Bee visiting editors give their takes on groundwater and Uber
It’s only logical to recharge aquifer
A normally placid Stanislaus County Water Advisory Committee meeting was energized this week by public comments from Al Rossini, local farmer and director of the Eastside Water District. Al had a “view to share” about getting cracking on groundwater recharge in our county to “build the aquifer back.” Al pointed out that “the only logical reserve” is groundwater and that it is “cheaper to build a recharge basin than a dam.”
Al is right.
For starters, the proposed Temperance Flat dam would cost $2.5 billion to yield 158,000 acre-feet per year, or $720 per acre-foot delivered. Even if built, we would still be in a serious water shortfall.
Groundwater recharge costs much less than a dam, as low as $120 per acre-foot. The cheapest recharge method is on-farm flood flow capture, which is good since we have a lot of farmland suitable for recharge. There is a lot of room under our feet for recharge. Due to groundwater overdraft, we have effectively “made” about 70 million acre-feet of recharge capacity in our Valley aquifers, equal to 15 Shasta Reservoirs, the largest in California.
The bogies are getting enough water and getting it to the recharge sites, which will require breakthrough levels of cooperation between irrigation districts and other local entities, as well as new regulations. Al suggested a new class of water be created to enable “environmental groundwater recharge.” I see one form of this water being available in large volume during high rainfall years. Up to 25 million acre-feet of water, which would otherwise flow to the sea, are available in wet years beyond what is needed for a healthy environment and Delta.
WAC Chairman Wayne Zipser summed it all up when he said that Al provided that “breath of fresh air when there is somebody building towards solutions.”
Smith, an Oakdale resident, leads grape-growing, winemaking and related research at E.&J. Gallo Winery.
Looking at Uber in the Central Valley
A few weeks back, our visiting editor program had the pleasure of sitting down with a few of Uber’s representatives to discuss how the company has performed in the Central Valley over the last year. It was with great surprise that I learned not only has Uber helped increase job opportunities for our local inhabitants, but making travel even easier for all of us living from Ripon to Turlock.
I was also glad to learn the safety measures the company has taken to ensure protection for both parties. The tremendously handy Uber app provides any rider with not only information on who their driver will be, complete with photo and vehicle information, but will also track your entire route including ETA that can be sent to friends and family to make sure you have arrived safely.
The same benefits for the riders can also be mirrored with the same benefits for the drivers. Neither the driver nor the rider will ever need to worry about carrying cash; the credit card already on file will automatically deduct payment so no currency need be exchanged. Both the driver and the rider can give feedback to rate the experience after every trip to make sure both the rider and the driver are using the service responsibly. You can also rest comfortably knowing each driver has had an extensive background check, screening and is automatically insured by Uber so you know as a consumer that your ride is as safe as possible.
Bringing Uber into the Central Valley has helped drunken driving incidences fall “60 per month among all drivers under 30, an estimated total of 1,800 crashes that have been prevented since July 2012,” the company said. Within the year the number of customers using Uber increased more than 700 percent while the number of drivers has increased more than 200 percent, which means almost 100 job opportunities have risen from this new business venture within just one year, something the Central Valley desperately needs.
Kinney is a Turlock resident who works for Struck Insurance Services in Modesto.
Become a Visiting Editor
Each quarter, The Bee invites a few members of the community to join our editorial board through the Visiting Editor program. The board meets once a week (Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m.), often engaging community leaders and activists on public issues ranging from agriculture to politics to recreation. Visiting editors serve three months and have an opportunity to write short editorials on local topics of their choosing. To apply, send an email and résumé to mdunbar@modbee.com, or call (209) 578-2325 for more information.
This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Bee visiting editors give their takes on groundwater and Uber."