- HOME
- About
- Topics
- Angelides
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- California Attorney General Race
- California Congressional Races
- California Democratic Party
- California Governor Race 2010
- California Legislative Races
- California Lt. Governor Race
- California Secretary of State Race
- California State Budget
- California State Controller
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Campaigns
- Cell Phones
- Children and Families
- Consumer Rights
- Corporate Accountability
- Criminal Justice
- Death With Dignity
- Disaster Preparation
- Discrimination and Civil Rights
- Education
- Elections and Voting
- Electoral College
- Energy
- Environment
- Farm Animal Cruelty Ballot Measure
- Flood Control
- Food Safety
- Gas Prices
- Governor's Election Race
- Gun control
- Health Care
- Health Insurance
- Hiram Johnson's Corner
- Housing
- Human Rights
- Humor
- Immigration
- Infrastructure
- Initiative Reform
- Insurance Commissioner Race
- Labor
- Language and Politics
- Legal System
- Media and Communication
- Minimum Wage
- Open Government
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Politics
- Preschool
- Presidential Election 2008
- Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act Prop
- Prison Reform
- Privacy
- Privitization
- Prop 11-Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Prop 12--Veterans Housing Bond
- Prop 1A--High Speed Rail
- Prop 2--Treatment of Farm Animals
- Prop 3-Children's Hospital Bonds
- Prop 4 Waiting Period and Parental Notification
- Prop 5--Non-violent drug offenses
- Prop 6--Police and law enforcement spending
- Prop 7 and 10-Alternative Fuel and Energy Bond
- Prop 8 and-Marriage Equality
- Prop 85 Parental Notification
- Prop 86 Tobacco Tax
- Prop 87--Alternative Energy
- Prop 9 Parole
- Prop 90
- Prop 91--Transportation Funding
- Prop 92- Community Colleges
- Prop 93--Term Limits
- Props 94-97--Tribal Gaming
- Props 98 and 99
- Racial Disparities
- Responsible Lending
- Retirement Benefits
- Site of the Day
- Solar Initiative
- Structure of California Government
- Taxes
- Toxic Chemicals
- Transportation/Transit
- Water
- Westly
- Workers' Compensation
- Stories
- Governor: California is Heading “Toward Financial Armageddon”
- Governor Remarks on Budget Crisis
- Schwarzenegger's theft of Part B benefits from Social Security/ Medicare benefits
- Schwarzenegger's theft of Part B benefits from Social Security/ Medicare benefits
- California Economic Crisis Jeopardizes Obama Infrastructure Goals
- New Republican Leader Hijacks Democrats and Forces Republican Demands on Budget Process
- Air Board Must Make Land Use Reform Part of The Climate Change Program
- Attorney General Opposes $250 million “Down-Payment” for Massive Prison Plan
- Lax recycling programs for toxic televisions endanger public health and the environment
- California Progressives Share Concerns About Obama Economic Team
- Human Rights Violations in California’s Own Backyard
- Directory
- Donate
- Contact Us
RSS Advertise Here
Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.
Our readers are influential opinion makers - politicians, journalists and activists.
Our latest headlines
- Governor's Veto Leaves Uncertainty in Growing Budget Crisis
- Senator Leader Darryl Steinberg Perplexed by Governor’s Inaction on Democratic Proposal
- AB 89 Provides Money For Education, Children's Healthcar, and Anti-Smoking Programs
- Prosecutors, Cops and Judges: Ready to Ditch California’s Death Penalty
- Committee Does Bidding of Central Valley Agribusiness in Pushing for Canal
- Obama’s Pick of Panetta for CIA Director Draws Array of Responses
- Is Budget Plan by Democrats in Legal Jeopardy?
About Us
The California Progress Report is published by Frank D. Russo, a longtime observer of and participant in California politics.
About Frank Russo.
About California Progress Report.
Got a news tip? Want to write a guest column? Contact Frank here.
Sponsors
Books
The District That Went From Drought To Excess In Just One Summer – California Big Ag Has Water To Store After Earlier Calling For a State of Emergency?
By Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League
Earlier this month, Westlands Water District (WWD), the largest single recipient of water from the Central Valley Project south of the Delta, filed an application to store 50,000 acre feet of water from this year's water supply for the District to use in future years.
While water storage is not unusual, this particular action is perplexing given that the same water district reported severe water shortages, resulting in lost crops and lost jobs earlier this year. In fact, the district's shortages were the primary motivation for the Governor's declaration of a state of emergency for several California counties. In response to the emergency declaration, water quality standards were relaxed for the Bay Delta as well as the California Aqueduct. In both cases, water quality for the environment and urban users was degraded in an effort to help the district get through the growing season.
This month, however, the water district is singing a different tune. According to the water storage announcement, the district is seeking to store "supplies that are excess to its immediate demand."
Hopefully, this new found excess also signals the end of farmworker layoffs and restoration of water quality standards for the Bay Delta Estuary and the California Aqueduct.
Traci Sheehan is the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide, nonprofit lobbying organization. For more than thirty years, PCL has fought to develop a body of environmental laws in California that is the best in the United States. PCL staff review virtually every environmental bill that comes before the California Legislature each year. It has testified in support or opposition of thousands of bills to strengthen California's environmental laws and fight off rollbacks of environmental protections.
Comments
Is it just possible that in yet another drought year, 2008, that the famers did NOT plant more crops as they KNEW they would be shorted on water later in the growing season? And most likey by a fickle state & federal government?
Why pay to plant crops: seed, fertilize, weed, pesticide and LABOR when the government will arbitrarally cut your water to, say, protect a small fish with no notice? You will therefore lose your crops anyway after all that time, effort and expense.
So seeing the California government "in-action" before, of course the farmers want to possibly bank what they didn't "spend" in water use this year for next years drought: The same stupid game plays here every year, and year after year too.
Is the article writer a farmer? Probably not...
Posted by: Jay Gould at September 22, 2008 09:24 PM
I agree with Jay. Seems like what likely happened is that farmers planted less knowing that they would receive less. Then, they didn't estimate perfectly and so there is a few more acre-feet around. However, I do take issue with Westlands or others calling the lack of water it a shortage. It ought to be expected, and furthermore, if water is cheap, there will always be a shortage, as with any other commodity.
Posted by: Damian at September 29, 2008 02:25 PM
Post a comment
Get Email Updates
Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.
© 2008 California Progress Report Our copyright and fair use policy.
Powered by Mandate Media. Logo design by Jane Norling.
