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Why San Francisco is joining Valley farmers in a fight over precious California water
The Sacramento Bee ^ | August 19th, 2018 | By Dale Kasler And Ryan Sabalow

Posted on 08/19/2018 10:03:58 AM PDT by Mariner

MODESTO - Originating in a glacier at the eastern edge of Yosemite, the Tuolumne River runs into a man-made roadblock in the towering granite cliffs of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. A massive concrete dam captures its icy water and ships much of it through pipes and tunnels to the residents of San Francisco.

Further downstream, the Tuolumne is halted again, this time by a dam in the oak-covered Sierra foothills. From there, a network of canals spreads the Tuolumne’s waters over mile after mile of rich San Joaquin Valley vineyards, orchards and dairy farms.

The meager amounts left in the river to flow to the Pacific — some years, as little as 11 percent of what would have been its natural flow — must sustain a population of salmon and steelhead plummeting toward extinction.

In short, the Tuolumne embodies just how much California has overtaxed its rivers.

Little wonder, then, that a plan by California regulators to re-divide the waters of the Tuolumne — and much of the rest of the lower San Joaquin River watershed — has ignited one of the fiercest fights over water California has seen in years.

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: califwater; sanjoaquinvalley; tuolumneriver
According to my late father, I was conceived on the banks of this river. And I was born but a mile from it.

It's in my DNA.

And there has not been a native salmon in it in over 40 years. There's no salmon run to preserve.

1 posted on 08/19/2018 10:03:58 AM PDT by Mariner
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To: Mariner

san francisco needs the extra water for the newly formed poop patrol.


2 posted on 08/19/2018 10:10:39 AM PDT by chief lee runamok (mongrel at large)
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To: Mariner

California needs to restrict water use. 3 showers a week, 1 toilet flush a day, and 1 sink of water a week to clean dishes. At least they still have toilet paper, I almost thought they were some South American country with similar problems.


3 posted on 08/19/2018 10:15:00 AM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (What is earned is treasured, what is free is worth what you paid for it.)
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To: chief lee runamok
san francisco needs the extra water ...

...to sell to other munis.

IIRC, SF leases Hetch Hetchy from the Feds for around $30K/year.

It sells the water it gets for next to nothing for a nice price.

4 posted on 08/19/2018 10:27:35 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: Mariner

I’m sure these links are old news to you...

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/steelhead-trout

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

What species of salmon used to be in the river?

Of course, most of these are doing very well in many areas outside of CA — rainbow trout / steelhead trout are actually listed as an invasive species “worldwide”. I’ve even see nice size rainbows live in tanks in Asian markets.

I realize that Ag in CA is a huge water consumer, but, still, someone tell me again why CA needs ever more illegal aliens to add further to the stresses on its water resources?


5 posted on 08/19/2018 10:28:21 AM PDT by Paul R.
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To: Mariner

Why don’t they recycle their used water? >sarcasm
What about a desalination plant?


6 posted on 08/19/2018 10:38:43 AM PDT by This I Wonder32460 (I'd rather be a GOP Deplorable then a Dem Corruptible.)
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To: Mariner

BTW, what do you think about the longish comment by “Ricky Smith” in the original article comments?


7 posted on 08/19/2018 10:41:19 AM PDT by Paul R.
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To: Paul R.

The one’s that turn red.

Coho I think.


8 posted on 08/19/2018 10:50:43 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: chief lee runamok

The state could build more reservoirs that would help everyone but Jerry Brown (4 time governor) and the other crazy democrats would rather destroy agriculture in the state which is the biggest industry.


9 posted on 08/19/2018 11:22:55 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Mariner
Informative article that actually gives the farmers the last word. Very unusual. Not once do the writers even think to remind the reader that the entire California reservoir and aqueduct system was a work of manmade genuis that has enabled health and happiness for millions. No overview nor context.

The Hetch Hetchy Dam is a magnificent creation bestowed upon a now ignorant populace by greater Westerners who lived a very long time ago.

10 posted on 08/19/2018 11:35:28 AM PDT by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and forests!)
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To: Mariner

Yup, Coho get red during their fall spawning run.

Michigan now has natural spawning of salmon all over the state, and there were none at all before the 1960’s.

In fact, Michigan has natural reproduction of all the Pacific and Atlantic salmon in addition to steelhead.

The world record Coho salmon was caught in the great lakes.


11 posted on 08/19/2018 12:33:03 PM PDT by Beagle8U (A Muse bit my Sister.)
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To: Mariner
It’s a problem that will only get worse as the climate gets warmer.

Stopped reading right there. California "officials" seeking to save fish from "global warming", while screwing the people.

12 posted on 08/19/2018 1:28:13 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: Calvin Locke
IIRC, SF leases Hetch Hetchy from the Feds for around $30K/year.
It sells the water it gets for next to nothing for a nice price.

Worse than that, they're illegally using it. The executive order allowing SF to use it dictated that SF own and distribute the power generation. SF allowed private entities (PG&E and others) to take it over and make money off it. Per the wording of the original executive order, lease terms were violated and control should revert to the Feds.

13 posted on 08/19/2018 1:32:22 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: chief lee runamok

san francisco needs the extra water for the newly formed poop patrol.


Dang, someone beat me to it.


14 posted on 08/19/2018 1:37:20 PM PDT by Yaelle
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To: This I Wonder32460

Production and creation of storage facilities doesn’t seem to be in the democrat DNA. Idiots like Kim Jong Brown prefer to “save” water by criminalizing its use. This was similar to the MO for years when it came to achieving “energy independence” re fossil fuels. Tax, regulate and ban. All while taking the bribes of the puppet masters. Anyone recall barbara boxer, who believed it better to pay off the murderous dictatorships of the middle east nearly $1 tril yearly to avoid actual energy independence, while touting “conservation” at home? Ditto for her war on light bulbs, which probably pre-dated heavy investment in CFL producers.


15 posted on 08/19/2018 2:06:42 PM PDT by DPMD
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To: Mariner

CANADA has mucho mucho WATER.

They are just too stupid to know how to sell it.


16 posted on 08/19/2018 4:23:59 PM PDT by TheNext (l)
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To: Mariner

Leftists love shortages, and even encourage/contrives them — it simply allows them to get a new hook into people’s lives, and to deny them their freedom.

Traitors in Olden Days Rome got ‘hooks’ of a different sort ...


17 posted on 08/19/2018 6:25:49 PM PDT by elbook
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