California Farmers vs. Fish

Drought is not the only factor limiting water availability to farmers in California’s Central Valley. In 2008, California determined to flush more cold river water through the Delta to protect the threatened delta smelt. The fish’s health is an indicator of the overall health of the river.

California is running low on its long-term water supplies. While it is the current leader in high value fruit, vegetable and nut production, a prolonged shortage will open up opportunities for other jurisdictions. Last year, during the second year of the drought, more than 100,000 acres of the 4.7 million in the valley were left unplanted, and experts predict that number could soar to nearly 850,000 acres this year.
All of which could mean shorter supplies and higher prices in produce aisles — California is the nation’s biggest producer of tomatoes, almonds, avocados, grapes, artichokes, onions, lettuce, olives and dozens of other crops — and increased desperation for people like Agustin Martinez, a 20-year veteran of the fields who generally makes $8 an hour picking fruit and pruning.

These extremely difficult decisions are likely to become increasingly common as rainfall patterns shift and glaciers melt as a result of global warming. Most climate models predict that rainfall will become increasingly erratic, with rain coming in big storms separated by longer dry stretches.


The state has put the 2008 drought losses at more than $300 million, and economists predict that this year’s losses could swell past $2 billion, with as many as 80,000 jobs lost.

The effort to save fish habitat has effectively put a stop to any additional water
storage projects that would alleviate the pressure on farmers.


In Mendota, the self-described cantaloupe center of the world, a walk through town reveals young men in cowboy hats loitering, awaiting the vans that take workers to the fields. None arrive.