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

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

MID Water Policy Unfair to Farmers

May 4, 2014 By Bruce Frohman 2 Comments

Unfair Policy?
Unfair Policy?

Editor’s note: Please note a correction below this article; we apologize for the error.

If you were a farmer during a drought, wouldn’t you like to have an unlimited supply of water? Wouldn’t you also like access to river water and have the privilege of selling it?

In Stanislaus County, some farmers have special privileges given to them by the Board of Directors of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID).

In order to have an unlimited supply of water, a farmer has to have wells. The wells have to be located near a water source, such as near the San Joaquin River. To enable the extraction of a large quantity of water, the landowner should own a lot of property upon which to dig wells. Water from the nearby river percolates to the wells and, voila, an unlimited supply of river water is extracted from the wells. Those who own low lying areas near rivers benefit the most from MID’s policy of allowing farmers to resell the agency’s water allocations. Can the sale of well water be added to the resale of MID allocated water without anyone being the wiser?

In an attempt to hide the beneficiaries of recently passed water allocation and resale rules, the Board decided this past week, on a 4-1 vote, that farmers within the MID system do not need to disclose their inventory of wells. The reason for the lack of disclosure should be evident. The Board majority does not want people to figure out who will be benefitting from the policy. Why else would such information be kept secret? Unless he has something to hide, why would anyone insist on privacy about the location of wells on his property?

Water Is a Public Asset Used for Private Benefit

When it comes to water rights, there are two schools of thought. One school says that water is property that can be bought and sold. If someone can buy up all the property, then he can use it to the exclusion of others. If others go bankrupt due to lack of water, too bad for the others.

The second school of thought is that water is a public asset. The asset should be used for the good of the entire population, not just those who have the means to buy it. Water is essential for life and everyone has the right to life.

Those in a position to hold the majority of the water rights subscribe to the first school. The average citizen who relies on public water for survival subscribes to the second school.

The MID as Arbiter of Water Rights

Modesto Irrigation District was originally formed by those who believed water is a public asset. The goal of the district has been to make water available to ALL farmers within the district, not just a select few. Historically, the allocation process has been fair to all.

The present drought has tested the system’s fairness to its limit. Earlier this year, the MID Board passed water resale rules that have made the distribution system patently unfair by enriching larger land owners with easy access to water. The decision to keep well ownership hidden is clearly intended to not only hide the unfair rules that were previously passed, but to prevent illumination of the magnitude of enrichment that will come to those with wells on low lands near the rivers.

Farmers Need to Demand Fairness and Accountability

If no one says anything further, the present unfair water allocation system that allows resale of public water by private individuals will proceed. Those who live a distance from rivers and at higher elevations will see a drastic decline in profitability of their businesses, while those who benefit under the new rules will thrive. Farmers need a level playing field to compete, but the field is no longer level. The truth of this matter could not be any more clear. One need not be a hydrologist to figure out who the winners and losers are from this year’s new rules.

 

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Modesto Irrigation District groundwater policy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eric Caine says

    May 8, 2014 at 12:56 am

    WE MADE A MISTAKE!
    We’re always happy to correct the record, and this time we made a big mistake. Thanks to an alert reader, we now know that the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors DID NOT VOTE 4-1 to allow owners of wells to hide information. That means part of “MID Water Policy is Unfair to Farmers” is incorrect. The Board did not vote to keep well data private. In fact, all well data is held by Stanislaus County officials. Some Board members want any farmer who sells surface water to provide data about use of wells and groundwater. Some members are against providing data. The issue will come up again May 13, so stay tuned. We apologize for the error. We are always grateful when offered the opportunity to correct the record. Many thanks to our alert reader.

    Reply
  2. Chris Gulick says

    May 9, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    The plot thickens.
    If anyone is still unsure whether or not ground water regulations is needed, reading articles like this should do the trick.

    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

In California?s Heartland, a New Resistance Movement Is Taking Root
In California’s Heartland, a New Resistance Movement Is Taking Root
How do you change a place as polluted and desperately unequal as the San Joaquin Valley?
www.nytimes.com
America?s Approach to Addiction Has Gone Off the Rails
America’s Approach to Addiction Has Gone Off the Rails
In a time of fentanyl and meth, we need to use law enforcement differently and more often.
www.theatlantic.com
Plastic Pollution Is So Pervasive That It?s Causing a New Disease in Seabirds
Plastic Pollution Is So Pervasive That It’s Causing a New Disease in Seabirds
Researchers coined the term “plasticosis” to describe stomach damage related to ingesting trash.
www.audubon.org
'Greedflation,' Conspiracy Theories, And Conspiracy
‘Greedflation,’ Conspiracy Theories, And Conspiracy
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM?s home for opinion and news…
talkingpointsmemo.com
White House plan to fight antisemitism takes on centuries of hatred in America
White House plan to fight antisemitism takes on centuries of hatred in America
Recommended steps include raising awareness of antisemitism now and in the past, expanding knowledge of Jewish heritage in the US
www.timesofisrael.com
Oath Keepers leader Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
Oath Keepers leader Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes faces a prison sentence up to 25 years in the first punishments for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
www.washingtonpost.com
Opinion | America?s Poverty Is Built by Design
Opinion | America’s Poverty Is Built by Design
How did the U.S. become a land of economic extremes with the rich getting richer while the working poor grind it out? Deliberately.
www.politico.com
Republican Jewish Coalition Blasts Gosar Over Staffer's Ties To White Supremacist: Fuentes Has 'No Place' In Congress
Republican Jewish Coalition Blasts Gosar Over Staffer’s Ties To White Supremacist: Fuentes Has ‘No Place’ In Congress
The Republican Jewish Coalition slammed Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) following a  TPM…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Newsom restores floodplain funds, adds $290 million to flood control budget
Newsom restores floodplain funds, adds $290 million to flood control budget
After widespread, bipartisan criticism, the governor revised his budget to include $40 million to restore San Joaquin Valley floodplains.
calmatters.org
New Study Finds a High Minimum Wages Creates Jobs
New Study Finds a High Minimum Wages Creates Jobs
Conventional wisdom had long suggested the opposite.
nymag.com
Spiraling in San Francisco?s Doom Loop
Spiraling in San Francisco’s Doom Loop
What it’s like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed.
www.curbed.com
San Diego to open homeless camp sites at two parking lots near Balboa Park
San Diego to open homeless camp sites at two parking lots near Balboa Park
The two lots could accommodate about 500 tents and would be an alternative to congregate shelters
www.sandiegouniontribune.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 © 2023 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