Statement of Mr. George Delgado
Before the House Natural Resources Committee Field Hearing
"California Water Crisis and Its Impacts: The Need for Immediate and Long-Term Solutions"
March 19, 2014
Before the House Natural Resources Committee Field Hearing
"California Water Crisis and Its Impacts: The Need for Immediate and Long-Term Solutions"
March 19, 2014
Chairman Hastings and members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to come here to testify before you today on one of the most important issues facing my community.
My name is George Delgado. I am a farmer on the Westside of the Central Valley in Firebaugh, a small community in western Fresno County where I have lived my entire life.
My experiences in agriculture on the Westside began long before I started farming. As a young man, I learned how to work in the fields, whether it was chopping weeds, or picking cotton or tomatoes by hand. My father told me if I didn't want to work in the fields the rest of my life, I should get an education. So I did. I attended Fresno State, and earned a degree in Agricultural Science. I continued to work weekends and summers for Westside farmers who gave me an opportunity to work so that I could pay for my college education.
In 1978, I leased some land near Firebaugh and began farming on my own. A few years later, I leased an additional 300 acres on the historic Sam Hamburg Ranch, where I continue to farm to this day. Presently, I own and farm several hundred acres of almonds, cherries, and cantaloupes in San Luis Water District, Pacheco Water District, and Westlands Water District. Each of these districts receives water from the Central Valley Project, and have been greatly affected by the drought and environmental restrictions.
The heart of the Central Valley Project is the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Water naturally flows to the Delta from reservoirs in Northern California, where it is pumped into both the Central Valley and State Water Project man-made canals and aqueducts. Unfortunately, water conveyance through the Delta has presented significant challenges to the state's water systems.
Besides water quality in the Delta, environmental laws and continuous litigation brought largely by environmental special interest groups have constrained California's water system. The federal Endangered Species Act as been the major environmental driver in water supply litigation. Efforts to protect species such as the Delta Smelt, has created a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our annual water supply. Over the last decade, millions of acre-feet of water have been diverted away from human use to "save" these species.
Environmentalists have repeatedly blamed operation of the Delta pumps for causing the Smelt population decline, yet they have ignored other proven factors, including predation by non-native fish such as the Striped Bass, and discharges of toxic sewage into the Delta from cities. Pumping has been stopped, even in wet years, to protect fish, yet the Delta ecosystem continues to be in decline. Water that could have been stored for use in dry years, such as this year, has been forever lost.
Unfortunately, protection of the Delta Smelt is not the only reason water has been taken from Central Valley Project water users. When I began farming, Westside farmers could expect to receive 100% of their contracted water supplies each year, except in years of the most extreme drought conditions. However, since the passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, over a million acre-feet of water each year has been taken from irrigated agriculture, and dedicated to fish and wildlife uses. As a result, in an average water year, most farmers on the Westside receive less than half of their allocation.
The CVPIA has had devastating effects on our communities, especially in years of below average rainfall – hundreds of thousands of acres have been fallowed, and unemployment and crime rates have dramatically increased. Here in the San Joaquin Valley, water equals jobs … not just farm jobs, but off-farm jobs. It is sad to see, here in the nation's food basket, so many people forced into food lines to receive food that is likely grown in China, or other parts of the world.
As farmers, a naturally occurring drought is an acceptable risk of our chosen profession. But a drought caused by restrictive legislation is very difficult to understand. The CVPIA was enacted while California was experiencing the effects of a long-term drought, and it was intended to encourage water conservation, increase the use of water transfers, and provide additional water for fish and wildlife. However, it has amounted to little more than "legally stealing" water from farmers to dilute discharges of sewage, metals, and chemicals dumped into our rivers, the Delta, and the San Francisco Bay. On the Westside, we have invested millions of dollars and countless hours installing state-of-the-art irrigation systems to improve water quality and conserve our diminishing supply of water. Yet it is agricultural water users who are blamed for the continual decline of the Delta and our waterways, not the polluters who refuse to live by the laws they impose on us.
Much can be done to improve our situation here in the Central Valley. The Endangered Species Act must be reformed to strike a reasonable balance between people and fish. The CVPIA must be amended to encourage greater cooperation and balance between the needs of our cities, farmers, and the environment.
I thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you today. Only a united Congress and President can make the necessary changes and enact legislation to give us both short and long term solutions to our water issues. Please take what you learn here today back to Washington and, working together, use it to help provide the relief the Valley needs.
My name is George Delgado. I am a farmer on the Westside of the Central Valley in Firebaugh, a small community in western Fresno County where I have lived my entire life.
My experiences in agriculture on the Westside began long before I started farming. As a young man, I learned how to work in the fields, whether it was chopping weeds, or picking cotton or tomatoes by hand. My father told me if I didn't want to work in the fields the rest of my life, I should get an education. So I did. I attended Fresno State, and earned a degree in Agricultural Science. I continued to work weekends and summers for Westside farmers who gave me an opportunity to work so that I could pay for my college education.
In 1978, I leased some land near Firebaugh and began farming on my own. A few years later, I leased an additional 300 acres on the historic Sam Hamburg Ranch, where I continue to farm to this day. Presently, I own and farm several hundred acres of almonds, cherries, and cantaloupes in San Luis Water District, Pacheco Water District, and Westlands Water District. Each of these districts receives water from the Central Valley Project, and have been greatly affected by the drought and environmental restrictions.
The heart of the Central Valley Project is the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Water naturally flows to the Delta from reservoirs in Northern California, where it is pumped into both the Central Valley and State Water Project man-made canals and aqueducts. Unfortunately, water conveyance through the Delta has presented significant challenges to the state's water systems.
Besides water quality in the Delta, environmental laws and continuous litigation brought largely by environmental special interest groups have constrained California's water system. The federal Endangered Species Act as been the major environmental driver in water supply litigation. Efforts to protect species such as the Delta Smelt, has created a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our annual water supply. Over the last decade, millions of acre-feet of water have been diverted away from human use to "save" these species.
Environmentalists have repeatedly blamed operation of the Delta pumps for causing the Smelt population decline, yet they have ignored other proven factors, including predation by non-native fish such as the Striped Bass, and discharges of toxic sewage into the Delta from cities. Pumping has been stopped, even in wet years, to protect fish, yet the Delta ecosystem continues to be in decline. Water that could have been stored for use in dry years, such as this year, has been forever lost.
Unfortunately, protection of the Delta Smelt is not the only reason water has been taken from Central Valley Project water users. When I began farming, Westside farmers could expect to receive 100% of their contracted water supplies each year, except in years of the most extreme drought conditions. However, since the passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, over a million acre-feet of water each year has been taken from irrigated agriculture, and dedicated to fish and wildlife uses. As a result, in an average water year, most farmers on the Westside receive less than half of their allocation.
The CVPIA has had devastating effects on our communities, especially in years of below average rainfall – hundreds of thousands of acres have been fallowed, and unemployment and crime rates have dramatically increased. Here in the San Joaquin Valley, water equals jobs … not just farm jobs, but off-farm jobs. It is sad to see, here in the nation's food basket, so many people forced into food lines to receive food that is likely grown in China, or other parts of the world.
As farmers, a naturally occurring drought is an acceptable risk of our chosen profession. But a drought caused by restrictive legislation is very difficult to understand. The CVPIA was enacted while California was experiencing the effects of a long-term drought, and it was intended to encourage water conservation, increase the use of water transfers, and provide additional water for fish and wildlife. However, it has amounted to little more than "legally stealing" water from farmers to dilute discharges of sewage, metals, and chemicals dumped into our rivers, the Delta, and the San Francisco Bay. On the Westside, we have invested millions of dollars and countless hours installing state-of-the-art irrigation systems to improve water quality and conserve our diminishing supply of water. Yet it is agricultural water users who are blamed for the continual decline of the Delta and our waterways, not the polluters who refuse to live by the laws they impose on us.
Much can be done to improve our situation here in the Central Valley. The Endangered Species Act must be reformed to strike a reasonable balance between people and fish. The CVPIA must be amended to encourage greater cooperation and balance between the needs of our cities, farmers, and the environment.
I thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you today. Only a united Congress and President can make the necessary changes and enact legislation to give us both short and long term solutions to our water issues. Please take what you learn here today back to Washington and, working together, use it to help provide the relief the Valley needs.
