The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors took a hard look at their On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (On-Farm) in the hopes that they can become more efficient at providing water efficiency savings for farmers.
IID Senior Program Manager Ben Brock, along with Water Department Manager Tina Shields, updated the Board of Directors on the lengthy and complicated process that the On-Farm program currently has perform in order to determine how much to pay farmers for the water they conserved during the IID Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, July 26.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2023-07-31 10:03:282023-07-31 10:14:45IID Looks To Improve Efficiency Of On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program
With the phrase “heat dome” entering our vocabulary and more than 2,300 heat records smashed so far this summer, extreme temperatures are endangering our lives. And for farmers, the scorching hot, dry weather also threatens their livelihoods.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Andrea Morahttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngAndrea Mora2023-07-26 10:10:562023-07-26 10:22:39Drought is Hitting Black Farmers Hard
The state is sending millions to farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley to keep water in the ground.
The money, paid through the LandFlex program, goes to groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) and then directly to farmers, paying them for every acre foot they don’t pump.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Andrea Morahttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngAndrea Mora2023-07-26 10:10:442023-07-26 10:23:11State Pays Valley Farmers Millions to Keep Water in the Ground
Having an eco-friendly yard doesn’t have to mean replacing a lawn with sand and succulents. Ann-Marie Benz, California Native Plant Society’s horticulture program manager, says creating a drought-resilient landscape has a bad reputation. Creating a native, water-wise yard can be rewarding — and done with a personal flair.
On a closely packed street in Inglewood, where single-family home after single-family home overlooks a manicured lawn, a spectacular garden filled with California native plants reaches to the sky and spills onto the sidewalk.
In Brian Bautista’s yard, upright showy penstemon, aromatic hummingbird sage, hardy toyon trees, and two types of milkweed — dramatic plants requiring little water — attract birds, butterflies and bees and flourish amid the Bermuda grass lawns.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Andrea Morahttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngAndrea Mora2023-07-19 10:00:482023-07-19 10:05:57He Wanted a ‘Low-Water, Colorful, Smell-Good Garden.’ But First, the Lawn Had to Go
California’s Imperial Valley is one of the few places where a 95 degree day can be described as unseasonably cool.
In the shade of a sissoo tree, with a dry breeze rustling its leaves, JB Hamby called the weather “pretty nice” for mid-June. Over his shoulder, sprinklers ticked away over a field of onions. Every few minutes, a tractor rumbled across the broiling asphalt of a nearby road.
Hamby is a water policy bigwig, especially around these parts. He helps shape policies that define how water is used by arguably the most influential water users along the Colorado River. Hamby holds two jobs – he serves on the board of directors for the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and was recently appointed to be California’s top water negotiator.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-07-09 10:42:522023-07-09 11:31:11Meet the Colorado River’s Newest – and Youngest – Power Player
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria joined with regional agriculture, business, water, and elected leaders on Friday to oppose a potential $200 million water bill increase for ratepayers across San Diego County.
“The proposed action will have significant, long-term economic impacts to most households in San Diego County. Nearly every family and business will see an increase in their water rates,” Mayor Gloria said. “The cost of living is a continuous struggle for many San Diegans and these proposed rate increases are unacceptable.”
Chair Nora Vargas of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors commented on the proposal’s impact on low-income residents and the lack of a countywide vote. “An unnecessary increase in water bills means taking money away each month from hardworking families who can least afford it,” she said. “Not only will this detachment proposal lead to higher water bills, we also won’t have a say in the matter.”
Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, said it’s counterproductive to saddle businesses with additional bills. “This proposal would shift millions in added costs onto local businesses, many of which operate on thin margins,” Sanders said. “Our businesses face so many threats to success. Let’s not add to these challenges with an unnecessary water rate hike.”
A new study indicates original LAFCO cost estimates of detachment are as much as 50% below the true price tag, as much as $200 million. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Cost Analysis of Detachment Called Flawed
Two water agencies in Fallbrook and Rainbow seek to leave the San Diego County Water Authority without paying the full cost of investments made on their behalf over the past several decades. On July 10, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission’s (LAFCO) board is expected to vote on the “detachment” proposal, possibly with the inclusion of a limited “exit fee” for Fallbrook and Rainbow. However, LAFCO’s figures are based on years-old data and flawed projections that understate the annual costs of detachment by at least 50%.
Updated figures released this week show that disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County will be forced to pay nearly $200 million more over the next decade for water service unless the agencies seeking to leave the Water Authority are required to fully cover their costs. LAFCO’s data don’t reflect the inflationary realities or the fact that the financial impacts of detachment will continue far beyond LAFCO’s five-year horizon.
“I am deeply concerned that LAFCO could make this momentous decision without ensuring the accuracy of the costs of detaching from the Water Authority or allowing residents countywide to vote on this scheme,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz.
LAFCO’s staff recommendation to approve the detachment plan does not include a substantive analysis of impacts to disadvantaged communities or to agriculture in the Water Authority service area. Nor does it include the environmental analysis required by law.
Agriculture Deeply Affected By Proposal
“We all care about the cost of water because it’s a major factor for most farms,” said Frank Hilliker,” Board Chair of the Lakeside Water District and a long-time egg farmer in East County. “If Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies don’t pay their costs, it hurts farmers like me who will be forced to pay more. I urge LAFCO to make sure that they require full cost coverage by Fallbrook and Rainbow to protect our region’s agriculture industry.”
A coalition of government, community, business, labor, agriculture, and water leaders joined together today to collectively urge San Diego LAFCO to vote no on detachment at its meeting on Monday, July 10. These leaders include:
Mayor Todd Gloria, City of San Diego
Chair Nora Vargas, San Diego County Board of Supervisors
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, City of San Diego
Vice Mayor Colin Parent, City of La Mesa
District Director Janet Chin, Office of Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, District 77
Chair Mel Katz, San Diego County Water Authority
Vice Chair Nick Serrano, San Diego County Water Authority
Board Chair Frank Hilliker, Lakeside Water District & East County Farmer
President & CEO Jerry Sanders, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
Vice President Carol Kim, San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council
Vice Chair Gail Goldberg, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PressConf.7.7.2023.CN_.016-845X450.jpg450845Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2023-07-07 14:29:222023-07-07 15:42:37Regional Leaders Seek to Protect Ratepayers from $200M Water Bill
The agreement reached in May by California, Arizona and Nevada to conserve 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water is reassuring news for all who rely on it — farms, cities, rural communities, tribes and the environment. It benefits American consumers in general who depend on the region’s farms for much of our safe, healthy, affordable food supply, and Southern California residents who receive farm-to-urban water transfers from the Imperial Valley specifically, helping protect them from drought-related water shortages.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-06-30 17:46:442023-06-30 17:47:33Opinion: With Colorado River Negotiations Settled, it’s Time to Focus on Water Conservation Plans
You can blame California’s wild winter for all sorts of havoc this spring and summer: moldy, leaking roofs, plagues of mosquitoes, cabin fever.
Giant, less-flavorful strawberries also deserve a spot on that list.
California produces 90% of the nation’s strawberries, which typically enjoy a growing season that starts as early as January and lasts until July. Peak season usually begins in March.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Chelsea Camposhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngChelsea Campos2023-06-19 11:26:222023-06-19 11:34:22This is Why Your Strawberries Were So Meh This Season Until Now
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Chelsea Camposhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngChelsea Campos2023-06-14 10:25:102023-06-14 10:25:28Imperial Valley Farmers Await Water Deal