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View
video: Closed-captioned video of the Feb, 4, 2009, water
forum (not including the Q-A session) is available at:
www.csufresno.edu/polysci/about/news.shtml.
A public debate on water
policy in California and the Central Valley will be moderated by U.S
District Judge Oliver Wanger at 7 p.m. Feb. 4, at California State
University, Fresno. Agricultural and environmental advocates will face
off on the issues.
The debate, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the
Satellite Student Union (2485 E. San Ramon Ave. at Maple Avenue). It is
sponsored by Fresno State’s Political Science Student Association and
the Political Science Department.
As the presiding judge for the Eastern District of California, Wanger
has ruled over most of the major water cases recently in the Valley,
including the controversy over preserving Delta smelt in the Sacramento
Delta. Wanger will provide brief opening remarks, said Dr. Thomas
Holyoke, a political science professor who is coordinating the event.
Holyoke said the debate will focus on Valley East Side, West Side and
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta issues.
“The single most important public policy problem confronting
California’s Central Valley today is the availability of water,” Holyoke
said. “The declining snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, the falling
groundwater table and decisions to restore Chinook salmon in the San
Joaquin River and smelt in the Delta will most likely mean considerably
less water in the future for Valley agriculture.”
He said the issue also is forcing state and local policymakers to
develop a broad new policy to strike a balance between supporting the
agriculture economy and ensuring the quality of water and the
environment that depends on it.
The forum will also provide an opportunity for the public to express its
concerns, Holyoke said.
Valley agricultural community participants are:
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Thomas Birmingham,
general manager and general counsel of the Westlands Water District,
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Kole Upton, former
chairman of Friant Water Users Authority
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Jim Beck, general manager
of Kern County Water Agency
Representing environmental
concerns are:
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Lloyd Carter, board
member of the California Water Impact Network and Revive the San
Joaquin and president of California Save Our Streams Council
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Michael Jackson, board
member of California Water Impact Network and former counsel to
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Regional Council of
Rural Counties
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Bill Jennings, chairman
of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
Free parking will be
available in Lot P at Barstow and Maple avenues and in Lot J off of
Woodrow Avenue.
For more information, contact Holyoke at 559.278.7580 or by e-mail at
tholyoke@csufresno.edu.
DEBATE ISSUES
Valley East Side -- Who is likely to win and lose in
Congressional efforts to restore the San Joaquin River? The return of
salmon, groundwater recharge, potential loss of water for agricultural
irrigation, new recreational opportunities, new freshwater for the
Delta, groundwater banks, county of origin and watershed of origin
statutes, irrigation districts selling water to Valley cities, and the
possibility of a new dam at Temperance Flat.
Valley West Side -- Potential damage to agriculture, loss of
jobs, dwindling water supplies, Westlands Water District's claim to San
Joaquin River water through a county of origin statute, drainage and
selenium problems, and a proposed settlement through federal
legislation.
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta -- Collapse of the smelt
population, fragile levees, Northern California users’ concerns,
potential impact on Native American tribes and re-emergence of the
peripheral canal proposal to route water form the Delta to the Valley
and Southern California.
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