Water, water, water…That seems to be all anyone is talking about these days, at least I know I have been. There have been several articles in the newspapers, online, and even in our own newsletter talking about the rain and snow, and how great it is that the average rain fall and snow fall levels are up from prior years, but it still isn’t resolving the problem. We still do not have enough water! Whether it’s for our farms or for our homes, there still isn’t enough. Legislation continues to come down the pipeline (no pun intended), but yet we still do not have an answer on how to remedy the water problems. We know we need storage, and better delivery systems, but until those things are put into place, we all have to do our part to conserve. Keep an eye out for the changes that will be coming up…
One of the things that came up this week was AB 1244. According to the Friday Review published by CFBF, AB 1244, a Farm Bureau sponsored measure to streamline permitting of small on-farm irrigation ponds, passed out of the Assembly 78-0 this week. This measure expands the State Water Resources Control Board’s ability to expedite permitting of small (20 acre feet or less) on-farm water storage by addressing significant financial and bureaucratic impediments to developing such projects.
The Department of Water Resources recently released a list of 21 critically over-drafted groundwater basins, and guess what? Both Madera and Chowchilla’s sub-basins were on that list. What does that mean you ask? It means that because of excessive groundwater pumping our sub-basins are significantly over-drafted…there’s no water! So I urge everyone to do your part to conserve, and recharge as much as possible. In the meantime, keep praying for the rain and snow, I will.
Moving on from water, we do have updated OSHA posters at the office…It’s that time of year again where everything needs to be updated. There will also be a Pesticide/Tractor/ATV Safety Training with a Fit test in March, so please call us if you need a set of posters or are interested in the safety training.
Looking forward to hearing from you! Happy February!
