How California agriculture is the problem and solution to its Colorado River water crisis

On Point | Podcast

WBUR

Talk Show, Daily News, News, Npr, On Point, Daily

4.2 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

80% of California's water from the Colorado River is used for agriculture. As the river dries up, the first cuts tend to land on farmers. But is targeting the country’s food supply the best way out of this water crisis? Tina Shields and Richard Howitt join Meghna Chakrabarti.

Transcript

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0:32.0	The Western Megadroute has plunged Colorado River water down to crisis levels of four years.
0:43.0	That forced the federal government last summer to put pressure on the seven Colorado River basin states
0:50.0	to find ways to collectively cut their water use by 15 to 30%.
0:56.0	It wasn't easy. The states couldn't agree and blew past their deadline with California holding out to preserve its historic water rights.
1:05.0	Well, just a couple of weeks ago, the states found a breakthrough.
1:09.0	Arizona, California and Nevada proposed cutting their Colorado River water use by about 13%.
1:17.0	In exchange, farmers and other water users expect to receive about $1.2 billion in compensation from the federal government.
1:28.0	Felicia Marcas, visiting fellow at Stanford University's Water and the West program,
1:33.0	told television station KTVU that the agreed cuts will be in place until 2026.
1:40.0	It is clearly an incredibly important stopgap as we're dealing with a near-arm again state of affairs,
1:47.0	but it is just a stopgap for the next few years in order to buy us the time for there to be a more thoughtful reassessment of the whole way we've managed the river.
1:57.0	This is on point. I'm Megna Chocrabardi.
2:01.0	In California, 80% of that state's Colorado River water goes to agriculture in the Imperial Valley, in the very southernmost part of the state.
2:12.0	That's where Mark McBrume farms the land.
2:15.0	I'm concerned in my situation on our farms and most farmers in this way do not have enough water now to fully farm what they have.
2:25.0	McBrume has been in agriculture for about 40 years. He grows alfalfa, wheat, citrus fruits and more on his 6000 acres.
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