<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:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" 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 12 (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]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:inherit;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:"inherit","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
strong
{mso-style-priority:22;
font-family:"inherit","serif";
border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
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","serif";}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"inherit","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.z-TopofFormChar
{mso-style-name:"z-Top of Form Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"z-Top of Form";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
display:none;}
span.z-BottomofFormChar
{mso-style-name:"z-Bottom of Form Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"z-Bottom of Form";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
display:none;}
span.addthisseparator2
{mso-style-name:addthis_separator2;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:45028688;
mso-list-template-ids:-971441180;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:621770383;
mso-list-template-ids:787545536;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l2
{mso-list-id:652298418;
mso-list-template-ids:770836730;}
@list l2:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l3
{mso-list-id:872350015;
mso-list-template-ids:273994292;}
@list l3:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l4
{mso-list-id:938022014;
mso-list-template-ids:-1003186554;}
@list l4:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l5
{mso-list-id:1008092563;
mso-list-template-ids:-1726729502;}
@list l5:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l6
{mso-list-id:1048603218;
mso-list-template-ids:498002598;}
@list l6:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l7
{mso-list-id:1224869873;
mso-list-template-ids:-1312784574;}
@list l7:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l8
{mso-list-id:1329362816;
mso-list-template-ids:-2073252600;}
@list l8:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l9
{mso-list-id:1392995605;
mso-list-template-ids:698907788;}
@list l9:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l10
{mso-list-id:1825849885;
mso-list-template-ids:790559306;}
@list l10:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l11
{mso-list-id:2145540957;
mso-list-template-ids:2102153578;}
@list l11:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="2050" />
</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=WordSection1>
<h1 style='background:black'><a href="http://www.capitalpress.com/"><span
style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=696 height=107
id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CB60A9.71D3DA40"
alt="Capital Press agriculture news website"></span></a><span style='color:
#303030'><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<form name=ksearch>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#303030'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#303030'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#303030'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-line-height-alt:12.0pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:26.0pt;color:#007700'>Investors want share of water</span><span
style='font-size:26.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#007700'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Money could boost distribution, but cost farmers <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>By <a href="mailto:wsander@capitalpress.com"><span
style='color:#007700'>WES SANDER</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Capital Press <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>A San Joaquin Valley lawyer says hundreds of millions of dollars
are waiting to be invested in California's water infrastructure. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>But there's a tradeoff: The investors putting up the cash want a
piece of agriculture's available supplies, which they could sell to urban users
for high prices. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Despite the loss of the water, such investment could make
supplemental water more affordable, and therefore accessible to more farmers,
said Gary Sawyers of Sawyers & Holland, a San Joaquin Valley firm that
serves mostly agricultural clients. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>"There are folks who would love to invest in California
water infrastructure if we choose to accept it," Sawyers told the State
Board of Food and Agriculture at a Sept. 22 meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Sawyers recently spoke with 10-15 fund managers in New York, and
is aware of up to $500 million ready to be invested in a California water
project promising a decent return. <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>That means state and federal managers need to smooth out the
kinks in their regulatory processes, including the unpredictable allocations
and species protections of the past few years, Sawyers said. But the biggest
question is whether water interests can learn to live with the concept, he
said. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>"Can agriculture tolerate the idea of selling water in the
marketplace?" Sawyers said. It's an idea "that would have gotten me
shot in a lot of rooms just a few years ago." <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Resistance comes from environmentalists who decry the concept of
privatizing water, saying it can only be equitably distributed as a public
resource. Farmers, meanwhile, fear any loss of water allocated to agriculture. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>It's an age-old concern in the state, where fights have brewed
for decades over water rights. A large sale of San Joaquin Valley ag water in
2009, made by a San Francisco Bay Area-based investment group to a Southern
California urban area, sent shock waves through the farming community. Such
sales happen periodically, causing unrest among ag-water interests. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Even so, agriculture could benefit from further investigating
the pros and cons of altering the state's water management, said Jill Willis, a
water attorney with Best, Best and Krieger in California. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>"I think the future potential is there," Willis said. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Private investment could make water more affordable when
purchased on a supplemental basis, Sawyers said. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>A farmer anticipating insufficient deliveries in the coming
season can contract to purchase water transferred from another district. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Usually transfers take water from north to south, across the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and into the drier San Joaquin Valley. Water could
also be transferred east-to-west across the valley to help the parched
Westside, but conveyance capacity is limited. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Transferred water tends to be expensive, from $300 to nearly
$500 per acre-foot. That puts it out of reach to all but urban districts and
larger growers of high-value crops, mostly nuts and winegrapes. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Because venture capital would expand infrastructure, it would
make transfers easier and less expensive, Sawyers said. Despite the loss of
some water to investors, what remains could still become more affordable. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>The decision that the farm community must make is whether the
trade-off is worth it, Sawyers said. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>"Is a percentage of something better than 100 percent of
nothing?" he said. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Beyond infrastructure, investors would need the regulatory
stability that valley farmers have said is a top requirement in the wake of
drought conditions and Delta species protections that grew in the past three
years. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>That means accomplishing the reform that water interests, water
managers and politicians have been pursuing, through sweeping legislation in
2009 as well as an ongoing plan by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration
to rework Delta conveyance. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>Sawyers said his first-hand knowledge of the investment
landscape is likely the tip of the iceberg. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#303030'>There are "tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars
out there right now that are hungry for investments in California (water)
infrastructure," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Byron Leydecker, JcT<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Chair, Friends of Trinity River<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>PO Box 2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>415 383 4810 land/fax<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#948A54'>415 519 4810 mobile<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>bwl3@comcast.net <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD'>http://www.fotr.org<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</form>
</div>
</body>
</html>