Despite little interest thus far in a fallowing program designed to make water available for sales next year, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) will pursue plans to sell water to Westlands Water District. Though OID General Manager Steve Knell has been under increasing pressure to keep OID water local, his Board of Directors continues to back his strategy of selling “surplus” water when available. Knell and OID attorney Tim O’Laughlin said […]
Search Results for: OID
Reeve Rolls 300—Birds
When Harold Reeve moved to Modesto in 1983, one of the first things he decided to do was keep a list of all the bird species he saw in Stanislaus County. “County birding is the coming thing,” he told a friend. “I want us to have a good list.” To Reeve, “good” means several things, but it especially means “accurate” and “thorough.” Like many birders, Reeve is more than a […]
Steve Knell Wants to Sell Water
Steve Knell is the general manager of the Oakdale Irrigation District. He’s an advocate of water sales outside the district, and has presided over the sale of 382,408 acre feet of water over the last decade. Knell’s latest claims about groundwater suggest the problem of overdrafting has been exaggerated. “In OID’s portion of Stanislaus County, our data show groundwater, on average, was 74 feet below the surface 10 years ago. […]
SOS: Our Last Resort
Denny Jackman has tried for many years to get the leaders of Stanislaus County to use comprehensive planning to build a community where growth is orderly, affordable and livable, and where agriculture would be protected in perpetuity. I worked with him up until I left the Modesto City Council in 2003. After disappointment in regional leaders’ ongoing failure to protect farmland, Mr. Jackman, Jake Wenger, and Vance Kennedy created the […]
Dr. Kennedy’s Groundwater Remedy
Stanislaus County Supervisors probably breathed a sigh of relief when the Modesto Bee chose not to report Dr. Vance Kennedy’s comments at their October 21 board meeting. As an award-winning hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Kennedy accumulated a career’s worth of on-the ground experience to go along with his academic credentials. At ninety-one years of age, he remains current with research in his field, especially research involving groundwater. A […]
Groundwater: When Regulation Fails, Part II
Though California has finally joined every other state in regulating groundwater usage, we shouldn’t believe regulation will necessarily promote groundwater sustainability. If regulation were the answer, the great Ogallala Aquifer wouldn’t be facing total depletion. If regulation were the answer, the Colorado River Basin wouldn’t have lost over 41 million acre feet of groundwater over the last ten years. That’s enough water to serve residential use for the entire US population […]
Boggs Rocks Water Committee
When Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini made a surprise appearance at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC), people expected fireworks. DeMartini has been an outspoken critic of the WAC since its formation early this year. In theory, the WAC is supposed to advise county supervisors on water policy. In fact, it has seemed dedicated to avoiding action of any kind. DeMartini’s recent attempts to establish a […]
Stanislaus County’s Water Committee on Borrowed Time?
After months of dithering and ducking, the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC) may have finally lost its lease. It’s becoming ever more apparent the WAC’s purpose is exactly what Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini said it was when he resigned as chair. DeMartini said almost immediately after its formation that the purpose of the committee was to provide “political cover” for supervisors unwilling to take action on the groundwater pumping […]
County May Declare Moratorium on East Side Wells
Just as it appeared Wednesday’s meeting of the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC) was going to conclude another session of deferred action, Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow lit up the room. “I was talking to Jim and he was pretty adamant about putting a moratorium on the east side,” said Withrow. “And right now he’s got the votes to do it.” No one had to be told “Jim” was Stanislaus […]
Valley Citizens Unite Against Mining Water
It’s only fitting that some of the speakers during Tuesday’s public comment portion of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting had names like “Smith” and “Jones.” It was one of those rare moments when ordinary citizens speak in unison and form a truly “public” opinion. The keynote was sounded by John Booker, a retired architect from Oakdale, who represented over one-hundred members of the Stanislaus Water Coalition: “It is […]