- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A town hall meeting yesterday, hosted by the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District, included comments from UC Davis Cooperative Extension groundwater hydrology specialist Thomas Harter, according to an account in the Lodi-News Sentinel.
The discussion centered on a local ballot initiative to fund the development of infrastructure for groundwater recharge. The story said authorities are working to solve "the region's groundwater crisis."
"The ground isn't sinking like in Bakersfield," said the general manager of the Stockton East Water District. "But if we don't act...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A UC Davis emergency room doctor and the director of the UC Davis Tahoe Research Center have launched a publicity campaign calling for cattle grazing to be suspended in the high Sierra, according to a story in Sunday's Sacramento Bee.
The article, billed as a "Bee exclusive" and written by Tom Knudson, said the doctor, an avid backpacker, took hundreds of water samples from pristine streams and lakes in the Sierras. He found that high-elevation water bodies on land managed by the Forest Service had bacterial contamination high enough to sicken hikers with Giardia, E. coli and other diseases. However, at high elevations in Yosemite and...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
For the first time in more than 60 years, the San Joaquin River is flowing from the mountains to the sea. The restoration of the San Joaquin, however, comes at a cost, according to a recent Fresno Bee article.
"Now, in the first full year of the restoration, east San Joaquin Valley farmers will lose up to 230,000 acre-feet of water to keep the flow going," wrote reporter Mark Grossi. "It amounts to 18% of the water they have been getting after an average season."
In a letter to the editor published...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein fanned a controversy earlier this month when she said she would propose legislation urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to raise the valley's water deliveries. Her idea was hailed by West Side growers and farmworkers - who say they are suffering economically because of short water supplies - and criticized by environmentalists and many of her fellow democrats - who believe the water is needed to protect delta smelt and salmon.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times bolstered the environmentalists' position with an article that said agriculture's reported economic difficulties have been...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Bakersfield Californian reported that it isn't just the listless economy ravaging Kern County agriculture. The industry's woes are pinned on water.
Reporter Courtenay Edelhart spoke to the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner, about the national economic downturn's impact on ag. With the exception of the dairy industry, Sumner said, agriculture prices haven't been that bad over the past year.
The state of California has, however, suffered three years of...