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Santa Maria state senator becomes legislative deal maker, sees water storage as critical: “I do not care if it is underground, above ground or in the sky; we need more water storage in this state”

Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2009 at 2:42 pm

From Western Farm Press:

Republican California state senator and successful Santa Maria farmer Abel Maldonado made a whistle-stop at World Ag Expo before heading to Sacramento to wade into California’s $42 billion budget fiasco with his fellow legislators.

He piloted himself to the Tulare, Calif., farm show in a twin-engine aircraft for a brief media day update on issues impacting agriculture.

Developing new water for a rapidly growing California is the No. 1 issue in the state — urban and agriculture, he told the media gathered for a pre-show visit.

He has supported every water bond issue that has come up during his time in office, but vowed to cast a no-vote on the next one unless it contains significant water storage projects. “None of this bogus water,” Maldonado said, referring to efforts to meet water needs with conservation programs. “We support conservation, but at the end of the day California and its people and agriculture use a lot of water and we need more for the future.

Read more from the Western Farm Press by clicking here.

March 19, 2009 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley

Comments

One Response to “Santa Maria state senator becomes legislative deal maker, sees water storage as critical: “I do not care if it is underground, above ground or in the sky; we need more water storage in this state””

  1. WaterSource on March 20th, 2009 4:38 am

    California,

    Utilize the existing storage you already have !

    A new fresh water Source and associated infrastructure will provide the greatest returns in achieving economic recovery, tremendous job growth, greater efficiency and farm productivity.

    A truly new NON-TRIBUTARY Source that can be developed to provide California a million acre feet of FRESH WATER each year has been offered to the Bureau of Reclamation and other water agencies for verification and investigation.

    Development of the Source will not damage the environment or the water rights of others.

    Adequate water is needed to provide a more stable base of employment and sustainable benefits. Water not only helps jump-start and sustain the economy, but also leads to improvements in efficiency and better utilization of vital infrastructure.

    Investments in a million acre feet of renewable fresh water each year will bolster the basic construction industry as well as technology and manufacturing industries where the use of equipment that supports these needs drives a much wider base of the economy.

    In the long-run it’s critical that California gain competitive advantages that are part of the solution to repay the massive debt we are incurring.

    One option FOR PART of the new water would be to let it accumulate in Lake Mead to keep Lake Mead reasonably full ( 28.5 million acre feet) and generating 2000 megawatts of renewable energy every year.

    Ray Walker (Retired Water Rights Analyst) waterrdw@yahoo.com

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