Ken Westervelt: Big farming companies don’t care about our valley

Re “Don’t presume to tell farmers what to plant” (Opinions, March 29): The Los Angeles Times article by George Skelton and The Bee’s editorial both had good points concerning the drought. However the real issue here is what is being done to protect the limited underground water supply.

I am not referring to restricting wells or surface irrigation for home use or smaller farms that have been part of our valley. Some state agency knew that our valley was and is headed for the biggest drought in recorded history. And I am sure they also knew permits were being issued to the mega-corporations, most likely based outside of California, that were planting hundreds of thousands of acres of almonds. It is said that it takes one gallon of water to grow one almond.

These mega-corporations could care less what happens to the valley when the water runs out; they’ll just write it off on taxes. These companies or individuals are doing exactly what the banking industry did when they issued mortgage loans to people they knew couldn’t pay back the money – only this time it is the underground water supply. Call your local representative and express your concerns.

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Ken Westervelt: Big farming companies don’t care about our valley."