Tulare water forum draws big crowd
- “There’s plenty of water in the state. State leaders don’t want to recognize that.”
There are solutions to the water issues befalling farmers and growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley, said Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) during a forum held Wednesday in Tulare.
Nunes said changing the federal law that limits water sent south and building additional storage will help solve the shortage that could force upward of 1 million acres of agriculture land out of production.
“There’s plenty of water in the state,” he said. “State leaders don’t want to recognize that.”
The forum drew about 700 people to the Heritage Complex and it included a panel featuring David Valadao (R-Hanford), whose congressional district extends to portions of Tulare County; conservative radio talk host Ray Appleton; Westland’s Water District Deputy Director Johnny Amaral; Jason Phillips, Friant Water Authority CEO, and Kole Upton, a farmer from Merced County.
In a presentation to start off the forum, Nunes said land taken out of production will mean job losses and a decrease in agricultural production. An estimated 206,800 acres would have to go bare in the Tulare Lake and Tule sub-basins.
“We are the only region that has a water deficit,” he said. “We are the only ones who have idle land.”
By his estimation, Nunes said 2.5 million acre-feet of water are needed to avoid fallowing land. One acre foot of water, the measurement used in large-scale operations, is 325,851 gallons and is the estimated annual use of an average family.
Panelists also called for supporting representatives who support legislation that would secure the water needed.
“It’s important we talk about bills passed. Do they produce water? How much water are they producing?” Nunes said. “If [representatives] don’t support water legislature, they are not for water. They are for idling land.”
Nunes also said one way to deal with the water issue is voting.
“If we want to take control of the water, we need to put initiatives on the ballot,” he said. “The legislature won’t do it.”
Valadao said there are plenty of people who support laws that call for increasing water storage. However, Valadao said local residents should fully understand the legislature.
“We are building storage for someone else,” he said.
Amaral, Nunes’ former chief of staff, said Westland Water District is at the center of the water issues. It hasn’t received any allocations. According to Nunes’ presentation, as many as 404,000 acres in the Westside sub-basin could be left out of production.
“If we had the water supply, we would have the land producing crops and employing people,” he said.
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Those in attendance included a group of students from Fresno and another from Golden West High School in Visalia.
Marco Ruiz, a junior, said he wanted to be more informed about the water issue and decided to be part of a field trip that brought him to the forum.
Ruiz said he was impressed with the number of people in attendance.
“The number of people shows how important the topic is,” he said.
After sitting through the forum, Ruiz said he was thinking of becoming active in water efforts.
“It was inspiring,” he said. “I plan to make an effort on this issue. We need to do something.”
Ed Henry, member of the Tulare Board of Public Utilities, said the forum’s main message for him was trying to move more water down the Delta. No other scenario will help to achieve water sustainability, he said. The theme throughout the latter portion of the forum was getting the Delta smelt off the endangered species list.
During his closing comments, Nunes called for unity among representatives and residents when it came to water issues.
Tricia Stever Blatter, Tulare County Farm Bureau executive director, said the message for unity was important.
“It’s a good reminder that it can’t be a silent battle,” she said.
Waterwise is a news and notes column Reporter Luis Hernandez compiles. Send waterwise ideas and suggestion to the reporter on twitter @lfhernanvtd.