De 5e economische regio in wereld heeft watertekort

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

California is al langer bezig de toekomstige waterschaarste het hoofd te
bieden, Dit gaat echter héél moeizaam.
Nu zijn het de landbouwers die moeten inleveren, maar dat veroorzaakt
weer tekorten aan landbouwproducten, etc. etc.
Niemand is nog bezig met het terugbrengen van persoonlijk gebruik, laat
staan veranderingen in bouwvoorzieningen en -voorschriften.

Groet / Cees

PS. Idem in de buurstaten Nevada & Arizona. Er worden steden uitgebreid
die binnen afzienbare tijd géén water meer hebben.

Science justifies California water limits
Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:09pm GMT

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Federal limits on water that can be pumped out
of a major river delta for California farmers are scientifically
justified, a much-anticipated report said on Friday, a finding hailed by
environmentalists in the state's epic water wars.

But the National Academy of Sciences stopped short of handing a decisive
victory to environmental interests over agricultural interests. The
academy said further study was required and that threats to Chinook
salmon, delta smelt and other endangered fish were not entirely caused
by the pumping.

"The Academy of Sciences report clearly validates the biological
opinions," Ann Hayden, a senior water resource analyst for the
Environmental Defense Fund, said of regulations devised under court
order by federal wildlife biologists and issued in late 2008.

"It's time to stop pitting the economic interests of farmers against
fishermen and move forward to find solutions," Hayden said. "We have
pushed the Bay-Delta system to the brink of collapse and saving it --
and the jobs that depend on it -- is going to require increased
cooperation among all interests."

A spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation said the report
showed the need for "better justification of water restrictions" and
that there were flaws in the Endangered Species Act.

THREE-YEAR DROUGHT

"We believe the government must do a better job of managing the delta
pumps, to make more water available for people while still protecting
the fish," said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau
Federation.

Wenger also singled out the study's conclusion that a number of factors,
including sewage treatment plants and non-native fish, represented a
threat to the protected species.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is at the center of California's
long-running tug of war over water, which has become increasingly testy
during a three-year drought that led to rationing, higher charges for
water and mandatory conservation measures across the state.

Dramatic cutbacks in water deliveries by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
and state Water Resources Department have idled thousands of farm
workers and large swaths of farmland. The crisis prompted U.S. Senator
Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, to propose easing the
environmental restrictions to allow the pumping of more water for growers.

Feinstein came under fire from environmental activists, fishing groups
and even members of her own party. She dropped the plan after state and
federal agencies, citing a series of strong winter storms that may
signal the end of the drought, announced they would supply farms
considerably more water this year than last.

Lawmakers have said they would await the National Academy of Sciences
report, which was ordered by the Obama administration, before making
further policy decisions.

On Tuesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said irrigation
districts south of the delta, which represent farmers on the west side
of the state's fertile Central Valley, will get 25 percent of their
contracted water allotment from the Bureau of Reclamation, up from just
5 percent in February.

The increase was issued ahead of schedule and comes at a critical time
for the Central Valley, one of the country's most bountiful agricultural
regions. California, the No. 1 farm state, produces more than half the
fruits, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States.

The state water agency also boosted its allocation for all users to 15
percent, up from 5 percent last year.

The state supplies more than 25 million people and more than 750,000
acres of farmland with water from the delta.

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