The California Farm Water Coalition: telling thirsty Californians why agriculture needs water
Date
1992-10
Authors
Hall, Stephen K., author
Vuicich, Shelley, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
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Abstract
The allocation of water for agricultural use in the western United States is currently being called into question. This scrutiny is most keen in California, a state with more than nine million acres of irrigated farmland. Rapidly growing urban demands and calls for environmental restoration are placing increasing pressure on existing water supplies, while the development of new supplies is both expensive and politically unpalatable. This convergence of new demands and stagnation in the development of new supplies is fueling an all out assault on farmers' water rights. For the first time in this century, farmers across the West are facing the question of whether their legal water rights are the secure property rights they once were considered to be. The California Farm Water Coalition was formed in 1989 to give agriculture a voice in the highly charged debate on water allocation now underway in California. Farmers and agricultural water district officials believe that agriculture's single largest enemy is public apathy and ignorance over the industry's use of water and the benefits that water use creates. The Farm Water Coalition strives to educate the public and policy makers about agricultural water use. The Coalition's mission is based on the belief that informed policy makers will make good decisions.
Description
Presented at Irrigation and water resources in the 1990's: proceedings from the 1992 national conference held on October 5-7, 1992 in Phoenix, Arizona.