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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Editorial
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Paul H. Betancourt: Planning, more
storage would have prevented this year's water
shortages<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">The <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns
= "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:place></st1:City> Bee-
6/15/08<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Paul H. Betancourt - Special to
The Bee <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><BR>The governor's drought declaration this month is
official acknowledgment of what we have known out here in farm country since at
least last fall. It is dry out here.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">You could see it out there first in the rolling hills of
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Coast</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Range</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and the Sierra
foothills. The grass for cattle is a lot shorter than it should be. Last fall
there was talk of severe cuts in water for this year. Farmworkers started to get
laid off, not just for the winter season, but permanently. Farmers in our area
started selling off cotton-harvesting equipment. They weren't just going to cut
back on cotton plantings this year, they were cutting back
permanently.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">I farm with my in-laws, who have been in the area since
about 1916. At VF Farms, we farm 765 acres of almonds and row crops in the
<st1:City w:st="on">Kerman</st1:City> and Tranquillity area of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Fresno</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. This year we cut our cotton
acreage in half. We planted half the 640-acre ranch to wheat and half to cotton.
We can't make a living on wheat, but we figured we could make the land payment
in a year when we do not get our full allocation of water due to low rainfall. I
didn't lay off any of the four men who work for me because I don't know how long
this problem will last. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">We have a good team of men who work well together. They
know our fields and our equipment. There isn't going to be much overtime and
probably no bonuses this year, but they will keep their jobs this
season.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Our farm should make it this year, if the well and our
groundwater supply hold out. We have a well that can pump enough water, if we
get 25 percent of our allotment from the federal Central Valley Project, and if
we are very careful.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">We have never had any water to waste. I time irrigations
with a tool that measures actual plant moisture so we know what the plant needs,
not just what the soil moisture is, so we water when the plants need it. We
water every other row, on short runs in 12-hour sets most of the time, to be as
efficient as possible with the water we do have.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">But, there is an important disclaimer here – wells and
ground- water are only a temporary solution. Even in good years we pump more
water from the ground than is naturally replenished – and that is not
sustainable. We need to have surface water – water from snowpack and
rivers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The fact is, two-thirds of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>'s rainfall
occurs in the northern third of the state and two-thirds of the people live in
the southern third of the state.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">In his 1952 novel "East of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Eden</st1:City></st1:place>" John Steinbeck refers
to a 30-year cycle of wet, dry and normal years. I have looked at the historic
records back to the mid-1860s. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">We know in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> there have been wet and dry years.
We need to catch the water from the wet years and save it for the dry years –
that would be worthwhile conservation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The lesson from Hurricane Katrina is that we should have
been better prepared. We don't have dramatic weather disasters like hurricanes
in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.
A drought is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You would think slow
motion would allow us to prepare.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
lang=EN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Redefining
conservation<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">There are those who think we can solve all of our water
problems with conservation. Of course we should be careful with all the natural
resources we utilize.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">I have two responses for those who believe that if we
conserve the water we have developed already we will get by. First, there are
not enough low-flow toilets in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> to solve this problem. We have more
people using more water all the time. Second, let's look at what water
conservation really means. My dictionary includes "preservation from loss" in
the definition of conservation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Here are the facts: In 2006, <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Calif-</st1:State></st1:place> ornia water
managers released 27 million acre-feet of water to flow out to sea when they
were convinced that the state's reservoirs would fill during the rainy season.
That is enough water for all of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>'s urban and agricultural needs for
a whole year. We let it run out into the ocean. What if we had conserved 10
percent of that water?#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><U><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: blue"><A
href="">http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/1012764.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></U></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Editorial
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Lloyd G. Carter: Much of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> is a desert,
we should live in it as such<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">The <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:place></st1:City> Bee-
6/15/08<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Lloyd G. Carter - Special to The
Bee <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> That dreaded word drought has again intruded into
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
public consciousness following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's June 4 declaration
that a drought is officially under way.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Because the governor's executive order failed to declare
a state of emergency or impose rationing, it appears his real motive in
declaring a drought was simply to drum up more support for the nearly $12
billion water bond infrastructure measure he wants to put on the November
ballot.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">That plan includes a peripheral canal to funnel
<st1:place w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> water around the Delta and
$3.5 billion for two controversial dams. He has chosen to try to engineer our
way out of the current dry spell instead of adapting to the fact most
Californians live in a desert. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The gubernatorial declaration states that 2007 was a
below-normal rainfall year and that this spring was the driest spring on record
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>,
with total river water supplies this year 59 percent of normal. During the
1986-1992 drought, six dry years passed before Gov. Pete Wilson issued a similar
declaration in 1991.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The technical definition of drought is a deficiency of
"normal" precipitation over an extended period of time, usually more than one
season, resulting in a shortage of water for some activity, group or
environmental sector.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Drought is a temporary aberration. It differs from
aridity, which is a permanent feature of low rainfall
climates.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Aridity typifies the <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place> climate and has resulted in the annual transfer of
enormous volumes of water from the usually wet north state to the
almost-always-dry south. With 1,400 dams and thousands of miles of canals,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> has
always engineered solutions.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Although the governor urges conservation, tying it to
his pharaonic construction plan will further polarize Northern California and
<st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place> over what critics call his
hydro-illogical boondoggles.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">At any rate, those massive public works projects, even
if approved by overburdened taxpayers, are probably 15 to 20 years away from
completion and of no immediate benefit.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">It might be wiser for the deficit-plagued governor to
focus on policy before plumbing and sort out a raft of statewide water problems,
which have festered for decades and don't require billions in cash to
fix.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">I suggest he take the following
actions:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Demand an explanation from the State Water Resources
Control Board about why current water- rights permits and contract allocations
exceed available supplies by several times. This phantom supply, known as "paper
water," is being used to justify more urban sprawl throughout the state. The
State Water Project promises contractors 4.2 million acre-feet annually (an
acre-foot is 325,851 gallons) but can safely deliver only 1.2 million
acre-feet.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Ask the state water board to declare irrigation of
hundreds of thousands of acres of high-selenium soils in the western <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> an unreasonable use of water.
Retirement of all these alkali soils, which generate a pollutant-laden drainage
that cannot be safely disposed, could free up more than a million acre-feet of
water. Discourage planting of low-value, water-thirsty crops such as
cotton.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Demand a halt to urban waste. While some cities have
excellent conservation records, others are dragging their feet. <st1:City
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> still sell water at a flat rate, meaning
urban customers pay the same monthly bill whether they use 1 gallon or 1 million
gallons.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Be honest in educating the public that drought
conditions do not exist everywhere in agriculture. Thousands of <st1:place
w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> farmers will be getting a full supply of
federal water this year. Only the massive Westlands Water District, with 500 to
600 growers on 1,000 square miles, and a few other western <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> irrigation districts, will get
reduced supplies. And they are free to purchase water on the open market. The
governor's declaration will make such water transfers
easier.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Insist on reducing or halting the use of rivers and
Delta drinking supplies as sewers for agricultural, municipal and industrial
wastewater. Future generations will wonder why we allowed the Delta, drenched in
urine-based ammonia, to literally be used as a
toilet.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Remember that agriculture still uses 80 percent of the
state's river water supplies and a lot is wasted through flood irrigation and
evaporation. Virtually all of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s agriculture is irrigated by
drip systems. A new Israeli underground drip system uses 30 percent to 50
percent less water for growing rice, a major crop in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. Give growers tax breaks to convert
to drip. Before fields in the western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> are planted each spring, growers
use large amounts of imported water to drive the soil salts down below the root
zone, a water-guzzling practice known euphemistically as "pre-irrigation." This
is further proof these salty lands should be
retired.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">• Recognize that the federal Central Valley Project has
a priority system for delivering irrigation water, and Westlands has always been
at the end of the bucket line. When the senior federal water districts have all
received their allotments, the junior contractors, including Westlands, get what
is left. Westlands growers knew this when they signed their water-delivery
contracts decades ago. It's a risk they willingly
assumed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Now, Westlands is negotiating with U.S. Sen. Dianne
Feinstein for a guaranteed supply of 1 million acre-feet a year, enough for a
city of 10 million. This deal would be terrible news for the Delta
ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">In her 2007 book "Managing Water, Avoiding Crisis in
<st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>," Dorothy Green, a respected
<st1:City w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City> environmentalist, writes: "We can
meet the future of a growing <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> if water is used much more
efficiently, if the management of that resource is better integrated and
holistic, and if land-use policies are tied to water
availability."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Let us hope that when the current drought fades, Green's
advice doesn't.#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><U><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: blue"><A
href="">http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/1012762.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></U></P>
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style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LETTER-SPACING: -0.65pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H3></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>Tom Stokely<BR>Principal Planner<BR>Trinity Co.
Dept of Long Range Planning and Natural Resources<BR>PO Box 1445<BR>60 Glen
Rd.<BR>Weaverville, CA 96093-1445<BR>530-623-1458, Extension 3407<BR>FAX
623-1646<BR><A
href="mailto:tstokely@trinityalps.net">tstokely@trinityalps.net</A> or <A
href="mailto:tstokely@trinitycounty.org">tstokely@trinitycounty.org</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>