[env-trinity] Irrigator Water Conservation - Fresno Bee and Bakersfield Californian

[Byron Leydecker]

New ideas for saving ag water: Tax exemptions for irrigation equipment is
one of several proposals.

The Fresno Bee- 9/9/08

 


Report: Farmers could conserve more water


The Bakersfield Californian- 9/9/08


 


++++++++++++++++++++


 

New ideas for saving ag water: Tax exemptions for irrigation equipment is
one of several proposals.

The Fresno Bee- 9/9/08

By Dennis Pollock 

 

Farmers in the hard-hit Westlands Water District have shelled out an
estimated $500 million on water-saving measures in the past decade. 

 

But more can be done, said one of the authors of a report issued this week
that touts water-saving alternatives to building reservoirs. 

 

"We acknowledge there have been significant developments in efficiency, and
we looked at accelerating that trend," said Heather Cooley, who helped draft
the report by the Oakland-based Pacific Institute. 

 

The institute came out with a laundry list of steps that would require
significant policy changes and could cost farmers and government agencies
millions more. They include: 

 

*Provide sales tax exemptions or rebates on efficient irrigation equipment. 

 

*Provide property tax exemptions for farmers who upgrade to more
water-efficient irrigation systems. 

 

*Develop new legal mechanisms by which municipal water or state or local
wildlife agencies could invest in farmers' irrigation systems in exchange
for some portion of the water conserved. 

 

*State and federal government agencies or energy providers would offer
rebates or incentives to farmers who implement on-farm conservation
measures. 

 

*Reduce or realign subsidies for low-value, water-intensive crops to
higher-value, less water-intensive crops. 

 

*Make agricultural "efficient water-management practices" mandatory and
enforceable by the state Water Resources Control Board. 

 

The list is lengthy, and Cooley said the institute will issue a report early
next year "looking closer at the costs for those recommendations." 

 

Some of the recommendations -- including use of more drip irrigation or
micro-irrigation -- can improve productivity and increase the return on
investment, Cooley said. 

 

Farmers on the central San Joaquin Valley's west side say they already have
made considerable strides toward saving water, notably switching in recent
years from furrow or flood irrigation to drip irrigation that puts the water
only where it will benefit the crop. 

 

And they say they have gone about as far as they can in that regard and the
notion of "conserving their way out of a drought" is flawed. 

 

"If that were the case, they would already have done it," says Fresno County
grower John Diener, who has become something of a poster figure for saving
water on the farm, working for about a decade with local, state and federal
researchers on an irrigation system that captures and reuses irrigation
water. 

 

Farm leaders were quick to respond to the report. 

 

"Farmers will continue to increase water use efficiency," said Jasper
Hempel, executive vice president of Western Growers in Irvine. 

 

"But increased water-use efficiency is not a substitute for the needed
improvements in water storage or conveyance." 

 

California Farm Bureau Federation President Doug Mosebar said that while
"improved efficiency of water use will certainly be a key in meeting
California water needs," a wide variety of strategies will be needed,
including water recycling and new water storage. 

 

California Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura said agriculture "is doing
its part" to address the water crisis. 

 

"Over the last four decades, the amount of water used on California farms
has remained relatively level while crop production has increased more than
85% in the same period," he said. "In fact, California farms use water not
just once but as many as eight times." 

 

Stuart Woolf, who heads Woolf Farming Co. in Huron, told a congressional
subcommittee that his father often jokes, "We work the water so hard it has
blisters."#

http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/855954.html


 


 


 


Report: Farmers could conserve more water


The Bakersfield Californian- 9/9/08


BY STACEY SHEPARD AND COURTENAY EDELHART, staff writers

 

Central Valley farmers could save an amount of water equal to the annual
supply of 20 new reservoirs if they change how and when they irrigate and
switch to less water-intensive crops, according to a report released this
week by the Oakland-based Pacific Institute.

 

The study is one of the first to explore how better water conservation on
farms could help address statewide shortages.

 

In response, farmers say they're already doing their part, noting the amount
of water used by the state's farms is almost the same as 40 years ago, yet
crops over that period have increased 89 percent.

 

San Joaquin Valley growers alone have invested more than $500 million in
improved irrigation equipment since 2004, according to the Agricultural
Water Management Council.

 

"Farmers are increasing their efficiency all the time," said California Farm
Bureau Federation spokesman Dan Kranz. "Certainly given our current
circumstances it's an increasing concern, but improved efficiency is just
one key element along with recycled water and water storage and many other
strategies."

 

The report's lead author, Heather Cooley, agreed conservation is not a
"silver bullet." New dams and storage may be needed at some point. But
decision-makers should know what low-cost solutions are available before
spending billions on costly water-infrastructure, she said. 

 

"The water savings from these exercises are far cheaper than any reservoir
we can build and have fewer social and environmental impacts," Cooley said. 

 

In response to a statewide drought and court-ordered reductions in water
exports from the imperiled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, lawmakers are now
considering a $9.3 billion proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein to build new dams, reservoirs and possibly a
peripheral canal.

 

Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency, which contracts
for Delta water on behalf of local water districts, thinks the study should
have taken a broader look at causes of the water shortages.

 

"I think it unfairly targeted agriculture as the single solution for the
state's water woes," he said.

 

Cooley said the Institute had previously studied urban water conservation,
finding that water use could be reduced by one-third with widely available
technologies. Given that farms use 80 percent of the state's developed water
supplies, "we suspected there were some large savings available there as
well."

 

She added: "We were also struck by the fact that no one had done a real
assessment" of farm water use.

 

Overall, the study found farmers could reduce water usage by 13 percent.
That equals a water savings of up to 3.4 million acre-feet each year -
enough water to fill Isabella Lake six times over. 

 

To do so, the report recommends switching about 25 percent of
water-intensive field crops grown in the state - such as cotton, rice, corn
and alfalfa - to vegetables, which use less water and bring in more revenue.


 

It encourages farmers to use newer technology - weather data, soil monitors
and computer models - to schedule precisely when and how much water to apply
to crops rather than relying on visual inspection. 

 

Farmers should also move away from flood irrigation by investing in drip
irrigation systems and sprinklers. 

 

While some of the recommendations require up-front costs to farmers, the
study found that the strategies were cost-effective overall when you
consider water savings, improved yields and other factors.

 

Planting crops that require less water seems obvious, but that
oversimplifies the reality of agricultural economics, said retired grower
William Bolthouse Jr., whose family founded William Bolthouse Farms.

 

"If you grew all cactus, I'm sure you could save some water, but it's not
economically feasible," he said. "Supply and demand dictates what people
grow. We used to grow a lot of cotton, but demand dried up so people quit."

 

Bolthouse said he'd prefer to see available water sources managed better.

 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture estimates drought-related
crop losses as of this month are $259.8 million, up $14.5 million from July.
Rangeland took the hardest hit, followed by cotton.

 

Kern County suffered the second highest losses in the state with $69.5
million. Fresno County led the state with $73.5 million, in losses.#

http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/547703.html

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JCT, Chair

Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 

415 519 4810 cell

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org

www.fotr.org 

 

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