Rep. Radanovich Statement Before Subcommittee on Water and Power
Washington,
Jul 21, 2008 -
Statement by
The Honorable George Radanovich
Before the
Subcommittee on Water and Power
July 21, 2008
Fresno, California
Thank you, Chairwoman Napolitano for holding this important hearing on the dire water shortages in the San Joaquin Valley. It’s very appropriate that you chose to have this hearing here – this is ground zero for water problems in the West. Our water districts and their consumers are already in the trenches doing everything they can in the face of adversity. Towns are literally starting to dry up as abandoned crops are left to rot and farmworkers lose jobs. The San Joaquin Valley and California agriculture are in the midst of a true emergency, so today’s hearing is important as we examine the reasons for water shortages and what short-term and long-term responses we can pursue to help this region.
Last spring was the driest in over 80 years for California. Following an already dry 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in early June. The current drought comes at the worst possible time, as California agriculture is still reeling from ridiculous judicial decisions that favor the health of fish over the needs of people. By forcing reduction of an already scarce water supply, Judge Wanger’s one-dimensional decision in the Delta and Judge Karlton’s Friant/NRDC decision on the San Joaquin River, have devastated the agriculture industry and created uncertainty. It’s a sad state of affairs when Judges have become the Rivermasters and self-appointed biologists in the San Joaquin Valley. When combined with soaring gas prices and labor shortages, these actions have left the California agriculture industry on the brink of financial collapse. We must confront these radical environmental decisions that threaten the way of life of many Valley residents. Had it not been for the Wagner decision and reduced Delta exports, our farmers would have been better equipped to handle this year’s drought and we would not likely have been in the dire situation that has brought us here. Instead of looking just at the pumps, Judge Wanger should be looking at predation, overfishing, toxic from the Delta and other things. It will never happen in the Pelosi Congress, but we should look at enacting legislation that keeps the pumps running at full capacity until there’s a consensus that the pumps have been the sole cause of fish predation.
Today we will hear about farmers who have been forced to abandon crops, workers who lost jobs, and the devastating impact this drought is having on the overall economy in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. California agriculture is a $32 billion dollar industry that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to the Nation and to the world. The pain of increased production costs and smaller crop yields is not only felt in California, but nationwide. Expedited water transfers and conservation have helped mitigate the water rationing that is already in place, but these are only short term solutions.
The purpose of this hearing is to explore what the federal government can do right now to alleviate the harmful effects of the drought. But, short-term solutions are band-aids on a gaping wound. If we really want to address the problem we must also examine long term solutions to California’s water supply and storage in an effort to prevent history from repeating itself and our current situation from becoming exacerbated. California has prospered because our forefathers had the vision to build the Central Valley and State Water Projects to capture water in wet years and use it for dry years. We need that same vision today by building more surface storage in strategic places.
Over the years as California’s population exploded, our water infrastructure has not kept up with the growth of the state—it has been over 30 years since the last state or federally-built storage project was constructed. Due to inadequate storage capability, California was not able to capture this year’s snow pack that quickly melted during unusually warm spring temperatures. If there’s an answer to global climate change, it’s the need for more storage yet all NRDC and others talk about is more efficiency and more water for fish. That’s putting our head in the sand. California needs additional above ground water storage now more than ever. A clear example of California’s insufficient above ground storage is evident in the contrast of storage availability on the Colorado River versus the Delta. The Colorado River has a flow of 15 million acre feet, with 60 million acre feet of storage available, that means four times the amount of water flowing can be stored. Conversely, the Delta has a flow of 28 million acre feet, but has only 11.3 acre feet of storage available, less than half the amount of water flowing can be stored. Imagine what California could do with storage capacity that could capture four times the amount of water flowing. Temperance Flat Reservoir is a solution that has been on the table for years and its potential storage capacity could have lessened some of the hardships that many are now facing. Let’s stop studying these things to exhaustion and start building.
Additionally, it is imperative that we have an alternative conveyance around the Delta. The West Side of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California depend on the water supply provided from the Delta. Without an alternative conveyance, another judicial decision with similar effects to the Wanger Delta Smelt decision could devastate California agriculture and the entire economy of the West Side of the San Joaquin Valley.
We cannot afford additional environmentally charged judicial decisions, propped up by a woefully misguided Endangered Species Act, that would further reduce water exports from the Delta, which is already operating at two-thirds capacity. In order to adequately provide water for the dry Central Valley summers, the pumps must operate at full capacity collecting and storing Delta water in the wet season. Without substantial reform, the Endangered Species Act will continue to be exploited by environmentalist judges and stand in the way of the necessary water supply and storage. In Georgia, a state also suffering from extreme drought and water loss due to the Endangered Species Act, the Congressional delegation has looked past their partisan differences to support legislation that helps alleviate the impacts of the drought by negating ESA during times of water crisis. Perhaps this is an example that we in California should follow. I am interested in further review of the legislation and how it may be used to provide relief to the San Joaquin Valley.
Perhaps this drought and the subsequent loss of crops, jobs, and economic revenue will finally get this State and this Congress motivated. Real people are being hurt. The time for action is now.
Chairwoman Napolitano, once again, thank you for holding this hearing, and I hope today we will take a hard look at what must be done now and in the long term to meet the needs of California water users in these troubling times.
