Summer 2022 - 14

WATER
Groups implore California to act
Agriculture and business groups are imploring California
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state's legislature to set clear
goals for boosting water storage and supplies as the
drought threatens to cripple California's food, energy and
housing sectors.
" Our existing water system can no longer deliver the
water necessary to sustain the world's fifth-largest
economy, " the California Farm Bureau and nearly two
dozen farm and business groups wrote in a June 14 letter
to the state's executive and legislative branches.
" California must establish a clear target to increase its
surface water supply to meet current and future needs for
human consumption and a growing economy, " said the
letter, whose signatories included California Farm Bureau
President Jamie Johansson.
Danny Merkley, Farm Bureau's director of water
resources, said Farm Bureau signed the letter because " it
is time to sound the alarm. "
" It has been seven-and-a-half years since the voters of
California overwhelmingly passed Proposition 1 with $2.7
billion for the public-benefit portion of new water storage,
and yet not $1 has yet to be spent on the construction
of new storage, " Merkley said. " If Newsom is sincere
about California's water resilience, he will work with
the Legislature to get funding out the door right now
to upgrade our aging water infrastructure for today's
21st-century realities.
" We cannot conserve our way out of it. "
The coalition contended that the state's current strategy
is to reduce supplies and ask people to do more with less.
" As a result, " the letter said, " we are merely managing
economic decline. "
The letter cited a 2021 study from the University of
California, Merced, that found 385,000 acres of farmland
were fallowed last year on account of a lack of water. That
led to a $1.1 billion loss to farmers and the loss of 8,750
agricultural jobs; overall, agriculture and related sectors
lost $1.7 billion and more than 14,600 full- and part-time
jobs, according to the report.
- California Farm Bureau Federation
co-owner of Wong Potatoes Inc., an organic operation in
Klamath Falls, Oregon.
For more than 30 years, the federal government has
restricted water, citing protection of endangered fish. The
region's growers used to rely on up to 400,000 acre-feet of
water a year. That was cut to zero in 2021 and 50,000 acrefeet
this year.
" They just keep taking our water away, " Chin said. " Not
only are they taking our water from the lake, they're taking
our water from the ground as well. The only way we are
surviving here is through groundwater. "
In general, the outlook for Washington remains favorable,
said Nicholas Bond, Washington State climatologist. Longterm
precipitation deficits are expected to affect areas of the
Columbia Basin that rely on rainfall, as well as dryland areas
where other crops, including grains, are grown. The eastern
part of Washington has experienced precipitation deficits
more than in the past compared to the western part of the
state, he said.
The Walla Walla region could see some challenges, he
said, but that could vary by field. The state should experience
less precipitation during the summer due to warmer and
drier conditions.
The Yakima Valley, a Washington major apple production
hub, should receive its full allotment of water, including
water rights holders.
" The orchards should be fine, " Bond said. " The important
thing is the drought conditions are not the disaster in other
parts of the state. Washington is in better shape than most
of the West. "
14 SUMMER 2022
An irrigation system in a tomato field north of Sacramento, California,
during a drought year. Severe dryness, historic low snowpacks and
declining water tables are keeping water a scarce commodity.
Summer 2022

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