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It doesn't happen in a vaccuum. There is game theory at work here. Farmers and ranchers don't just use muni water sources. Yes, water is common when you look a
by thephyber 11y ago
It doesn't happen in a vaccuum. There is game theory at work here.
Farmers and ranchers don't just use muni water sources. Yes, water is common when you look at the water table, but muni water districts tend to use reservoirs and farmers must use water rights (which are built into the California Constitution, BTW).
Nut farmers may be in a position to use more water (I doubt all of them are), but that doesn't mean that all California farmers are able to do the same. California rice farmers, for example, (farming rice in an arid near-desert should almost be a crime) have been netting more money by leasing their water rights than working their crops for years now.[1]
[1] http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26181042/high-bidding-farmers-battle-water-auctions http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26181042/high-bidding-...
- thrownaway2424 11y agoI don't think it's very fair to call Glenn County a "near-desert". It drains a huge mountain watershed via the Sacramento River and in many places in that county the main hazard to agriculture is the high water table. The depth to water table in the flat part of the county is only 10-20 feet.
- thephyber 11y agoWhen I say "desert", I am talking about the technical definition, which is based off of the amount of precipitation.
- thrownaway2424 11y agoOK, does your private definition of "desert" include a county that averages 20" of rainfall per year and is regularly flooded? Growing rice in arid flood plains has been practiced for a very long time. If you think that Glenn, Butte, and Tehama counties are deserts I strongly urge you to visit them, especially in the early spring. There's just water everywhere.