Dale Stewart - Water Wars

Since the first Spanish Mission diverted water from the San Diego River in 1770 till today, California's water wars have been raging. And who gets access to this most precious resource has been an ongoing battle.

Today, an ever-growing population must compete with agriculture and industry for an unpredictable resource. There must be thoughtful decisions that are fair to all. A reasonable balance between the health of the environment and the needs of business must be struck. And, I think that is what is happening in the courts. But, public opinion is being shaped by forces that are less than honest about
how much is being made and by whom. And some use this issue for political gain.

My main gripe in all this is the implication by some that California ag is somehow drying up and dying away. And, even though there are some people out of work and some fallowed fields the facts from the Fresno County Farm Bureau says,
"2008 proved to be another record-breaker with more than $5.662 billion in food and fiber products produced in Fresno County." - http://www.fcfb.org/News/Ag-Today-2009/AgToday-Jun09.php

For the 20th year in a row Fresno County has led the nation in record-breaking ag production and yet some imply that agriculture is dying on the vine because of a lack of water.

Like Mark Twain once said, "Whiskey's for drinkin' and water's for fightin'!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Water wars
• California
• Agriculture
• production
• politics of water
• Environmentalists
• Sierra Club
• farming
• Central Valley ag

[dustups]

Shot in the band room. 45s colored vinyl and old guitars on the wall. Rain falling off the roof on the front porch like liquid gold to some. The San Joaquin flows to the sea once more. When will the salmon come back?

[dustups]

Hi Rick, Nice to hear from you. Wasn't Hetch Hetchy about 100 years ago? How can they undo such an old dam/agreement? Ag Republicans round here cryin crocodile tears even though they set production records every single year. I'll go over to your page and see what's cookin.

[lukebccb]

When San Francisco first petitioned the feds to build it there was a big majority of senators against allowing Hetch Hetchy But San Francisco and CA senators kept working the other senators with horsetrading and outright bribes and "gifts" to break their resistance till San Francisco got it's way.

Hetch Hetchy is the "original sin" of San Francisco (and I'm an atheist) and all "environmentalists" in San Francisco aren't worth shit if they support Hetch Hetchy dam's existence.

[lukebccb]

San Francisco could've built the reservoir anywhere else. Look at Eleanor Lake and Cherry Lake. Both would've just as good as a place than Hetch Hetchy but San Francisco wanted Hetch Hetchy cause it "was closer" and ESPECIALLY cause it was cheaper. The vast majority of supporters of the damn dam aren't aware that there was a LARGE resistance to it throughout the federal government because Hetch Hetchy was in a standing national park .

(cont.)

[rickfreslanta]

Yea, it's been nearly 100 years since it was built. I guess my comment was actually more about restoring that awesome valley, but water has sure played a part in it. SF is thirsty. Having lived and worked in Yosemite for about 10 years, I'd hear talk about it ocasionally. I believe that agreement and dam will eventually be undone. John Muir has his followers, and they are not giving in just yet.

Cheers. Tell Joceylin hi.

[rickfreslanta]

Nice video Dale. Yep, water wars all across the country, even out here in comparatively lush Georgia. But the west and California always are going at it paticularly intensely.

I still say, let's dismantle Hetch Hetchy.