A reminder of living within our means

In a recent letter, Nadine Bailey of Family Water Alliance said I portrayed family farms as “evil corporations.” The headline of her letter was “Farmers trying to build sustainable future.”

This false characterization came about because of my efforts, along with dozens of citizens to inform people about the proposed Tuscan Water District (TWD). This is a district initiated by 71 landowners, several of whom are anything but family farms. They are large corporations that will control the majority vote in this proposed California Water District because it is a oneacre/one-vote governance system. TWD will directly affect nearly 6,500 people (domestic well users and farmers) and indirectly affect 140,000 Vina Subbasin residents.

How?

We all access the same Tuscan aquifer for our water. Sustainability doesn’t mean we “temporarily” import water from Paradise until we figure something else out. It means, literally, “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.”

CalMatters recently reported:

“This is different from the last drought. What’s changed is how fast things are happening,” said Sam Sandoval Solis, an associate professor at UC Davis and a cooperative extension specialist who advises farmers on efficient water management.

“The reality is we have reached a point we are using more water than is available in California,” he said. “This is nothing new. We’re living beyond our means. It breaks my heart.”

It breaks mine, too. I want our agriculture to thrive. It’s our heritage. But we must live within our means.

— Debra Lucero, Chico