Water Rationing....
Interestingly enough, NPR reported this AM that the LA Metro Water District is going to impose penalties in the form of either increased costs or outright fines for exceeding their allocations on water districts they contract with in the SoCal area. This came about as water use over the entire SoCal area increased by 2% during the month of February.
That action is, IMO, the best way to enforce compliance with conservation goals. This should apply to agricultural activities as well. MWD's capability to do this is probably based on a shorter term contract than those negotiated thru federal/state agencies. The duration of contracts for delivery of water over prior decades has for periods of 25 - 30 years and are rarely, if ever, re-negotiated during that term. That fixed term contract for water also fixes the price per ACF of water for the same period. Toward the end of those contracts, the difference between actual market value and that unit price amounts to a very big subsidy and does nothing to encourage conservation or limit the number of acres planted. The worst part of this situation is it was reported that most, if not all, of these contracts ended and were re-negotiated last year. If the term recommended in the proposed BDCP (50 year duration) was used in the new contracts; locking in another subsidy for agriculture and encouraging increased use it's going to be more of the same.
Increasing the cost of water to market value will make agriculture choose their crops carefully with an eye to decreasing costs through all of the things I've said before to keep costs under control. Of course, the consequence of that would be an increase in the wholesale price of ag products in addition to the cost of water delivered for municipal use. All of this would add up to an increase of costs to the consumer. Are politicians and we (statewide) willing to accept that??? If past history is any indicator, I sincerely doubt it. A couple of good water years would most likely result in a return to "business as usual".
Among several things that are approaching crisis level need for repair/replacement are water infrastructure, including pipelines, sewage treatment, storage/distribution and new DeSal facilities statewide (with the exception of Humboldt, Del Norte Counties ) to name a few. All could be addressed by removing subsidies and selling water at market value.
"America is a country which produces citizens who will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won't cross the street to vote."
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