Those who attended last Tuesday’s afternoon session of the Federal Energy Regulation Comission (FERC) at Modesto’s Doubletree Hotel listened to people who use and love the Tuolumne River explain why their needs should be represented in decisions about relicensing Don Pedro Dam’s hydroelectric project, which is powered by the Tuolumne River. The chief issue for everyone was the state’s proposal to increase flows along all the major rivers of the […]
State Water Resources Control Board Tuolumne River
Are the Arguments for Valley Water Full of Holes?
Though there’s no truth to the rumor people have been painting it brown, the water drop on the “Worth your Fight” sign produced by the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts could just as easily be an almond. And if it were so portrayed, it would certainly present a more accurate picture as leaders throughout the San Joaquin Valley protest state proposals to increase flows along valley rivers. Water, of course, […]
Down and Dirty Water Wars: Part I
It’s perfectly understandable that anyone taking a stand in favor of increased river flows in the northern San Joaquin Valley is likely to be compared to an assailant of motherhood, apple pie and Fourth of July fireworks. After all, the Valley will indeed take an economic hit from increased flows, and no one wants to take economic hits anywhere or anytime. But that’s the problem. The state has to decide […]
Modesto Bee Column Establishes New Low in Water Debate
In slightly fewer than six-hundred words that may have set a record for errors per word, last Thursday’s Community Column in the Modesto Bee established a new low in our region’s ongoing debate about water. Written by Turlock’s Mike Romeo, the column contains numerous factual errors and at least one major conceptual error. The conceptual error stems from Romeo’s assumption that those who pay for a dam own the water […]