July 14, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) General Manager Steve Knell circulated a letter defending the district’s business plan. OID is embroiled in a lawsuit involving the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), water sales, and a controversial fallowing program. Knell is on a campaign to justify out-of-district sales and the soundness of the business plan. For Knell, the biggest selling point of the OID business plan is the provision of water […]
Search Results for: OID
Five Myths about the Homeless: Part II
The Myth of Drugs When the musician and entertainer Prince died earlier this year, news that he had overdosed on the powerful opioid Fentanyl stunned his legions of fans. Though reclusive in his private life, Prince was known to prefer a vegetarian diet and healthy lifestyle. Drug use simply didn’t make sense to those who had known him only through his public image. As his addiction was confirmed, insiders spoke […]
Five Myths about the Homeless: Part I
Though political resistance to raising the minimum wage is a major factor in homelessness, it still gets little media attention. Consider this: A full-time job at today’s current minimum wage of $10 an hour would pay $1600 a month before taxes. As of July this year, average rent in Modesto is $1023 per month. But when Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation raising the minimum wage last April, Valley political leaders […]
Oakdale Irrigation District: “All about Politics?”
U.S. Department of Reclamation: “Reclamation does not backstop transfers.” Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) General Manager Steve Knell likes to say that lawsuits against the district are “all about politics” and “have nothing to do with substance.” Knell is right about the politics and wrong about the substance. And even when he’s right, Steve Knell is also wrong. When he says OID’s current lawsuits are political, his intention is to dismiss […]
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 […]
Will $15 Per Hour Hurt Valley Employment?
News Item: The State of California passed a $15 per hour minimum wage bill. In the San Joaquin Valley, many see $15 per hour as high income. The Valley has double the state’s average in unemployment and many minimum wage jobs. Farm laborers and restaurant workers often receive sub-minimum wages. Local competition for jobs has been fierce for years. Any advertised well-paying job will easily attract hundreds of applicants. Some […]
Farming and the New Politics of Water
Among the biggest surprises of Modesto’s last election, none was more puzzling than the defeat of Measure I, the anti-sprawl initiative designed to protect the region’s prime farmland. Historically, Modesto residents have supported farmland protection by huge margins. Most observers felt Measure I would pass easily, especially since it followed closely on an emotionally-charged revolt against the city’s attempt to include portions of historic Wood Colony in its general plan. […]
Can We End Water Shortages?
Before the drought, wasting water was rarely mentioned; now it’s a constant topic. The subject will remain in the forefront because our population has reached the size where sustainability is a genuine concern. What constitutes waste and what can be done to conserve the available supply? The simplest way to define waste is to say, “If I need to use water, the use is not a waste. If the other […]