Friant Participates In News Conference On Dry Year Worries

Speaking At Fresno State Water Forum
California water policy is discussed by a Summit on Water panel involving two Friant Water Authority leaders December 12 at Fresno State University. From left are Ara Azhderian, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority; Mario Santoyo, FWA Assistant General Manager; Mike Wade, California Farm Water Coalition Executive Director; Ronald D. Jacobsma, FWA General Manager; Assemblyman Adam Gray; Senator Anthony Canella; and moderator David Zoldoske of Fresno State. The event was hosted by the Independent Voter Project.

Two Friant Division water leaders took part in a December 17 news conference in Bakersfield during which Representative David G. Valadao (R-CALIFORNIA) and State Senator Jean Fuller (R-BAKERSFIELD) reiterated their request that President Barack Obama and Governor Jerry Brown take immediate action to address effects of deepening drought conditions.
Friant Water Authority General Manager Ronald D. Jacobsma along with Dan Vink, General Manager of the Lower Tule and Pixley irrigation districts, were among those who spoke during the media event.
Valadao and Fuller said that over the last several years, naturally occurring dry conditions have been exacerbated by government bureaucracy and environmental regulations that prevent water deliveries through the Delta.
Valadao and Fuller were joined earlier in December by every Californian Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives and 34 members of the California State Senate and Assembly in sending a letter urging President Obama and Governor Brown utilize their executive authority to alleviate the effects of drought.
The letter also stressed the need for additional water storage and assured protections of water right priorities in order to ensure an affordable, reliable water supply for California’s families and farms.
“The depth of the water crisis in the Central Valley is unprecedented and it’s time to move from rhetoric to action – something that makes a difference,” Vink told reporters. “To do that, we need serious and committed leadership in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento and we need it now. Failure to act will cripple the cities, families and farms that make up the backbone of the state.”