Dark Predictions Made at Water Hearing

By Dennis Pollock, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Jul. 21–A congressional subcommittee meeting in Fresno today heard dire predictions of what another year of drought could bring, along with a continuing litany of what the crisis has already spawned — rising crime, joblessness as high as 50% in one city and record high school expulsions.

Tom Birmingham, Westlands Irrigation District general manager, said if the drought continues into 2009, the crisis is certain to spill into urban communities south of the Delta, and he said farmers who receive federal water are likely to get “zero to 10%” of their full allocation.

Birmingham said it’s estimated that this year’s drought alone will mean 23% of full-time farmworkers will be laid off as farmers abandon crops or have turned to lower-value, less-labor-intensive crops.

He told the House Subcommittee on Water and Power that Harris Farms, a major farming enterprise, has laid off a third of its full-time employees and anticipates laying off more workers this fall.

Not surprisingly, no immediate solutions to the water crisis were offered at the meeting, which drew about 250 people to Fresno City Council chambers. There was considerable talk about a need for new reservoir, an improved delivery system for water and a need to take another look at what is really threatening fish in the Delta.

Read The Fresno Bee tomorrow for more information.

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