Modesto irrigation pricing is based on volume and delivery costs

The guest column “Facing drought, Modesto Irrigation board should increase farm water prices” was a hit piece on agriculture riddled with inaccuracies. We’d like to counter with facts.

In 2015, we made strides to revamp our water rates structure to be compliant with SBx7-7, which called for adoption of a pricing structure that is based at least in part on the quantity of water delivered. Rates development was open and transparent – beginning with public workshops and culminating with board adoption. These rates were designed to send the pricing signal that the Legislature requires while helping to balance fixed and variable costs with revenue.

Whether we deliver one drop of water or 100,000 drops of water, MID’s operational costs have minimal fluctuations. You don’t have to look too far to see an example of the impacts to revenue from a pricing structure that is based primarily on volumetric charges. MID’s rate structure considers both the volumetric pricing signals and operational costs of our organization.

Unlike water rates, we don’t have jurisdiction to dictate what crops our farmers grow or fields they fallow or how they run their businesses. To do so is akin to us showing up at your house and telling you what plants to plant and what color to paint your walls. We’re sure that our customers are thankful we won’t be doing this.

Also missing from the Tuolumne River Trust intern’s rhetoric is the fact that land fallowing and changes in irrigation methodology directly impact our continued efforts to manage groundwater sustainably within the Modesto Sub-basin – something we have been committed to for over 130 years. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; water management is no different. For now, the lower Tuolumne River is still hydrologically connected to the aquifer and we would prefer to keep it that way.

Over the years, we have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Tuolumne River Trust to support water education. Why have we done this? Because we, like those we serve, believe in doing our part to support a thriving agricultural, urban and environmental landscape and we believe in doing so through collaboration.

For us, it isn’t about pitting agriculture against the environment, it’s about striking a balance with a finite natural resource that allows us all to thrive. That’s what our customers expect.

This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 4:00 AM.