• 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

To Sell or Not to Sell Water to San Francisco, That is the Question

February 2, 2012 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Former Modesto City Councilman Bruce Frohman (pictured left) continues to follow important regional political issues. As a Councilman, Frohman was known for his cautious use of taxpayer money and his dedication to preserving farmland. Below, Frohman discusses the controversial proposal to sell Modesto Irrigation District water to San Francisco.

The Modesto Irrigation District is considering a proposal for a long term contract to sell water to the City of San Francisco. Logically, MID could enter into an agreement that would be beneficial to both the local district and the coastal community. The rub is that the citizen/rate payers do not trust the ability of the MID leadership to enter into a contract that would not jeopardize the long term local availability of water.

If an optimal contract could be created, doing the deal could be justified. If the MID Board approves a contract, it will be telling its constituents that the district is entering into an optimal contract. However, the Board could be wrong.

Any contract has to provide MID with adequate escape clauses. For example, in the event of a drought, MID needs the ability to escape. If the local economy has a sudden increase in demand or needs a reserve to attract business, MID needs an out. In the event of unexpected events such as earthquake or contamination, the contract should be voidable.

Predicting future water need is an imprecise science. Water is an essential component for economic development in any community. Without water,  there is no life. Water is a precious, limited commodity, with clean water shortages in many parts of the world affecting over one billion inhabitants. Modesto is in a desert, with about 10 inches of rainfall per year. San Francisco, which wants our water, receives over 28 inches of rainfall per year and is surrounded by water that could be desalinized to provide for the big city’s needs.

Modesto’s economy is in the dumps. Unemployment is over 20 percent. We need large quantities of fresh water delivered at low prices in order to maintain a healthy farming community around our city. The availability of clean fresh water at low cost is a major attractive asset for inducing business to move into Modesto. Citizens of Modesto have been rationing water for over 20 years. Yet, we have extra water to sell to San Francisco?

San Francisco’s economy is flying high. Unemployment is under 10 percent. The City can afford all the water it needs from existing supplies and contracts. A desalinization plant can be built to supplement its supplies. Certainly, the cost would be higher for San Francisco to build a plant than if we sell MID water. But to secure the long term supply for the entire state, shouldn’t new sources of water be developed before a shortage occurs?

Near Bishop, California, the Owens Valley was once a fertile farm land with orchards. After Los Angeles took all of Owens’ water, it shrivelled up and died. All that is left is desert. After Owens Lake completely dried up, the soil in the lake bed became a source of toxic air pollution from blowing dust. While MID would not let an environmental disaster of such a magnitude happen here, inadequate water assets after a sale would leave us economically impaired.

The only argument in favor of selling water to San Francisco is the cash a contract will bring. How much of a difference will the cash make to our community compared to the loss of the precious water? In reading a contract, it is very difficult to make an accurate assessment. This is why many citizens oppose the water sale. Is the added income worth the risk of inadequate supply?

 

Filed Under: Environment

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David Avila says

    February 8, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    MID needs the $22++ million of income from the water sales to offset:
    1-Ratio of income to labor expenses at their financial report.
    2-Provide cash flow to fund their out of porportion wages, benefits and retirement program to their employees.

    They should sell the water to the West Side which will bring in “only” $5++ million. But in return, it is my understanding, the local economy will benefit from $500 million to $800 million. This will create more jobs and a higher standard of living for the valley which in turn will increase MID electrical sales which will in turn improve MID’s financial condition. Of course, this will take time. The sale to SF will bring “immediate” benefit to MID while leaving the Valley in peril for ever!!

    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

?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
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

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