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<h3>Factions debate state's role in water monitoring</h3>
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<p>'If you can't have water you can't grow a crop and you can't
make a living'
</p>
<p>By <a href="mailto:thearden@capitalpress.com">TIM HEARDEN</a>
</p>
<p>Capital Press
</p>
<p>CORNING, Calif. -- The debate over what to do about declining
ground-water supplies took center stage during a recent water
seminar here.
</p>
<p>In California, 30 percent of total water usage is provided by
ground water, making the Golden State the biggest user of ground
water in the nation, and 43 percent of the state's residents
obtain drinking water from aquifers, said Kelly Staton, a senior
engineering geologist for the state Department of Water
Resources.
</p>
<p>Studies show that water tables in the Sacramento Valley dropped
an average of 5 feet from 2004 to 2010, although they've gained
back about 2 feet since last year, Staton explained.
</p>
<p>"Compared to 2004, we haven't quite recharged yet," she told
about 100 farmers, environmentalists and government officials
during an all-day workshop offered by the University of
California Cooperative Extension.
</p>
<p>Environmentalists such as Marty Dunlap of the Chico,
Calif.-based Citizens Water Watch wondered aloud whether the
aquifers will ever fully recharge. They blame what they see as
overuse of wells for endangering the creeks and trees that rely
on the aquifers to thrive.
</p>
<p>"I'm just wondering who's going to step in when ground water is
critical in Northern California," Dunlap said. "It seems like
nobody is really taking responsibility."
</p>
<p>The exchanges highlight what may be the next key battleground
in California's ongoing water conflicts, as conservationists
seek to have ground water regulated as it is in other states.
</p>
<p>Already, the Environmental Law Foundation and other groups are
suing the State Water Resources Control Board and Siskiyou
County over well irrigation they say is depleting water for
salmon in the Scott River. The suit could affect farmers' use of
ground water throughout the state, Siskiyou County Supervisor
Marcia Armstrong has said.
</p>
<p>Tehama County Supervisor Bob Williams, an oat and alfalfa hay
producer, said there's a "quiet movement" in the state to have
ground water included under California's Public Trust Doctrine,
which applies to surface water and migratory wildlife.
</p>
<p>"There are folks who'd like to see California become like other
states where the state has control over all water ... and in dry
years can deny usage," Williams said during the workshop. "As a
farmer, and I know there are a lot of farmers here, I know if
you can't have water you can't grow a crop and you can't make a
living.
</p>
<p>"We need to pay attention, we need to be educated and we need
folks to talk to their local leaders and help them understand
... both sides of the issue," he said.
</p>
<p>Many factors can affect local and regional ground-water levels,
including crop or other land-use changes, bloom and harvest
seasons, changes in irrigation methods and, of course,
precipitation, Staton explained.
</p>
<p>Ground water will be included in the next version of a program
regulating contaminants such as nitrates, which come from
agricultural applications, said Ben Letton of the Redding,
Calif.-based Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control
Board. In addition, some counties have implemented ground-water
monitoring ordinances.
</p>
<p>But the efforts need more teeth to them, asserted Dunlap.
</p>
<p>"It seems to me that it's not very prudent to wait for an
emergency situation to see that counties have the authority to
make sure their ecosystems are protected," she said.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Online
</p>
<p>California Department of Water Resources: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://">http://</a><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.water.ca.gov/">www.water.ca.gov/</a>
</p>
<p>State Water Resources Control Board: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://">http://</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/">www.swrcb.ca.gov/</a>
</p>
<p>Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://">http://</a><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/">www.swrcb.ca.gov/</a>rwqcb5/</p>
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