Maintaining our groundwater sustainability

There is a private entity who wishes to form the Tuscan Water District (TWD). They are a group of about 75 farms, membership by invitation only, of which the largest four will hold the majority voting power. This is due to their very undemocratic voting structure of 1 acre/1 vote, certain to insure a favorable outcome for the largest landowners. One of the four largest land owners is Deseret Farm, a multi-national and multi-corporate company. It is owned by Farmland Reserve, a Salt Lake City based branch of the Mormon church. It is not the only farm that is outside of Butte County and corporate owned. I’m afraid that the intentions of the TWD and corporate stakeholders will fuel the California driven water market and lead to large scale “water banking” a system whereby farmers can legally sell our water for profit.

We are in a drought state of emergency. Our water is our life source. The shallow aquifers are what our domestic wells and urban forest thrive on. We need to achieve and maintain groundwater sustainability in Butte County and beyond.

If allowed to be formed the TWD would be the 10th largest water district in the state. This is an attempt to privatize a public resource and steal our water.

— Paula Busch, Chico