A recent UC Davis study
projected the costs of the California water crisis this year. The researchers
found:
·
The net water shortage will be 2.5 million
acre-feet in 2015.
·
In response, farmers will fallow 542,000 acres
of land.
·
The crisis will cost the California economy
$2.74 billion this year, with the loss of 21,000 jobs.
The study finds
that California agriculture is faring better than many predicted. Some areas are suffering much more than others,
however. As the researchers previously noted,
“The impacts are concentrated mostly
in the San Joaquin Valley.”
For decades, elites in the Bay Area, which is a primary support base for many radical environmental groups, have successfully fought to divert huge amounts of Delta water from Central Valley families and communities to environmental causes. Meanwhile, the Bay Area’s own water supply is not subject to these diversions. San Francisco and other coastal communities enjoy an uninterrupted water supply piped in across the state from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park. As Valley farmers fallow their dried up land, take a look at Hetch Hetchy – these photos were sent to my office by a Valley farmer who visited Yosemite last month:
It’s quite amazing how much water the Bay Area has kept for itself by exempting Hetch Hetchy from the punishing water regulations it has foisted on the Central Valley.
Let’s see if we can draw the Bay Area’s attention. If you
have pictures of Hetch Hetchy brimming with
water, please post them on your social media accounts with the hashtag
#HetchHetchyHypocrites.
