Oakdale chamber hears water concerns at luncheon

The Ag Scholarship Luncheon raised money Thursday for young people studying for farm-related careers. It also provided a lesson for grown-ups on the uncertain future of water supplies.

The Oakdale Chamber of Commerce drew about 240 people to the Gene Bianchi Community Center for the 42nd annual event.

As usual, it celebrated the dairy farms, cattle ranches, nut orchards, tomato canning and other enterprises that make the Oakdale area a major player in food production. But the now 4-year-old drought hung over everything, especially with news that the Oakdale Irrigation District, which had gotten by fairly well for three years, could have its first cap on farm deliveries this year.

A longer-term threat looms with a state proposal to greatly increase flows for fish on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers, guest speaker Valerie Kincaid said. She is a partner in a Sacramento law firm whose clients include OID, which draws from the Stanislaus.

“It’s a pretty drastic reduction, and the effects of that ripple down,” Kincaid said of the plan to require 30 percent of the natural flows from February to June each year. This would mean fallowed land; farmworker layoffs; increased groundwater pumping; and losses for suppliers of seed, tractors and other goods, she said.

Kincaid also warned that water diversions during the drought could damage fish protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. It does not allow weighing of the economic value of the water use, she said.

The attorney said details still are not clear on the state’s new groundwater law, which requires local entities to draft plans for making the resource sustainable over 20 years.

“Will they allow great fluctuations, big drawdowns in dry years, as long as there is recharge in wet years?” she said.

Kincaid urged support for increased water storage, more efficient use of current supplies and regional cooperation on water needs.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Oakdale chamber hears water concerns at luncheon."