Posted on 02/22/2014 1:12:09 PM PST by Robwin
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) Without a lot more rain and snow, many California farmers caught in the state's drought can expect to receive no irrigation water this year from a vast system of rivers, canals and reservoirs interlacing the state, federal officials announced Friday.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its first outlook of the year, saying that the agency will continue to monitor rain and snow fall, but the grim levels so far prove that the state is in the throes of one of its driest periods in recorded history.
Farmers who rely on the federally run Central Valley Project received only 20 percent of their normal water allotment last year and were expecting this year's bad news. Some communities and endangered wildlife that rely on the federal water source will also suffer deep cuts.
The state's snowpack is at 29 percent of average for this time of year, which means that for farmers it's going to be a hard year.
"My gross sales are probably going to be cut in half," said Bill Diedrich, who farms 1,500 acres of almonds, tomatoes and other crops in the parched Central Valley community of Firebaugh. "Some farmers out here are going to lose everything they've got."
Gov. Jerry Brown last month declared California's drought emergency, and both state and federal officials have pledged millions of dollars to help with water conservation and food banks for those put out of work by the drought.
California officials who manage the State Water Project, the state's other major water system, have already said they won't be releasing any water for farmers, marking a first in its 54-year history.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Yes you would. Stealing “Federal Water” is a felony offense, AFAIK. :)
It has been posted here that California might have unlimited gas if their shale was fracked
Why is 0bama trying to bankrupt California? Because once the agriculture goes, the state goes belly up.
At this point it doesn’t look like there is any “Federal” water. Didn’t they wash all of it into the ocean?
No need to bother with the shale. The whole state is fracked. And I live there, too.
Love that Delta Smelt
Ironically it was our greens (mostly ) okra a few years back that was deet casualties.
Plenty of Mexicans -Hispanics will be impacted. Laborers. owners, illegal aliens. No compassion for these minorities from Imperial DC 3000 miles away. Even though they voted for Jug Ears
If we had any sense at all we would have desalination plants all along So Calif.
We want to drive up food prices.
We want to destroy family farms.
We want to get people out of the rural areas and compact them all into dense living cities controlled by liberals so you have to pay welfare for others.
Sincerely, Obama and his Marxist Democrats Destroying America
As there are a lot of other kinds of plants, or all various kinds, already there, even in an earthquake prone area, there’s no reason there shouldn’t be desalination plants there too.
From thearticle: Gov. Jerry Brown last month declared California's drought emergency, and both state and federal officials have pledged millions of dollars to help with water conservation and food banks for those put out of work by the drought.
both state and federal officials have pledged millions of dollars to help with water conservation and food banks for those put out of work by the drought.
Translation: take a nice vacation while we seize your bosses land.
Why should there be such a thing as “federal water”
It doesn’t take much space, time or effort to plant and tend a garden. It’s rewarding too.
Ask the guy with the hammer that question:
Well, between me and my neighbor we must have grown 150 lbs of potatoes last year.
And I would be happy if we can at least double that this year.
It’s the ground prep that takes most of the work. He, fortunately, has a backhoe.
I have a spade or three!
ever use the tire method?
It took 80 years, but the dust bowl has followed them to the promised land.
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