Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the Storage and supply Category
Click here to view all posts

Commentary: Increased water storage is key to California’s economy

Posted by: Maven on July 30, 2010 at 7:24 am

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News, this commentary by Charlie Barra:

“If California does not provide an adequate water supply at reasonable cost to its agricultural industry, competition from globalization will soon turn the state into a Third World country.

Most of the people working to find a solution to California water problems seem to have a hard time understanding the economic impact that the lack of water at reasonable prices has on the economy and how this directly affects working families and the state’s tax base.

Additionally, this great state has been able to export food products, within the United States and internationally, at reasonable prices. That, in effect, has raised the standard of living for all those consumers. We must have a reliable source of water to be able to continue growing these much-needed commodities at fair prices.

When agricultural land is abandoned or fruit trees and grape vines are taken out because of the lack of water, the assessed value of the property goes down. This results in decreased revenues for local services, thereby resulting in the loss of jobs for working families. Additionally, there is a measurable decrease in the income from production, which reduces income taxes by billions of dollars to the state and federal governments.

We must change the direction in which we have been going and make an investment to come up with new, innovative ways to support the agricultural endeavors that we’ve already developed to help move our economy forward. … “

Continue reading this commentary by clicking here.

July 30, 2010 · Filed Under Storage and supply

Comments

One Response to “Commentary: Increased water storage is key to California’s economy”

  1. Trager Water Report on July 30th, 2010 5:20 pm

    The real problem is that government always messes everything up royally. Privatize all the water and the market will provide plentiful H20 where it’s needed, at a competitive price.

Leave a Reply