Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Water, Water Everywhere, But . . .

News Flash: Billions of gallons of water have been found in an aquifer under the Mojave Desert. The water eventually flows to low lying areas called “dry lakes” where it either dries up or becomes too salty for consumption. Cadiz Inc., an agricultural company that owns lots of land in that area, wants to pump out about 325,000 gallons each year from this vast aquifer to supply parts of Southern California that do not receive an adequate amount of rainfall. Hallelujah! This seems like a common-sense partial solution to the water problem that exists in California – pump a limited amount of water out of this aquifer each year and use it for human consumption. Wow, what a stroke of good luck . . . finding this aquifer under an area that is basically of no use to anybody!

Second News Flash: Whoa! Not so fast! Supposedly, in this past December new information showed that this project would potentially dry up a nearby spring that provides water for bighorn sheep. Water for bighorn sheep . . . OMG! But wait, who in their right mind would put a potential problem for bighorn sheep over a definite big plus for either the people of California or even for agriculture in the Central Valley?

Those of us who live in this in this “up is down, and down is up” place known as California can probably make an educated guess. Of course, the answer is that the liberal Democratic State Legislature could potentially put animals over people, and, in fact, that is just what they have done . . . again! On 7/11/19 these lawmakers in Sacramento added another step by passing a bill that would require the State Land Commission to review the project before it can go forward. This despite the fact that this project has passed all required environmental reviews since 2002, and has been upheld at least 12 times by the courts! Cadiz Inc. says that reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act have shown that the bighorn sheep claim is “geologically, hydrologically, and legally impossible,” and that this latest kerfuffle is just politics. Imagine that! Someone actually thinking that the Legislature In California would pass bills purely because of politics! Surely the governor will demonstrate some common sense and veto something that is against the best interests of Californians. Err . . . don’t bet the farm on Governor Newsom will doing anything based on common-sense.

And so it goes: “Water, water everywhere, but in California, nary a drop to drink!”

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