Some farmers in California pay for groundwater. Is that workable?
It’s Monday. Behind a program that charges farmers in the Pajaro Valley for groundwater. In addition, California and other states dependent on the dwindling Colorado River are rushing to agree on cuts to consumption.
California’s central coast is an expensive place to grow food.
The Pajaro Valley, which stretches 10 miles along the coast of Monterey Bay, charges farmers for irrigation water from wells, a system very different from elsewhere in the country, where growers typically water their crops by freely absorbing groundwater. pumping.
In Pajaro, farmers must pay for the precious resource through a system that creates an incentive to save water, and also generates revenue that goes towards recycling water for use on crops. The system has reduced groundwater use in the valley by 20 percent and could serve as a model for water conservation in the United States, my colleague Coral Davenport recently reported.
I spoke with Coral about her reporting, and why a system created in the Pajaro Valley in the early 1990s is worth paying attention to in 2024. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited.
Why are people looking at the Pajaro Valley now?
The day of reckoning for America’s groundwater is fast approaching. In many parts of the country where agriculture depends on groundwater for irrigation, groundwater will quickly deplete and there are no good policies in place to conserve it. In the Pajaro Valley, that day was forty years ago, when groundwater levels fell so low that the famous strawberry crop was destroyed by saltwater intrusion. But farmers there rallied together and came up with a solution that isn’t perfect and cost a lot of money and legal battles, but in the long run saved the aquifer and the region’s agricultural economy. So many experts and executives say it could provide a roadmap to avert coming crises elsewhere.
Why hasn’t this model spread more?
Politics. The Pajaro Valley Water Management Authorities don’t call their water pricing program a tax, but it essentially functions that way. The policy of forcing American farmers to pay taxes on groundwater – a resource that has essentially been free forever – is incredibly difficult. One thing I’ve learned from telling this story is that many farmers don’t even want the government to put groundwater meters on their land just to measure the amount they use. Overcoming these entrenched political views is a huge challenge.
What impact could charging for water in more places have on farmers and consumers?
Experts said pricing groundwater for agriculture across the country could profoundly change American agriculture. In some places, adding a surcharge for water would increase the cost of crops and therefore the food or textiles produced by the crops – or it could encourage farmers to change what they grow. In other cases, where water tables are low and yields for certain crops are not high, this could simply put an end to farming of important staple crops in many parts of the country – such as cotton in Texas, a staple crop that depends on the dwindling waters of the Ogallala Aquifer for irrigation.
Has this story changed the way you think about water and agriculture in any way?
I was very impressed with how well this solution actually worked in the Pajaro Valley. I think a lot of it is specific to the conditions on the ground, the people, and the economy, but it gave me hope that there is a clear, demonstrable solution to this coming crisis, if people are willing to face it head-on.
Tell us
What are you looking forward to in 2024? Celebrating milestone birthdays, traveling to new places, taking up a new hobby?
Tell us your expectations for the new year at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your full name and the city where you live.
And before you go: good news
A Santa Clarita artist has turned to painting as a form of self-expression – and therapy – as her vision deteriorates. KABC reports.
The artist, Therese Verner, is legally blind, but has partial vision in one eye, which she uses as a guide when she paints. Although her career in the arts has been diverse, Verner now works primarily in oil paint and mixed media. Her work, which is prolific, often depicts desert landscapes and lush flower fields, images inspired by her love of nature.
Over the years, as Verner’s vision deteriorated, painting has become a mainstay for her. Her passion has also attracted the attention of local galleries and museums in California, including the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art and the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, a theater in Southern California, which hosted a solo exhibition for Verner featuring 60 works of art. in 2019.
“It’s not just a great way to express myself,” Verner recently told ABC. “It’s also therapy.”
Thank you for reading. I’ll come back tomorrow. — Soumya
A correction was made on January 5, 2024: Friday newsletter misidentified Lloyd Masson’s role. He’s a prosecutor in San Bernardino County who specializes in cold cases, not a prosecutor in George Gascón’s office.