The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 to reduce the amount of water they can use from the rivers in the San Joaquin watershed to maintain 40% of unimpeded flow levels from February to June. That’s over twice the amount of water previously set aside and will once again force farmers to reduce the amount of land they can irrigate, reducing crop yields once again.
I drove Interstate 5 from the LA area to Sacramento about seven years ago with my son and it was sad to see so much land being abandoned because of the lack of water. There were also signs disparaging both the state and federal governments. Even though their water was cut in half, they were forced to pay the same amount they did for the full allocation.
This was done to spite president Trump, who wanted the farmers to get their full allocation of water back so we can quit importing so many fruits and vegetables. Residential water rates will go through the roof since they will need an alternative water supply, which will cost them much more than they are currently paying.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which is technically independent from the politicians on the Board of Supervisors, has opposed the Bay-Delta plan. Earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle noted earlier this month that the commission was “concerned that forfeiting water, under the state plan, would prompt mandatory water cuts and drive up water rates as the city is compelled to seek out new, pricey supplies, such as desalination.”
The Chronicle noted Tuesday that the supervisors specifically wished to send a message to President Trump, after he issued an executive memorandum Oct. 19 that favored farmers over environmental interests in water policy:
An early version of the resolution explicitly says the city must divorce itself from the Trump administration and its congressional allies such as Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, who’s branded the state plan a “water grab.” The Trump administration has vowed to sue the state if the so-called Bay-Delta plan goes forward, saying it would interfere with the operation of key reservoirs owned by the federal government in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Under the cloud of climate change denial and anti-science populism, the debate around the Bay-Delta Plan has transcended the realm of rational, environmental discourse toward a political and populist, anti-conservation rally cry, fueled by the strategic lobbying of a federal Republican administration aiming to destabilize California’s status as a Democratic stronghold,” the resolution says.
The board toned down that language in the final version passed Tuesday afternoon, opting for a resolution that read in part, “President Trump and his administration have overtly politicized matters better addressed through peer-reviewed, relevant science and innovative solutions to regional water use.”
I have never seen a state like California, so hell-bent on making itself so uninhabitable with ever-increasing taxes, driving many citizens out of the state.