As Californians begin to consider the impacts of the Gov’s 25% mandatory water use reduction, many are asking “what does a 25% cut look like?” KQED’s Matthew Green has some answers”
“It’s a hard figure to quantify, and estimates vary widely. For one, while indoor residential water use is relatively steady throughout the state, outdoor use — primarily for landscape irrigation — varies dramatically, with homes in arid inland regions consuming significantly more water than those in coastal areas.
“’There are large variations across the state,’ notes Peter Bostrom from the California Department of Water Resources. ‘Outdoor use could be 25 percent [of a household’s use] in Santa Cruz and 80 percent in Coachella.’ 15 percent of users, he adds, account for 60 percent of overuse in landscape irrigation.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat notes that lawn-watering cutbacks alone could could net that 25%.
But what about agriculture, and their oft-quoted 80% usage? Not yet, says Brown. From Emily Alpert-Reyes at the LAT:
“During an appearance on the ABC news program ‘This Week,’ Brown told host Martha Raddatz that farmers had already fallowed ‘hundreds of thousands of acres of land’ and pulled up vines and trees.
“’Farmworkers who are at [the] very low end of the economic scale here are out of work,’ Brown said. ‘There are people in agriculture areas that are really suffering.’
“The governor also argued that shutting off water allocations was unnecessary and would displace ‘hundreds of thousands of people.’
“’If you don’t want to produce any food and import it from some other place, of course you could do that,’ Brown said.”
George Skelton’s column continues the same thread.
"’Agriculture has already suffered major cutbacks, [Brown] replied. ‘A lot of people are letting their land go fallow. Trees are dying. Farmers have been hit very hard.’
“True. Farmers without senior water rights — those granted prior to 1914 — are expecting no deliveries for the second straight year from the federal Central Valley Project. Growers supplied by the State Water Project will receive only 20% of requested deliveries. Last year, more than 400,000 acres were left unplanted.
“Farmers have been trying to recapture the loss by over-pumping groundwater. The water table has been plunging and, in some areas, the land is sinking dramatically.”
Which is a perfect set up for Sunday’s New York Times article from Justin Gillis and Matt Richtel…
“Scientists say some of the underground water-storing formations so critical to California’s future — typically, saturated layers of sand or clay — are being permanently damaged by the excess pumping, and will never again store as much water as farmers are pulling out.
“’Climate conditions have exposed our house of cards,’ said Jay Famiglietti, a NASA scientist in Pasadena who studies water supplies in California and elsewhere. ‘The withdrawals far outstrip the replenishment. We can’t keep doing this.’
“Cannon Michael, a farmer who grows tomatoes, melons and corn on 10,500 acres in the town of Los Banos, in the Central Valley, has high priority rights to surface water, which he inherited with his family’s land. But rampant groundwater pumping by farmers near him is causing some of the nearby land to sink, disturbing canals that would normally bring water his way.
“’Now, water is going to have to flow uphill,’ said Mr. Michael…”
But what about those gallon-per-nut almonds? Yes, California’s almond crop uses more water than ALL indoor plumbing combined, but it also brings in a whopping $11 billion per year and employs more than 100,000 people. Lesley McClurg looks at both sides of the nut for Capital Public Radio.
And, we saved the best for last… Adam Nagourney, Jack Healy and Nelson D. Schwartz wrote a great overview of what water – and a lack thereof – will mean to California in the future. Is this the end? From the New York Times, (GREAT photos too.)
“’Mother Nature didn’t intend for 40 million people to live here,’ said Kevin Starr, a historian at the University of Southern California who has written extensively about this state. ‘This is literally a culture that since the 1880s has progressively invented, invented and reinvented itself. At what point does this invention begin to hit limits?’
“California, Dr. Starr said, ‘is not going to go under, but we are going to have to go in a different way.’”
Turning to other matters (yes, Virginia, there is more to California than the drought), a look at AB 1170, which would tweak the state’s worker’s comp system, starting with farmworkers. From George Lauer, California Healthline.
“AB 1170, by Assembly member Luis Alejo (D-Salinas), calls for a two-year pilot project, creating a new bucket of money -- the Care of Agricultural Workers Fund -- to pay for farm workers' health coverage. The goal is to provide insurance to cover all injuries and illnesses -- work-related and non-work related.
“The bill directs the Department of Industrial Relations to determine the amount of money spent on workers' health care through the workers' comp system. Growers would redirect that amount of their workers' comp payments toward the new fund, which would pay for comprehensive coverage for employees without insurance….”
“[Staffers] in Alejo's office agreed that if the idea is proven effective in a pilot program for farm workers, there's no reason it couldn't be tried in other, non-agricultural professions.”
Could the stars finally be aligning for a deal to legalize online poker in California? Could be, according to Peter Amsel of CalvinAyre.com.
“As recently as last month, a seven-tribe coalition led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians wrote to California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer expressing opposition to his “fatally flawed” AB 167 online poker legislation. At the heart of the coalition’s ire is the bill’s lack of a prohibition on “unscrupulous entities and brands” – aka PokerStars and any other sites that took wagers from state residents post-UIGEA – playing any role in the state’s regulated online poker market.
“On Saturday, longtime tribal gaming reporter Dave Palermo posted a piece to OnlinePokerReport detailing an apparent about face by the Pechangas on the bad actors issue following discussions at Tuesday’s National Indian Gaming Association convention in San Diego.
“Palermo quoted a tribal official saying the issues surrounding bad actors and their ‘tainted assets’ – software, databases, brands, etc. – could be worked out. The tribes believe a united front on the poker issue would offer sufficient muscle to defeat their common enemy – the state’s racetracks.”
(And, now would be a good time to note that Capitol Weekly and the University of California’s UC Center will hold a conference on gaming policy on May 21.)
California’s capitol building is usually pretty sleepy on the weekends - especially on holiday weekends. Not this time. Imagine shoving matches, angry parents, hordes of screaming, crying children, and an Easter Egg hunt gone all kinds of bad. The story went viral faster than you can say “world class city.”
“Chaos erupted at an Easter egg hunt in Sacramento when adults launched in trying to grab sweets for their children.
“The event was an attempt at breaking the record for the world's biggest, with 500,000 eggs laid out for thousands of youngsters….
“’There was no organization at all, they all trampled each other. Little two- and three-year-olds were crying. The parents were scooping up all of the eggs for their older kids and it was horrible,' mother Tessa Moon told CBS.
“Another mother, Kori Houser, told Sacramento Bee her toddler Chase only got three eggs: 'It was crazy. Adults were trampling over us.'
“Footage of the hunt, which did not break the world record because they missed the deadline to apply, shows children as young as two being squashed by teenagers and adults weave between them picking up candy…. toddlers were seen crying and parents were being pushed around in the calamity.”
