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When the original canals were constructed more than 100 years ago, I am sure the system builders thought they had an everlasting abundance of water, enough for everyone and everything.
But inattention and mismanagement over the years is catching up with us. We need major repairs and improvements that should have been accrued for, but the politicians were too timid to ask for the money and farmers found it hard enough to make a profit.
The MID says its system wastes 20,000 to 40,000 acre-feet a year. I assume that is in spillage, leakage and evaporation. If we could save half that loss and sell it to San Francisco, we would generate between $7 million to $14 million per year without having to relinquish a drop of our own water while improving our system.
