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Put surface water to good use growing food for all, says commentary

Posted by: Maven on February 3, 2010 at 8:52 am

From the Modesto Bee, this commentary by John Michelena:

“Many economic sacrifices have been made to save one species of fish, but we may be damaging the environment in that process. Farmers are presumably pumping much of our precious groundwater to replace surface water they have lost through environmental regulations. Those liquid natural resources under the ground are disappearing quickly, and the Delta smelt populations are not improving either.

According to NASA and University of California at Irvine researchers, the Central Valley pumped approximately 24 million acre feet of groundwater from October 2003 through March 2009. That’s almost 8 trillion gallons, or enough water to fill Lake Mead.

That’s three times more being depleted than previous estimates by the Department of Water Resources.

This over-drafting of groundwater coincides with reductions in the amount of surface water that’s been available, with 2009 being the most severe, with only 10 percent delivered to West Side farms. … “

Continue reading this commentary by clicking here.

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater, San Joaquin Valley

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