Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Restoration of Essential Conveyance Act, which I introduced today. Representatives TJ Cox and Jim Costa, both Democrats of California, have introduced companion legislation in the House. This legislation would help California water users and California's nation-leading agricultural industry comply with a recent State requirement to end the overpumping of groundwater. The stakes are huge: Bringing groundwater into balance will reduce the water supply of the San Joaquin Valley by about 2 million acre-feet per year. Unless local water agencies and the State and Federal governments take action, a recent U.C. Berkeley study has projected severe impacts from these water supply losses: 798,000 acres of land would have to be retired from agricultural production, nearly one-sixth of the working farmland in an area that produces half the fruit and vegetables grown in the Nation; and $5.9 billion would be lost in annual farm income. How the bill would help: One of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to restore groundwater balance is to convey floodwaters to farmlands where they can recharge the aquifer. California has the most variable precipitation of any State. When we get massive storms from atmospheric rivers, there is plenty of runoff to recharge aquifers--but only if we can effectively convey the floodwaters throughout the San Joaquin Valley to recharge areas. Here is where the challenge arises.…”