Water to be hot topic at Knights Ferry meeting

Water and the drought are the hottest topics in California. So it’s likely the conversation could get a little heated tonight at the Knights Ferry Community Center.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Bill O’Brien, Oakdale Irrigation District General Manager Steve Knell, county groundwater manager Walt Ward and at least one representative of the county’s most visible hedge-fund farming operation have agreed to talk about water at 7 p.m.

It could get loud. But we hope everyone realizes the people at the front of the room don’t have to be there. If they leave, those remaining will just be yelling at themselves.

That said, officials from OID, Trinitas Partners and county officials must know they’re going to get an earful – and on some issues they should.

Eastern Stanislaus County is ground zero for the almond explosion. Bay Area hedge fund Trinitas led the way by planting 7,200 acres on the foothills around the former Gold Rush town. Other operations – large and small – are doing the same, and now the once-brown hills are covered with hundreds of thousands of trees. Virtually all are nourished from large pumps, sucking up groundwater from aquifers often shared with neighbors.

Some of those neighbors have lost wells; some have had to drill deeper or lower their pumps to keep household water flowing. Others worry they’re next.

All that said, Stanislaus County is farming country. At $3.6 billion last year, ag creates roughly a fifth of the county’s economy.

While only a few people are anti-farming, most aren’t particularly fond of people viewed as opportunists. As Trinitas bought up parcels in the area, it also got permits to drill well after well – more than 30 from 2010 to 2013. That has allowed the company to cash in on escalating almond prices – striking many as, well, opportunistic. It strikes many others as simply good business.

If Trinitas is to be labeled an opportunist, so must many others – including families that have been farming in the region for generations.

The problem, as always, is water. In the worst drought in memory, there’s not enough to go around. More people are forced to pump to keep crops and cattle alive. As they pump, water tables fall.

Among the most active pumpers is OID. The district has augmented surface supplies to growers even while selling some of its Stanislaus River water to other districts and expanding the district to include Trinitas. Meanwhile, OID’s farmers are getting more water than virtually any others in the San Joaquin Valley, 40 inches per acre. By comparison, Modesto and Turlock irrigation district farmers get less than half that; in Merced, farmers are getting nothing.

In the midst of all this, the state issued curtailment orders to “senior rights” holders – including OID and its partner on the Stanislaus, South San Joaquin Irrigation District. Those orders essentially altered rights to additional water captured this year. That sparked lawsuits, and Wednesday the state apparently recharacterized its orders as a “clarification.”

That sounds like good news, and we hope to hear more about it.

Clearly, there’s a lot to talk about tonight. That’s why The Bee and the city of Modesto intend to continue the conversation by hosting a Community Conversation on water on July 15 at the Gallo Center. Seating is limited, so if you’d like attend, go to http://bit.ly/1CtYCa0 to reserve a seat, or call (209) 578-2148.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Water to be hot topic at Knights Ferry meeting."