Barbara Swier: Water policies and prices must change for everyone
Re “Farm water prices hiked 20% by board” (Page 1A, April 20): We received much needed rain, but no one is delusional enough to think that solves anything long-term. We seem to be between a rock and a hard place, both dry.
Regular residents should not be subsidizing (business welfare) water prices so that farmers don’t pay even close to a fair price per acre-foot of water. Paying an fair price is the price of doing business. A multitude of businesses in our valley pay their share. Most farmers would still make a profit, not as much as they’re use to, but still a profit. If you can’t pay your overhead, you’re in the wrong business.
Having these decisions made by the very people who benefit from this welfare is unethical. John Duarte is right; the water for farmers is too cheap. But as he admitted, charging farmers more would lead them to pump more groundwater. The decision to wait a decade to monitor groundwater is suicidal. We are the only state not monitoring. Every single well in the state should immediately have meters and should be monitored before the valley becomes uninhabitable. The interconnected water underneath you is not yours for the taking.
Barbara Swier, Hughson
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Barbara Swier: Water policies and prices must change for everyone."