flood plain reactivation can lead to more water being available to recharge ground water aquifers. He calls the voluntary agreements the mechanism to bring all these activities together and work toward solving California’s water problem. He believes the 15-year length of those agreements will allow his group and others to prove their theories and sign longer agreements. Back to flood plain reactivation, Guy calls it’s the “transformative piece” with no downside. Weighing in on the future of ag in California, he believes there is no alternative path. He said the three elements of life are land, water and sun of which California has an abundance. He takes it as gospel that others do an will embrace this reality and agriculture will continue to thrive. Thad Bettner, general manager, Glenn- Colusa Irrigation District Glenn-Colusa is the largest irrigation district in Sacramento Valley. Bettner declares he is optimistic about agriculture’s future in California but at the same time, he said he does not see expansion and even maintaining the status quo will be a challenge. But he thinks the future is brighter than it was 10 years ago. He said SGMA, which was passed in 2014, gives growers in his service area some level of knowledge that they did not have before. They can plan for the future, though he does expect some ag land throughout the state to be converted to other uses. But he argued that some of those uses will offer a return such as solar fields and even getting paid for converting land for environmental use. He also admitted that is optimism for the future of agriculture in his district is guided by the fact that more water falls in his district than in other regions of the state. Bettner does believe the flood plain reactivation could provide some relief to water providers as it could alleviate some pressure on restoration of habitats in other
areas. He also firmly supports the voluntary agreements path has a way to give some certainty for at least 15 years. He said the process allows all side to come together and prioritize needs in a give and take manner. “That is what we (water providers) do every day. We manage trade-offs.” He added that the process is at a significant cross-road. “This is a pretty significant point of time. We either go in this direction or we head down a regulatory path, which doesn’t help the environment. It is our opinion that it is now up to the state to start moving this. Governor Newsom needs to put someone in charge of it.” Bettner said his optimism for the future of California agriculture is also driven by the investment community. “People are investing lots of money,” he said. “They must believe there is a path forward.” He also advocated for more involvement by farmers. “Landowners have to be engaged,” he said, adding that he is buoyed by the new generation of college-educated farmers who do want to be more involved. Jeff Kightlinger, general manager, Metropolitan Water District Los Angeles-based MWD is the largest water provider in the state with most of its users being urban dwellers but it does service several ag community in the Southland. Kightlinger did acknowledge that the state and agriculture is facing many water challenges for a variety of reasons. He listed climate change as one of the biggest challenges. MWD gets its water from two sources: the Rockies through the Colorado River and the Sierras through the state and federal California water projects. The Rockies, he said, are definitely experiencing a cut back in precipitation, which means less water in the Colorado River. He said the change in the Sierras appears to be less snowpack and more rainfall. That reality, he
said has to be managed with more storage and better conveyance. He indicated these two issues can be solved but it’s going to take money. At the present time, he indicated urban dwellers are feeling an acute need and so they don’t appear to be willing to subsidize expensive infrastructure projects. Agriculture has the need but the cost could be prohibitive. He said the past three California governors have said they want to address California’s water situation but none have given that topic the priority status it needs to accomplish the task. Kightlinger and MWD have been materially involved in the voluntary agreements path and believes that direction is a necessity, largely to give stakeholders an additional 15 years to focus on the bigger picture, which is the infrastructure that is sorely needed. Like others, he believes the ball is in Governor Newsom’s court and will take his involvement to get over the hump and make the voluntary agreements a necessity. “The water community has put together a credible approach, but we have gone about as far as we can go.” He admits that signing on to the voluntary path is not without its risk to the governor as he will take flak from some in the environmental community, which is one of his natural constituencies. Speaking specifically of agriculture as a very knowledgeable observer of the state’s water situation, said the industry does have its challenges. Agriculture, he said, does have to deal with SGMA, which will reduce availability of ground water. He indicated agriculture is going to need new infrastructure to survive without severe acreage cutbacks. He did say the construction of Sites Reservoir as well as the expansion of several other reservoirs are viable projects that will help the water supply over time.
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MARCH | APRIL 2 021
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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