• 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

Specter of Fish Haunts MID Water Sale

June 1, 2012 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

Wild Salmon

Shortly after John Mensinger and Larry Byrd blew the wheels off the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale bandwagon and the City of Modesto looked likely to sue to assure its water rights, the Modesto Bee opined that, given the intense controversy surrounding the water sale, it couldn’t hurt to form a citizens’ advisory committee of agricultural and urban customers to help steer the water sale controversy to a reasonable conclusion.

As we’ve written here, there was a time when the Bee had an environmental conscience. In those days, the only game in town was committed not only to ag and urban interests but also to the general well-being of the environment, especially insofar as it concerned air, water, and wildlife.

Things are different now. Today’s Bee has yet to inform its readers of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Impaired” ruling on the Tuolumne River, and the almost certain ensuing decree that much more water must be released along the Tuolumne to ensure adequate habitat requirements for fish and wildlife, especially salmon.

For anyone wishing a preview of the consequences when we neglect our rivers, just consider Jeff Denham’s frantic efforts to overturn federal rulings concerning the San Joaquin River. After decades of litigation, water is finally flowing along the sixty mile stretch of the San Joaquin that for countless years routinely ran dry. The intention is to restore life to the River and bring back historic Steelhead runs, among other things.

Congressman Denham is trying to roll back portions of the verdict on grounds that we can’t afford them. Many suspect he’s simply representing corporate interests that begrudge water for any uses other than their own.

Restoration of the San Joaquin River was ordered in large part because United States citizens overwhelmingly support conservation of rivers, fisheries, and endangered species. And while they don’t often have a media presence, citizens of the Northern San Joaquin Valley have played major parts in preservation of our region’s natural history.

For decades, the Sierra Club’s Bob Hackamack almost single-handedly defended the Tuolumne River against any number of depredations, and managed ultimately to achieve special protection in the form of “Wild and Scenic” status. The local Audubon chapter signed on early to the lawsuit that would restore the San Joaquin River and has been an active participant in the creation and expansion of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge since its inception.

Given the Tuolumne River’s fragile health and “Impaired” status, no one should be surprised when state and federal agencies require increased flows along the Tuolumne River. Part of the reason for the MID’s “hurry up and sell” strategy is the knowledge that the increased flow requirements will be large—most likely much larger than anyone can presently guess; they could result in less water available when the MID is up for relicensing.

The players in the MID water sale game include those citizens who see the river as much more than a lifeless conduit for ag and urban use. Despite attempts to deal them out, they, as well as the fish and wildlife that depend on the River, will be well represented with or without seats at the MID advisory table because they’ll be present in the both in the spirit and the letter of the law. And if the past offers any precedent, the fish will have their water.

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: MID water sale, MID water transfer to San Francisco, Modesto Irigation District Water Sale, Tuolumne River

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David Avila says

    June 2, 2012 at 5:55 pm

    I am not sure what this article is trying to purport. I know that in times of no dams, the rivers all but dried up during the summer after the snow melted and ground water leached out to an equilibrium. I see “large” summer flows as not natural. You think?

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      June 2, 2012 at 6:59 pm

      The historic salmon runs were during spring and fall. A major issue for the Tuolumne today is high temperatures; more water needs to be released to provide suitable temperaures for cold water fish.

      Reply
  2. YNHDFGASh says

    November 26, 2012 at 5:15 am

    229329 124117You should participate in a contest for probably the greatest blogs on the web. I will recommend this web website! 57641

    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

?This is where society fails to have an answer?: Poll reveals Bay Area residents? frustration with street homelessness
“This is where society fails to have an answer”: Poll reveals Bay Area residents? frustration with street homelessness
Data includes support for possible measures, including a court system with the power to order people into mental health treatment.
www.mercurynews.com
?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org

Find us on Facebook

pp
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