The drought -- marked Wednesday with an official declaration by Gov. Schwarzenegger -- is expected to deliver a tremendous blow to the San Joaquin Valley's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry.
Shock waves also could spread throughout the local economy, experts say.
Food prices will climb. More farmland will be fallowed. Farm jobs will be trimmed.
Many growers on the Valley's west side will be shopping for extra water. Many will be pumping water from the ground and lowering the underground water table.
In the region's cities, residents will hear more pleas for conservation, but there probably will be no water rationing, say many water officials.
Here are answers to some questions about the drought's effect:
Farms
Question: Could this trigger higher costs for food?
Answer: Yes.
Farmers already face higher costs for fertilizer and fuel, and now some of them -- dairy operators, for example -- will see higher costs for feeds such as alfalfa, said Dan Sumner, an agricultural economics professor at University of California at Davis. Those increased costs likely will mean higher prices at the grocery store, he said. He didn't offer an estimate of how much the increase might be.
And the effects could be felt across the nation and even the world -- especially in wine and almonds, because of California's hefty market share.
Will jobs be lost?
Many farmers in the Westlands Water District believe water shortages will force them to abandon crops already planted.
"Any time crops are taken out of production, that means fewer jobs," said Dan Errotabere, who farms on Fresno County's west side.
Mark Borba, a Riverdale farmer, said workers who make $8 or $9 an hour are already distressed because of skyrocketing gas prices.
Do farmers have alternative water sources?
They can pump well water onto some crops, but that can take longer and it lowers the aquifer.
And well water from the Westland's district is not a solution for crops such as vegetables and almonds because it's high in boron, which can be damaging to crops, said Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District.
Farmers also may be able to purchase water through exchange systems with farmers in other districts. But that can be costly and -- because the drought is a statewide phenomenon -- sellers of water may be scarce.
The governor's declaration is aimed at speeding water exchanges in response to emergency shortages. It also directs the Department of Water Resources to work with local water districts and agencies to improve coordination, help those water districts and agencies improve efficiency and conservation, identify risks to the water supply and help farmers suffering losses.
Will farmers choose to plant other crops?
Most farmers settled on the season's crop mix earlier this year. However, those who planned to plant lettuce for a fall harvest are expected to cut back acreage.
Many growers -- anticipating a water shortage -- already switched from crops that take a lot of water, such as cotton, to those that take less, such as safflower.
The lack of water is one reason that cotton, once a crop that topped a million acres in California, has shrunk this year to its lowest level since 1935 -- a total of 280,000 acres of upland and pima varieties.
Will farmers install water-saving irrigation?
Many already have taken that step, installing miles of drip irrigation in recent years in the Westlands district alone.
It's likely that the trend toward putting water exactly where it's needed -- and only there -- will continue.
Are farmers on the east side of the central San Joaquin Valley as affected by the drought as those on the Valley's west side?
The growers on the east side are not as affected, because they generally do not rely on water that goes through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is facing restrictions to protect threatened fish.
On the east side, many farmers get their water from regional rivers, including the Chowchilla, Kaweah, Kern, San Joaquin, Merced, Fresno and Kings.
Cities
Will cities in the San Joaquin Valley run out of water this summer?
No. Most Valley cities pump water from underground to supply their residents. It is not likely city wells will run dry in places such as Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia or Madera this summer, most experts say.
Some cities, such as Orange Cove, get water from the federal Central Valley Project, which delivers river water. State health and safety codes prevent large cutbacks in these deliveries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Can I still water my lawn?
Yes. But many cities have landscape watering restrictions. Fresno, for instance, allows residential landscape watering three times a week.
People living at even-numbered addresses can water on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Residents with odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No one is allowed to water on Mondays.
Water inspectors sometimes cruise the city and write citations for violations of the restrictions.
How dry was it this spring in the Valley?
For March, April and May, three cities had their lowest rainfall total on record. They are Stockton, 0.08 of an inch; Modesto, 0.10 of an inch; and Bakersfield, 0.08 of an inch.
Fresno's three-month total was a scant 0.32 of an inch of rain, most of which fell in May. It raised the city's total high enough to avoid being the lowest on record for the three months.
Will it really help if I cut back my water use?
Yes. Officials from Valley cities say a reduction in water use will save money on the electricity bill for pumping water. It also saves money on water treatment.
Conservation also helps keep the underground water table from sinking. If there is another dry year, a slumping underground water table will drive electricity costs higher because the water must be pumped from lower depths.
No comments:
Post a Comment