WCN Dec e

What It Could Mean for Californians if We
Have Another Dry Year: The Good, The
Bad, and The Ugly
By MIKE WADE | California Farm Water Coalition
Our water year began October 1,
and it’s no surprise to any of us
that 2020-21 was the second
driest on record. While the atmospheric
river that drenched the state in October
was good news, we still must prepare for
a dry 2022 and think about what choices
we may face if October’s drenching
rain was an aberration. It’s not all doom
and gloom, but there is some good, bad
and ugly.
JAN 12, 2022
PECAN
DAY
Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds
Almonds may be one of the last profitable crops in California if regulations continue to
hammer at the state’s water supply (all photos by Mel Machado, Blue Diamond.)
The Good
A bipartisan infrastructure bill
passed by congress and signed by the
president is expected to bring much
needed relief to the state. We’re hopeful
that federal funding for important
California water projects will soon be
on the way.
In February 2019, 18 trillion gallons
of rain fell in California, but due to
inadequate storage, much of it could
not be captured for future use. Last
October’s storms also brought us water
we couldn’t capture, which produced
floods and rockslides instead of
fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Passage of this critical
bipartisan bill will expand
our ability to capture
both surface and
groundwater, improve
water supply, expand flood control,
improve downstream water quality,
provide ecosystem benefits and fix our
existing water-delivery infrastructure.
In other good news, earlier reports
of salmon demise were incorrect.
Despite the dry and hot conditions,
salmon have returned to the Sacramento
Valley in record numbers. According
to the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife, it is the largest number
of returning adults in 15 years. This
means collaborative efforts by multiple
stakeholders to address all the factors
impacting fish are working.
We continue to believe one of the
solutions to California’s water management
problems are the Voluntary
Agreements, which would provide a
more holistic approach to managing
water for people and the environment.
They rely on collaboration at the local
level that will move the state substantially
closer to the coequal goals of
providing a more reliable water supply
for California and protecting, restoring
and enhancing the environment.
Infrastructure legislation as well as
the Voluntary Agreements are desperately
needed, would improve water
supply or water quality for all water
users, help salmon and other struggling
fish, and are within our reach.
The Bad
Cutting farm water supplies too low
or increasing the cost to unreasonable
levels could cause more problems than
it solves. We all need to conserve, and
California farmers have reduced their
water consumption by double digits
since 1980. While conservation efforts
will continue, it still requires water to
provide a healthy, safe, diverse food
supply.
Those who advocate for solving our
water problems completely on the backs
of farmers either don’t realize or don’t
care about the consequences.
The majority of California farms
have been family-owned for decades
and are active in their communities.
The less water and the more it costs,
the more land will be fallowed or sold
Register today at
68 wcngg.com/PecanDay
West Coast Nut December 2021