<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PostalCode"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="State"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="Street"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PersonName"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
h2
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:bold;}
p.MsoEnvelopeAddress, li.MsoEnvelopeAddress, div.MsoEnvelopeAddress
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;}
p.MsoEnvelopeReturn, li.MsoEnvelopeReturn, div.MsoEnvelopeReturn
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAutoSig, li.MsoAutoSig, div.MsoAutoSig
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
p.byline1, li.byline1, div.byline1
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:1.8pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:10.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;}
p.date1, li.date1, div.date1
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;}
span.EmailStyle23
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
span.EmailStyle25
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:blue;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0
style='border-collapse:collapse'>
<tr>
<td width=627 valign=top style='width:376.2pt;padding:0in 6.0pt 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Study finds <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> can cut farm water use<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=byline1><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a href="mailto:kzito@sfchronicle.com"><font
color="#015660"><span style='color:#015660;text-decoration:none'>Kelly Zito,
Chronicle Staff Writer</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=date1><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Monday, September 8, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<!--/.articleheadings --><!-- types/article/articletools.tmpl -->
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=3 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><!-- end types/article/articletools.tmpl -->(09-07) 16:44 PDT </span></font></b></strong>--
By growing less thirsty crops and investing in more efficient irrigation
technology, California farmers could save billions of gallons of water each
year - the equivalent of three dams to 20 dams, according to a controversial
new report by an influential water policy think tank.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.25in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/07/international/i114440D42.DTL"><font
color="#015660"><span style='color:#015660;text-decoration:none'>Medvedev:
European monitors to deploy to Georgia</span></font></a> 09.08.08 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
sfg_hideoneorlast('rl_news_rl');
//]]>
</script><!-- end related_links/news/index.html --><!-- end: /templates/types/widgets/pages/related_links/rss.tmpl -->In
a study to be released today, researchers at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Oakland</st1:City></st1:place>'s Pacific Institute say that before
Californians take on costly new dam and reservoir projects, state and federal
policymakers need to build on existing methods for reducing agricultural
water use.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
report, titled "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and
Efficiency in <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> - A Focus on the
Delta," stresses that agriculture remains an important part of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s economy.
However, with farmers using about 80 percent of the water drawn from the
critically ill Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, researchers said agricultural
water conservation must expand - and quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"No
one has ever evaluated the potential for improving the efficiency of
agricultural water use," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific
Institute and co-author of the report. "We found there is a lot of
potential for savings ... and they're extensions of things farmers are
already doing."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Farmers
who shift away from water-intensive crops, invest in high-tech watering
systems and irrigate only at precise times in the growing cycle could save
between 600,000 and 3.4 million acre-feet of water each year, Gleick said.
One acre-foot is roughly 326,000 gallons, and represents the amount of water
needed to cover 1 acre of land to a depth of 1 foot.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
study is part of a larger report to be released by the nonpartisan research
group next year and was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While
water use in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
has been a historical source of conflict between urban and agricultural
consumers, the issue has taken on new urgency in recent years amid
predictions of a drier climate, booming population growth and ecological
damage to the delta - the hub of the state's water system.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
agriculture industry, however, bristles at the notion that its operations are
wasteful. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"The
idea that farmers are not seeking more efficient ways to do business is an
insult to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
agriculture," said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm
Water Coalition, a group aimed at helping farmers boost water efficiency.
"Changes are occurring when it's cost-effective and when the technology
is available."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Though
Wade said conservation has a role to play in the state's water crisis, he
said additional water storage is also necessary. Several state water bond
proposals vying for a place on the November ballot include billions for
building new dams and reservoirs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Pacific Institute researchers suggest that dams, or a proposed peripheral
canal - which would route water around the delta, where certain fish
populations are crashing - may be necessary. But first, researchers said, the
state must create a better system for tracking water use.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Wouldn't
it be best to know exactly how much water we need to deliver so we don't
overbuild (dams) or spend more money than we need to spend?" Gleick
said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
report suggests several other practical solutions, including boosting
outreach programs to help teach farmers about new techniques and giving
farmers tax breaks for water-saving irrigation systems.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
report also recommends broader changes to state and federal policies that are
sure to draw sharp criticism from farmers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Gleick
said policymakers should reduce or realign federal subsidies that encourage
the growing of low-value, water-heavy crops such as alfalfa and cotton.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But
Wade said the market - not policymakers - drives crop choices.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"It's
like saying to a restaurant, 'You have to be a shoe store because it uses
less water,' " Wade said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Finally,
the study recommends that the state develop a more rational water rights
system aimed at cutting waste. Under the law, users with the earliest water
claims have the highest priority for receiving water. But with the dire
situation in the delta, a record-breaking dry spell and some communities under
mandatory restrictions, experts say it may be time to re-evaluate how and to
whom water is allocated.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"We're
at an extremely important point where climate change, looming drought and the
worsening, deepening ecological problems are all coming together," said
Cynthia Koehler, senior consulting attorney at the Environmental Defense
Fund. "People realize that 19th century and even 20th century solutions
to water problems are not the solutions for the 21st century. We need to look
at how we move water around, how we allocate it, how we allocate it for the
environment."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray;font-style:italic'>Byron</span></font></i></st1:PersonName><i><font
color=gray><span style='color:gray;font-style:italic'> Leydecker</span></font></i></st1:PersonName><i><font
color=gray><span style='color:gray;font-style:italic'>, JCT</span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray;font-style:italic'>Friends of <st1:place
w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>, Chair</span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray;font-style:italic'>PO Box</span></font></i></st1:Street><i><font
color=gray><span style='color:gray;font-style:italic'> 2327</span></font></i></st1:address><i><font
color=gray><span style='color:gray;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><i><font size=3
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray;
font-style:italic'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></st1:City><i><font
color=gray><span style='color:gray;font-style:italic'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray;font-style:italic'>415 383 4810</span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray;font-style:italic'>415 519 4810 cell</span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray;font-style:italic'>415 383 9562 fax<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'>bwl3@comcast.net<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></font>
<font color=gray><span style='color:gray'>(secondary)<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'>http://www.fotr.org<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <i><font color=blue><span style='color:blue;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>