A New State of Water
Central Valley Project
The land frauds and the landgrabs compose the shabbiest chapter in our history. We have 75 years now of conservation as a (federal) government policy, of husbanding, developing, and using the publically owned natural resources for the public benefit. So we have grown used to believing that such corruption, such raids on the treasury, such blind imbecility were ended for all time.
But at this moment some powerful interests are preaching that what was intolerable corruption on a scale of half a million acres becomes wise public policy if you up the scale to half a billion acres. They are calling on Congress to legalize a final, conclusive raid on the publicly owned resources of the United States.
1953, Bernard DeVoto on the public lands
The Central Valley
450 miles long
40-70 miles wide
Little precipitation and bad timing
Extremely fertile
Water in wrong places
Serious floods
Saltwater intrusion
Government Intervention
State supervision of irrigation districts
Flood control
Valley wide plan
Decreasing ground water
Corps or Bureau?
Army Corps of Engineers
primarily flood control and navigation
levees and redirection
Bureau of Reclamation
primarily irrigation
dams and canal systems
Compete over budgets and political power
Irrigation Districts
Not particularly successful
Property –weighted voting
monopoly power
Water storage districts
Kern County
125,000/250,000 votes!
Local control failure to reach goals
Need Recognition
Dam on the Sacramento River
Aqueducts to both sides of Valley
Water to Bay Area
Improved navigation
Prevent saltwater intrusion
Water to LA area
Electricity production
Issues
Progressive movement losing influence
Private Power
SCE and PG&E
North worried about shipping water south
Existing water rights holders
Riparian supersedes appropriative
1928 vote “reasonable beneficial use.”
County of origin law
Political Evolution
Depression – repudiate Republicans
FDR= government intervention
Republicans had to switch ideas
The pendulum
Depression and Drought
Increased pressure to build something
JOBS
Need for Federal financing
Pubic or private power
“No public power, no federal help”
July 1933, bill passed the state
Revolt
Private power lobbying
LA against
North in favor
Valley in favor
Federal takeover by Bureau
The Task
*20 dams
*500 miles of canals
*9 MAF
*2.5 municipal consumers
*3 million acres
*Environmental benefits
*5.6 MkWH
*2 million customers
*$34 million revenues
Reclamation Law
160 acres
Excess sold within 10 years
Excess sold at prices reflecting prior to water
No interest on capital funding
Costs reduced by electricity revenues
6% of owners held 53% of land!
Acreage Limits?
Many large farms predated the CVP
“unearned increment” from CVP
Dinuba study
small farms = equality, higher living standards, schools and parks, and businesses
study buried
Technical Compliance
Post war philosophy
Increase Bureau’s budget
Post war technology (not in book)
160 acres per shareholder or family member or employee
Accelerated payoff
Ignore residency requirement
Ignore “unearned increment”
The Partnership Between Gov’t and Private Enterprise
Jefferson Vs Hamilton
Should the Gov’t aid, support, subsidize or ignore private business?
Large business or small business?
Labor relations?
GDP or singing and dancing?
Public or Private Power?
Recall: Hoover Dam: LADWP and SCE
Recall Hetch Hetchy: Municipal sold to PG&E
Farmers want what?
Power to be delivered in the North
Large farms in the south
Small farms in the North
What is the conflict?
Power’s Technical Compliance
Power to the Bureau
Used for Bureau pumps
Excess sold to PG&E
PG&E sells back to gov’t
PG&E sells to customers
Customers subsidize PG&E (monopoly) and agribusiness
The Punch Line
Electricity users (northern cities, SF, and small farms) were providing $300,000,000 in subsidies to the (large) Central Valley Farms!
Southern cities, LA, did not need the power