In 1992, Congress passed the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which requires that 800,000 acre-feet of water be used to protect fish and habitat annually. That amount is almost as much as Westlands’ annual federal allocation.Farmers, some still old California families but increasingly large corporations, say such decisions, including many made at the state level, are killing the industry.
But it is agriculture here that floats the economy, and in Hanford today that is mostly nuts, dairy, cherries, peaches and apricots. What has helped Hanford, with a population of 56,000, weather the decline in agriculture is an abundance of nearby jobs in several prisons. Once a primary destination for Latino immigrants, the area now has the air of resigned frustration that in many nearby communities has replaced abiding hope.“The drought puts us on edge and we hope for rain,” said Jonathan Meza, a 30-year-old entrepreneur in Mendota, the self-proclaimed cantaloupe capital of the world. “And the rest of the world should be worried about what is happening here.”
“California is running on empty,” one sign at the crossroads in the center of Five Points reads. “Build Dams Now.”Another: “Newsom: Stop Wasting Our Dam Water.” Mark Borba lives along the flat stretch of road in the town of Riverdale, past the empty big-top circus tent and service station selling nearly $6-a-gallon gasoline.
But there will be no water deliveries this year anyway. So he will pump it from the ground, as will his neighbors.
Jesus offers eternal life gov limited
As some comedian put it (I don't remember who or I would credit the quote), 'California doesn't have a water problem, it has a salt problem'. With climate change and an ever-growing population, it's the only answer to provide a dependable water source.
overpopulation