California Farm Water
Coalition - Farm Water
Perspective: Some Groups Not
Part of Water Solution
(Note: This
gem is not yet posted at the
California Farm Water
Coalition web site, but the
suggestion has been made!
This organization is in
central California and is
heavily dependent upon, and
appreciative of, dams and
the farmers whose
livelihoods depend on the
blending of soil, water, sun
-- and the blood, sweat and
tears equity that produces
food for people's health!)
February 4,
2009
From: Mike
Henry, Assistant Executive
Director, California Farm
Water Coalition mhenry@farmwater.org or
916-391-5030
By Mike Wade,
Executive Director,
California Farm Water
Coalition mwade@farmwater.org or
916-391-5030
"Farm Water
Perspective is a
twice-monthly feature
provided by the California
Farm Water Coalition. Farm
Water Perspective focuses on
the issues surrounding farm
water in California and
features both statewide and
regional issues. A photo of
author Mike Wade is
available upon
request. Further information
is available by replying to
this email or calling the
Coalition office at
916-391-5030. The California
Farm Water Coalition is a
non-profit, public education
organization whose
membership represents more
than 6 million of the 9
million irrigated acres in
California."
For Immediate Release
California
Farm Water Coalition
"Food
Grows Where Water Flows"
5999 Freeport
Boulevard
Sacramento,
California 95822
916-391-5030
(office)
Fax:
916-391-5044
“Water needs to be managed first
for the needs of fish, and
second for the needs of people.”
A statement like
this is sure to inflame
individuals in California’s water industry who struggle to
provide the water needed by both
our farms and cities. However,
it is important to go beyond the
immediate reaction to the
statement and realize what this
statement means to California’s water future.
The statement was
taken from a presentation at
last month’s International
Sportsman Exposition in Sacramento and was made by an attorney for the
Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC). This group has
long been a strong advocate
toward increasing the water
supply dedicated for the
environment and it hasn’t
mattered what the cost might be
for others. NRDC has repeatedly
used the court system to push
its agenda.
The real surprise
resulting from the statement is
that it publicly acknowledges
what many of us have thought for
years -- radical
environmentalists will do
whatever is necessary to take
water away from farms and
cities.
This approach to
claiming increased water
supplies for the environment has
certainly been proven in recent
years. One only has to take a
look at the amount of water that
has been redirected, mostly from
farmers, to the environment
since 1991:
1991: National Marine Fisheries
Service biological opinion,
80,000 acre-feet.
1992: Central Valley Project
Improvement Act, 800,000
acre-feet.
1994: Bay-Delta Accord, 1.1
million acre-feet.
2000: Trinity Accord,
600,000 acre-feet.
2006: San Joaquin River
Restoration Settlement, up
to 200,000 acre-feet if
water recovery under the
Settlement is not realized.
2007: Federal court decision
preserving water for Delta
smelt, 600,000 acre-feet.
The combined
total of these actions on an
annual basis amounts to more
than 3 million acre-feet of
water. To put that in
perspective, the contracted
annual delivery of water from
the State Water Project calls
for 4.1 million acre-feet and
annual contracts from the
federal Central Valley Project
total 7 million acre feet. Of
course, neither of these
projects is delivering anything
near that amount of water this
year.
California is entering a
third consecutive year of
drought and the prospect for
water deliveries this year
is not looking good. It will
take all water interests
working together to survive
what is shaping up to be a
crippling water year for
all. If we are going to plan
for a future that will
adequately provide water for
all Californians, then we
must be willing to work
together. It appears the
National Resources Defense
Council does not plan to be
a part of that effort.
Copyright
2009, California Farm Water
Coalition.
~~~~~
About Us:
The
California Farm Water
Coalition was formed in
1989 in the midst of a
six-year drought. CFWC
was formed to increase
public awareness of
agriculture’s efficient
use of water and promote
the industry’s
environmental
sensitivity regarding
water.
Mission:
The California Farm
Water Coalition Board of
Directors has identified
three primary goals as
part of its mission to
increase public
awareness of
agriculture’s use of
water and
provide a common,
unifying voice for
agricultural water
users. To serve as the
voice for agricultural
water users. To
represent irrigated
agriculture in the
media. To educate the
public about the
benefits of irrigated
agriculture.
~~~~~
Water
Facts: Find
out what you don't know
November 13,
2008
California’s
State Water Project (SWP)
received funding
authorization in 1959 and
its plan for construction
received voter approval. The
SWP is the nation’s largest
state-built water and power
development and conveyance
system. It provides water
supplies for 25 million
Californians and 755,000
acres of irrigated farmland.
Times have
changed since the
construction of the SWP and
it can no longer keep up
with an increasing demand
for a reliable water supply.
Our population has more than
doubled since the SWP was
constructed, and it is
expected to keep climbing.
Construction of the federal
Central Valley Project began
in 1937 to entice farmers to
bring life to the arid land
by providing a dependable
water supply. That water
supply is no longer reliable
because of court decisions
and the increased demand for
a water supply that was
envisioned 70 years ago.
Water not only grows the
food we need, but also
provides jobs.
California
needs a more reliable water
supply.
More storage
facilities are needed to
increase our water supply.
An improved
conveyance system is
necessary to deliver water
to its point of use and
protect endangered fish in
the Delta.
Legislative
action is needed now to move
California into the future
with a water supply that is
reliable for all its
citizens.
For more
information, click below:
What
percentage of the state's
developed water supply is
used by farmers? That
question has resulted in
multiple answers most
frequently printed in the
news media. The most
damaging answer to farmers
is 80
percent.
Unfortunately, that is an
incorrect answer. The
correct answer is
farmers use only 43 percent
of the state's developed
water supply. The
largest user of this water
is the environment at 46
percent, while
homes/businesses use the
remaining 11 percent. This
full-color brochure was
produced by several
organizations, including the
California Farm Water
Coalition. Meanwhile, click
below for your free download
of the newest California
Water Facts Handout. Copies
available at 30-cents per
page plus postage.
~~~~~
"Food Grows Where Water
Flows"
