Spending on Friantkern Canal not wasteful

I would like to clear up some misinformation shared recently in the Porterville Recorder’s Opinion Section. This opinion was regarding Republicans and most particularly Kevin Mccarthy. The article uses a press statement by Mccarthy’s office and some personal research regarding water charges paid by farmers for water supplied from the Friant-kern Canal (FKC). The author was lamenting waste by the Republicans and used the recent support of Mccarthy as an example of that waste.

To start, I am intimately familiar with FKC as I formerly worked as a Financial Policy Manager at Friant Water Authority, am currently the manager of the Lindmore Irrigation District, and I farm with Porterville ID water.

The opinion noted that farmers “...pay about $25 an acre foot” and that the canal fix will recover about 8,000 AF of water. Here is what I know: 1. Lindmore ID (probably the least expensive pipeline district) charges $65 AF for water and an assessment of nearly about $97 acre. Porterville ID charges about $25 AF for water, plus another $70 for banked water, and nearly $100 per acre assessment. 2. Mccarthy’s statement that the average recovery of water is “8,000 AF” is not correct. The recovered capacity will increase the capacity by about 1,600 CFS or roughly 3,200 AF in a day. Recent FKC capacity correction support comments and letters note that the lost capacity had cost districts in the FKC about 300,000 AF of water in the 2019 water year alone.

While I agree with the author that government is often wasteful, the Central Valley Project (which includes, Shasta Dam, Folsom Dam, Tehama-colusa Canal, Jones Pumping Plant, Delta-mendota Canal, Millerton Dam, Friant-kern Canal, half the California Aqueduct and others facilities) is a shining light of American ingenuity and forward thinking. This project added water to perfect growing conditions wherein farmers now provide the nation a substantial food supply. Imagine being dependent on another country for our food. The loss of FKC capacity needs to be corrected as does the misinformation provided.

Michael Hagman Lindsay