Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
California’s Drought Gets Personal — Suzanne Temple
Next week, California shuts off the water. So says the letter my parents received from their local water district, informing them that the water supplied to the district’s farms in Northern California will be no more. This year, the North Valley will not be filling its water canals.
My parents own a 33-acre orchard and my other family members lease or own farmland all over my hometown. A few years ago, when rainfall began to diminish and irrigation prices began to rise (and environmentalists appeared determined to make all water policy beholden to the goal of saving an endangered three-inch fish, the delta smelt), my parents drilled their own well to irrigate their orchard—as did many other farmers in the area.
Farmers seem to have a way of sensing what’s coming. The delta smelt got its government protection, forcing some of the state’s water to be diverted from farmers into the Pacific Ocean. Just last month, the courts upheld the ruling that the fish, not the farmers, get the water. With record-low rainfall over the past few years, water prices have skyrocketed. Last year my parents’ water district told growers that they would receive an allotment of water for $35–$50 per acre. They can still get water if they go over that allotment, but for $600 an acre. It’s a good thing that my parents had their own well; this year, the water district is saying no water at any price.
Today, it seems like every grower in California is drilling wells on his property to tap into that underground water source. Environmentalists are beginning to worry that so much drilling is upsetting the underground water flow. My dad suspects that soon he’ll be getting letters telling him he’s not allowed to use his own well.
This weekend, when I heard about that Nevada rancher—the one who faced off against the feds because he stopped paying land-use fees for 20 years after being told to significantly reduce his herd and keep them off parts of the land, all because of some endangered tortoise—I knew whom most people in my hometown would be siding with. Take a guess. It wasn’t the feds. People don’t like the government telling them they’re out of a job because of a spotted owl, or kicked off of land because of a tortoise, or are going to have to watch their crops dry up because of a three-inch fish.
The letter my parents received had an interesting “P.S.” It asked the farmers to come into the water district’s office to discuss “options” (whatever that means). My dad is undecided about going. He’s not sure if it’s worth his time, because he doesn’t think that anything can be done. But I suspect that some of my other relatives will go, and so will a lot of other growers. A word of advice to the water district: expect the farmers who show up to be worried, distrustful, and angry.
Published in General
I wish more attention was paid to rural poverty. So often poverty gets seen as an inner-city thing, or an ethnic/racial thing. In Calif, unemployment rates are highest in the rural areas.
With spotted owl pie for dessert?
I just clicked on your link to the book. It looks fascinating! Thx.
Another aspect of this is that the “Big Valley” is a major food basket for all of America. CA and FL produce a large amount (majority) of the non-grain produce eaten in the U.S.
They should ‘Gone Bundy’ several years ago it seems (but don’t expect much support from the Right). I do feel for them and hate this is happening. Now environmentalists can buy fruit and veggies from Chile and feel righteous.
Environmentalist are the worse thing to ever happen to the environment.
Yay but we are ending the Florida Growing season right now on some produce (like lettuce) and others soon. Most of your produce now will come out of CA, and Yuma, AZ. Can’t even think how this is going to kill my companies profit. We process produce and Deli for B2B sale.
And here’s the thing that makes this a most excellent story: There is no such thing as a water shortage in Florida! There are the months we endure torrential rain and floods and then the months that we do not. :)