Kern County’s largest farming operation, Wonderful Orchards, recently intentionally bulldozed 10,000 acres of productive almond trees. For Wonderful Orchards, removing these trees may have been a good temporary business decision, given the recent decline in almond prices. However, farmers don’t kill off their crops just because of a temporary dip in commodity prices. California’s uncertain water supply is at the heart of this decision, and it is just the tip of the iceberg.
Unless California acts to increase its water supply soon, we will see many more thousands of acres taken out of production, which will severely impact our economy, our tax base, our school funding, our fire and police departments and the health and welfare of our Central Valley.
The drought has had a significant impact on water supplies in Kern County and throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Less rain and snow in Northern California means less water available for the Valley from the State Water Project.
Kern County’s local water districts that provide water from the State Water Project to farmers and urban areas are prepared for droughts. Our local water districts are masters of maximizing water supplies by saving water in wet years for use in dry years. When California’s water system is allowed to function properly, droughts don’t cause the kind of decision that Wonderful Orchards made.
So why did Wonderful Orchards decide to kill off 10,000 acres of almond trees? A significant factor in its decision, and the decisions that all farmers will make this year and in future years, is the permanent loss of water caused by failed policies and regulations. In recent years, state and federal agencies have acted to severely limit the amount of water available to farmers from the State Water Project via the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Unlike fluctuating farm prices or drought conditions, these limitations are not temporary. They threaten to be permanent.
Just this year, in the midst of an historic drought, California has lost more than 500,000 acre-feet of water due to decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. That’s enough water for 140,000 acres of almond trees. Last year, the National Marine Fisheries Service required that greater amounts of water be left behind Shasta Dam to preserve water for salmon, which caused more reductions in water supplies for California’s farms and cities. These are two examples of the many regulations that permanently reduce our Valley’s water supply.
To reverse this trend of lost water, the governor and state water leaders developed projects to improve California’s water supplies. California WaterFix would better protect the Delta ecosystem and improve the state’s water supplies. But state agencies, like the State Water Resources Control Board, stand in the way of the project by threatening to require even greater reductions in water supplies if the project is built.
If the lost water supplies were helping the environment, then perhaps it would be a legitimate societal choice to preserve salmon and Delta smelt and reduce the amount of food our Valley grows. But two decades of these policies have resulted in the drastic decline of both the fish and water supply. It’s time for the polices to change.
The state and federal agencies that issue these restrictions must take a new look at their understanding of the ecosystem, revise their regulations and look for better ways to protect fish and restore the valley’s water supplies. They must look for ways to approve new projects rather than stand in the way.
The state and federal agencies must change. The fish can’t wait. Kern County and the valley can’t wait. Our orchards and our economy can’t be allowed to die.
Ted R. Page is the President of the Kern County Water Agency Board of Directors.
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