This exchange among Central Valley farmers got my attention:
But the idea of outside regulation doesn’t sit well with growers. Farmers see groundwater as their last resort in a drought, and they are reluctant to relinquish any right to pump it.
“Overdraft is here. So who are you going to try and regulate?” asked Westside farmer and commissioner John Howe.
Howe was responding to a statement by Kings County Counsel Peter Moock that the overdraft situation is probably “going to get worse.”
“An end has to come to that [overdraft] at some point,” Moock said.
Remember that these guys claim that more surface water will reduce overdraft. I doubt that will happen, as long as they are unwilling to put any restrictions on overdraft (robbing from their future).
On a related note, I see that Westlands has quit ACWA. It seems that Westlands has decided that its interests are not the same as a majority — there’s no “I” in team. That’s quite a signal. Are politicians listening?
