[env-trinity] SF Chronicle September 8 Farm Irrigation Study

[Byron]

Study finds California can cut farm water use

 <mailto:kzito at sfchronicle.com> Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, September 8, 2008

  _____  

(09-07) 16:44 PDT -- 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.

 
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/07/international/i
114440D42.DTL> Medvedev: European monitors to deploy to Georgia 09.08.08 

In a study to be released today, researchers at Oakland'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.

The report, titled "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and
Efficiency in California - A Focus on the Delta," stresses that agriculture
remains an important part of California'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.

"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."

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.

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.

While water use in California 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.

The agriculture industry, however, bristles at the notion that its
operations are wasteful. 

"The idea that farmers are not seeking more efficient ways to do business is
an insult to California 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."

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.

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.

"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.

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.

The report also recommends broader changes to state and federal policies
that are sure to draw sharp criticism from farmers.

Gleick said policymakers should reduce or realign federal subsidies that
encourage the growing of low-value, water-heavy crops such as alfalfa and
cotton.

But Wade said the market - not policymakers - drives crop choices.

"It's like saying to a restaurant, 'You have to be a shoe store because it
uses less water,' " Wade said.

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.

"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."

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JCT

Friends of Trinity River, Chair

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810

415 519 4810 cell

415 383 9562 fax

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

 

 

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