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Let’s work with farmers on water allocations, says commentary

Posted by: Maven on March 15, 2009 at 7:43 am

From the Los Angeles Daily News, this commentary by author and environmental writer John T. Boal:

Despite the draconian announcements from the Metropolitan Water District earlier this year that it may cut water deliveries by as much as 25 percent this year, there are holistic spokes in the water wheel that must be examined when allocating California’s water.

First and foremost, California agriculture uses four times the amount of water consumed by all residents and businesses throughout the state.

Water world analysts frequently cite “dry years,” “wet years” and “average years” as part of their vernacular. During the latter, it is generally agreed among state agencies that the state’s $32 billion agricultural industry uses about four times the available surface water than is consumed by California’s 36 million residents and industry.

Approximately 35.26 million acre-feet of water goes to the farming industry annually, while only 8.9 million acre-feet is used by the public and businesses combined. (An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to cover the Rose Bowl football field 1 foot deep.)

The majority of California’s surface water, 39.5 million acre-feet, is untouchable and goes to environmental distribution such as in stream flows, scenic river flows, required delta flows and managed wetlands.

Before we ram down new water rules such as Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Phase III restrictions (landscape irrigation allowed Mondays and Thursday only) and twisting the homeowner’s water hose into a tighter knot, could we have representatives from the Mayor’s Office and the MWD sit down and work out agreements and solutions with the powerful California agriculture industry?

Read more of this commentary by clicking here.

March 15, 2009 · Filed Under Agriculture, Conservation

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