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

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

The Water Sale Mirage

June 8, 2015 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

OID General Manager Steve Knell
OID General Manager Steve Knell

Among the most sacred shibboleths of the water world’s power elite, none is more revered than the one that proclaims, “Water sales are wise and beneficial.” Of course, no member in good standing of water’s movers and shakers would ever refer to “water sales,” a vulgar and much too accurate description. The proper terminology is “water transfers.” As is often the case with euphemisms, the purpose is to conceal an unpleasant reality.

The implication of “water transfers” is that money has little or nothing to do with moving water from one place to another. Rather, the motivation is supposed to derive from the “wise and beneficial use” doctrine that undergirds much resource management policy.

In fact, money has always been the prime mover of water sales. Thanks to the enduring success of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, millions of people have a least a general understanding of the money and machinations behind moving water. Unfortunately, too few realize that the Owens Valley story is only one of many such cases.

Like road building, water sales escalate the problems they are intended to address. Both road building and water sales are growth inducing: The more roads and water sales, the greater the demand for roads and water.

Water sales have an added liability. Especially over a span of wet years, water sales have a mirage-like effect―they encourage buyers and sellers to believe there will always be “excess water” available.

In fact, the entire notion of excess water has always been based on a misunderstanding of water’s role in the ecosystem. One of the best examples is the ongoing devastation of the San Joaquin Delta.

In theory, the mighty Sacramento, California’s largest river, has had excess water enough to help southern California and the San Joaquin Valley continue decades of growth, both in population and permanent crops like almonds and pistachios. In fact, diversions from the Sacramento River have been a major factor in the deterioration of the Delta ecosystem and the decline of fisheries dependent on it.

Probably the most difficult thing to remember about water sales is that they’ve most often occurred within a default context of environmental destruction. California lost over 90% of its wetlands well before the Delta became so critically endangered. Those same wetlands were critical features in flood control and groundwater recharge, both of which have yet to be properly managed by our sales-driven water policy managers.

Nonetheless, loss of wetlands and the ongoing degradation of the San Joaquin Delta, devastation of salmon runs and fisheries, and a growing roster of endangered species haven’t convinced proponents of water sales that the “surplus water” notion is a harmful mirage. Even after a year in which it pumped a record amount of groundwater, the supposedly water-rich Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) had planned a water sale for this year. Only the threat of a lawsuit from a local farmer prevented the sale.

Shortly after the sale was aborted, the OID faced a rebellious uprising from senior water users  when it informed them their allotments would be cut. There could be no clearer case that the belief in surplus water was ill-founded, but facts aren’t the issue when it comes to the ideology of water sales: Money is.

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Steve Knell

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jim Brobeck says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    This is one of the most insightful articles on California Water ever composed. Thank you Mr. Caine! Jim Brobeck, Water Policy Analyst, AquAlliance.net

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      June 12, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Thank you Mr. Brobeck. We appreciate your remarks and also the good work of AquAlliance.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Jim Brobeck 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

Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals
Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals
www.newyorker.com
Water wars in a drying California: New money vs. old power in San Joaquin Valley
Water wars in a drying California: New money vs. old power in San Joaquin Valley
www.mercurynews.com
History of DDT ocean dumping off L.A. coast even worse than expected, EPA finds
History of DDT ocean dumping off L.A. coast even worse than expected, EPA finds
Barrels of DDT waste, along with other chemicals, were likely poured directly into the ocean near Catalina Island, according to federal regulators.
www.latimes.com
The Tiny Bird Ruining East Coast Beach Vacations
The Tiny Bird Ruining East Coast Beach Vacations
Meet the piping plover, an adorable little bird whose tenuous existence shuts down roads and beaches right in the peak of summer.
www.thedailybeast.com
Will the last person to leave Phoenix please turn off the sun?
Will the last person to leave Phoenix please turn off the sun?
Asking when Phoenix will become uninhabitable means asking who has the resources to survive — and eventually, the rich might be the only ones left
www.salon.com
California drought official quits, blasting Newsom for 'gut wrenching' inaction
California drought official quits, blasting Newsom for ‘gut wrenching’ inaction
A state water board official has resigned, claiming the Newsom administration has “nearly eviscerated” the board’s ability to confront drought.
www.latimes.com
Seventy Never Looked So Good: The Long, Wondrous Life of Wisdom the Albatross
Seventy Never Looked So Good: The Long, Wondrous Life of Wisdom the Albatross
The Laysan Albatross is the oldest known wild bird on the planet, an international icon, and still hatching eggs. This year she had her 39th chick.
www.audubon.org
It?s Going to Take Several Miracles to Stop the Republican Party From Turning America Into Hungary
It’s Going to Take Several Miracles to Stop the Republican Party From Turning America Into Hungary
It’s probably already too late to save American democracy. Here is the series of improbable events doing so would require.
newrepublic.com

Myanmar: Military executes four democracy activists including ex-MP

Myanmar: Military executes four democracy activists including ex-MP
The executions mark the first cases of capital punishment in the country in decades.
www.bbc.com
GOPer Who Voted Against Marriage Equality Goes To Son's Gay Wedding Days Later
GOPer Who Voted Against Marriage Equality Goes To Son’s Gay Wedding Days Later
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Trump’s silence on Jan. 6 is damning
Trump’s silence on Jan. 6 is damning
It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive …
nypost.com
Homeless people wait as Los Angeles lets thousands of federal housing vouchers go unused
Homeless people wait as Los Angeles lets thousands of federal housing vouchers go unused
Many of the 3,000 people and families in L.A. who have received the emergency vouchers remain in limbo.
www.latimes.com
Rio Grande runs dry in Albuquerque for the first time in 40 years
Rio Grande runs dry in Albuquerque for the first time in 40 years
The drying of the Rio Grande comes as the summer’s hotter and drier weather has fueled drought and fire throughout the West.
www.washingtonpost.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 © 2022 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