California Today: A Battle Over the San Joaquin River
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The San Francisco Bay estuary is in crisis.
Half a dozen fish species are inching toward extinction, scientists at the Bay Institute say. Higher up the food chain, whales, seals and pelicans are going hungry. At the same time, thousands of fishing jobs have vanished.
Now, after a decade of work, California water officials are finalizing a more than 3,000-page plan to tackle the problem.
But the so-called Bay-Delta plan is shaping up to be among the most contentious battles of California’s long-running water wars.
At the heart of the conflict is control over the San Joaquin River and its three main tributaries. Originating in the Sierra Nevada, the rivers eventually drain into the Bay estuary, feeding its unique ecosystem.
But along the way, they snake through the drought-hit farm communities of the San Joaquin Valley and a gantlet of dams and diversions for crop irrigation.
In dry years, frequently less than 20 percent of the rivers complete the trip toward the Bay estuary, straining fish populations including the storied chinook salmon runs.
The State Water Resources Control Board wants to raise the flow of the San Joaquin and the tributary Merced, Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers to 40 percent of their natural flow during the critical spring months.
But that target seems only to have angered both sides in the debate. Environmental groups say it’s too low; farmers and leaders in the valley say it would cripple their economies.
“You are the grim reaper,” Assemblyman Adam Gray, whose district includes Merced, told members of the board at one of a series of public hearings in the San Joaquin Valley this month.
“Water is life in this region, and you appear to have no other purpose than to take that life away.”
No matter the final shape of the plan, state officials acknowledge it will have major consequences for wildlife, businesses and jobs. (The state has estimated a $64 million hit to the farming economy; agricultural leaders say it would be much higher.)
“We’re dealing with this very complex puzzle,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the water resources board. “There’s no sweet spot here.”
At the public hearing in Merced this month, a standing-room-only crowd showed up to hear from the board and voice their concerns. Outside, about 30 tractors paraded through the streets in protest with signs that read: “Farmers Fed-Up.”
Louie Bandoni, an almond farmer, was among them. Speaking by phone outside the hearing, he said it felt as if state leaders were trying to put farmers out of business over a few fish.
“In California, we’re being bombarded with regulations,” Mr. Bandoni said.
“And now they’re going after our water,” he said. “We’re just to the point as farmers — we’re just fed up. We don’t know which way to turn.”
The water board plans to make its final decision by summer.
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And Finally ...
Life on a Small California Farm
Brenton Gieser
The idea of small-scale, organic farming is in vogue among California consumers for its promise of environmental sustainability and healthy food.
But how many shoppers know what small-scale farming looks like?
To find out, Brenton Gieser, a Bay Area photographer, traveled to Oya Organics, an 18-acre produce farm in Hollister, about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco.
“The notion was to de-romanticize small-scale organic farming,” Mr. Gieser said. “And it was obvious real quick that their work is grueling – mentally, emotionally, financially and physically.”
Oya Organics was founded in 2011 by Marsha Habib and her partner, Modesto Sanchez Cruz, who live and work on the farm with their 3-year-old daughter, Saori.
The business, which grows fava bean, kale, strawberry and other crops, has struggled financially. But it’s gotten some crucial help this year from Kitchen Table Advisers, a nonprofit that provides business coaching to small Northern California farms.
As more consumers seek alternatives to industrial farming, Mr. Gieser said small operations like Oya Organics could represent a preview of what the next generation of California farming will look like.
Take a look at his photo essay.
California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.
The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter.
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.
P.C: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/us/california-today-san-joaquin-river.html
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