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Barry Nelson: Dam advocates make case for the virtual river

Posted by: Maven on March 11, 2010 at 5:51 am

From Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard blog:

“This story in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times makes a compelling case for what NRDC calls the virtual river – new water supplies that can be tapped without pumping more from our overtaxed rivers. In fact, the dam advocates themselves make this case very persuasively.

As the article points out, some Central Valley growers are quite enthusiastic about the proposed $3.3 billion Temperance Flat Dam on the San Joaquin River. That’s no surprise – the federal water reclamation program has been very generous to its agricultural beneficiaries. As Bettina Boxall points out, after a 60 year interest-free loan provided by federal taxpayers, the growers advocating the next dam on the San Joaquin River have repaid only 19 percent of the 1.2 billion dollars they owe the federal government for the construction of the existing Friant Dam. (That amounts to a 300 year interest-free loan. Imagine what your mortgage payment might be if you could get those terms!) If these farmers could get that kind of financing deal on Temperance Flat Dam, of course they would jump at the opportunity. But even a casual look at the numbers raises real questions about such an investment. … “

Read more from the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

March 11, 2010 · Filed Under Conservation, Storage and supply

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