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Texas State Rep. Callegari: Texas must avoid California water woes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 7, 2009 at 6:20 am

From Amarillo.com, this commentary by Rep. Bill Callegari (Texas):

“The California Legislative Assembly has approved the first policy reforms regarding the state’s water supply in nearly 50 years.

Like the state’s budget, infrastructure and schools, California’s water problems had reached crisis proportions.

Legislators had to act.

For years the state’s water infrastructure and resources were ignored. As water demands surged, particularly in southern California, the state failed to develop the supplies to meet those demands. This imbalance was exacerbated in 2007 when a federal judge reduced pumping from the state’s water-rich region by one-third in order to protect an endangered fish. Now, “no water, no work” echoes throughout the state’s agricultural regions as planting fields remain fallow, unemployment soars to 40 percent in some areas, and food lines extend in an area referred to as America’s fruit basket. Growers desperate for water have tapped into their local groundwater supplies, depleting local aquifers and causing the ground to subside. On top of this the Golden State, like the Lone Star State, has suffered from a recent drought.

What happened in California could have occurred in Texas had the Legislature not aggressively addressed our water issues for more than a decade. … “

Read more of this Rep. Callegari commentary by clicking here.

December 7, 2009 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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