering as salt water continues a steady intrusion landward. Recreational activities, wetlands, wildlife—all depend on water. How fair is it to take 80 percent of “their water”?

How much of the recent Valley agricultural boom is sustainable? Will the almond boom bust? How realistic is it to keep planting permanent crops solely dependent on groundwater or, at best, dependent on very junior water rights?

In today’s insane water game, everyone’s an instant expert on everything from fish to statistics. Problem is, the science and math always seem to work in favor of the people with skin in the game. Disinterested research is routinely ignored in favor of “objective” studies that favor those who paid for the studies.

As soon as we turn the water game into a bidding war, the only winners are the highest bidders, and that’s only over the short term. And as soon as we discard values like “fairness” and “sustainability,” public resources cease to be “public.”

There’s no question water has economic value, but that value should apply fairly to everyone. Water also has recreational, aesthetic, and intrinsic value. These values aren’t easily measured with dollar signs.

We are in dire straits today in part because too many of us have been willing to allow water to become commodified. One noxious result is that some Valley towns, invariably poor, lack potable drinking water even while the land they live on continues to produce huge profits for those who’ve wrested control of water through economic prowess and political machination.

Water belongs to everyone and everyone needs it. Until we understand its value as opposed to its price, we’re all losers in the water game.

 

Filed Under: Environment, Featured

Reader Interactions

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

Could Biden Be the Most Transformative President in Living Memory? - LA Progressive
Could Biden Be the Most Transformative President in Living Memory? – LA Progressive
Most Transformative President – Biden has the chance to lead a green and digital recovery that would create millions of good jobs.
www.laprogressive.com
Louis DeJoy Is Killing It
Louis DeJoy Is Killing It
While Biden dithers, Trump’s minion wrecks the postal service.
nymag.com
So What if Romney Doesn?t Solve the ?Root Causes? of Poverty?
So What if Romney Doesn’t Solve the Root Causes of Poverty?
We handle problems all the time without dealing with their root causes.
nymag.com
The Facts of Life - The Bulwark
The Facts of Life – The Bulwark
My suggestion last week that perhaps the best way some of us who’ve been conservatives can now help the country is to help the Biden administration succeed, and help the Democratic party move to the center, seems to have stirred up a minor tempest in the conservative teapot. I asked whether one shouldn’t consider allying…
thebulwark.com
WSJ News Exclusive | Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
WSJ News Exclusive | Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
Texas’s deregulated electricity market left millions in the dark last week. For the past 20 years, its consumers have paid more for their electricity than state residents who are served by traditional utilities, a WSJ investigation found.
www.wsj.com
The making of Madison Cawthorn: How falsehoods helped propel the career of a new pro-Trump star of the far right
The making of Madison Cawthorn: How falsehoods helped propel the career of a new pro-Trump star of the far right
Cawthorn has emerged as one of the most visible figures among newly arrived House Republicans, who have promoted baseless assertions and pushed a radicalized ideology that has become a driving force in the GOP.
www.washingtonpost.com
Los Angeles Just Opened a Tiny Home Village for the Homeless
Los Angeles Just Opened a Tiny Home Village for the Homeless
The colorful community was built in just 13 weeks!
www.housebeautiful.com
California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: 'The devil is already here'
California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’
California’s coronavirus strain is more transmissible than its predecessors, is more resistant to vaccines and may cause more severe cases of COVID-19.
www.latimes.com
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden's Sweeping COVID Package
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden’s Sweeping COVID Package
More than 150 business leaders from various industries have signed a letter backing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP's voters
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP’s voters
www.usatoday.com
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
In the growing community of charismatic Christian prophecy, faith in Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House is a new dividing line.
www.politico.com
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
The New York congresswoman said she would travel to Houston to highlight the problems faced by Texans hit by power outages and freezing weather.
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