Relief from water wars in sight at long last for Modesto and Turlock growers

Say you are a business owner being sued in court. You firmly believe you are in the right, but the other side thinks they have a solid legal argument, too.

The case drags on for years. Finally, you agree to give up something in a settlement.

It’s not your ideal outcome, of course — if the case had proceeded to trial, you might have won everything — exactly what you deserve. But you also could have lost far more at trial than you’re giving up in the deal.

So in the end, you’re mostly happy.

That’s kind of how it is with our local irrigation districts and the voluntary agreements they’re finally drafting (again) with state water officials.

When the final product comes forth, perhaps in a few months, it definitely will mean that our farmers will give up some of the Tuolumne River water their crops depend on. The same is expected for the Stanislaus and Merced rivers.

Also, Modesto will give up some of the same river water that it treats and sends to customers in Modesto, Salida and Empire. Less will be available for a future similar treatment plant providing tap water to Turlock and Ceres, and San Francisco will lose some of its water source as well.

So why was there a sense of achievement Tuesday in board rooms of the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts? And why are farmers finally breathing a sigh of relief?

Because the threat of losing even more is almost gone.

Because the peace of mind that comes with knowing what you can count on is worth giving up a little of what you used to have.

With a secure resource — even if it’s a little less — growers can plan better and manage better. Getting rid of the insecurity is getting out from under the sword of Damocles, or no longer being forced to look over your shoulder. Everyone sleeps better at night.

Voluntary agreements represent a return to collaboration with state officials rather than fighting them.

It’s true that our friends with the environmental lobby, preferring higher river flows to help fish, feel left out of recent developments. They had hoped the appointed State Water Boards would continue to carry their water, so to speak, by wielding a regulatory sledgehammer — telling our farmers and cities how much water they would lose, rather than working with them on a solid, science-based resolution.

The Modesto Bee consistently has preferred a voluntary approach to a regulatory one, even chiding Governor Gavin Newsom to use his considerable influence to get a deal done rather than let all sides languish in uncertainty. “Do your job, Gov. Newsom — end water wars for state and Stanislaus fish and farmers,” read a headline to a May 2021 editorial.

If voluntary agreements had been signed, sealed and delivered four years ago, fish habitation restoration — among many negotiated points — would be four years further along by now.

The governor has shown a curious willingness to court conservatives of late — pushing to extend nuclear power rather than shutting down the Diablo Canyon plant, refusing to bow to all demands of marching farmworkers, and siding with billionaires and big business in the fight over a Proposition 30 wealth tax. Whether Newsom is positioning for a presidential run remains to be seen.

At the moment, it’s enough to know that an end to our water uncertainty is in sight, assuming the process doesn’t stall again.

We always were in the right. But it’s better to lose a little than to risk losing much, much more.

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 4:00 AM.