“If we’re embarrassed about what we’re doing, we should stop doing it!”
This was overheard in reference to the Pajaro Valley aquifer overdraft at the last Community Water Dialogue meeting held on October 26th in Watsonville. The statement was made by a grower to inspire participants to work together to solve the overdraft problems plaguing the Pajaro. About forty stakeholders consisting of growers, irrigators, city planners, the Resource Conservation District and others convened in the Watsonville City Hall Community Room to discuss the latest progress and to share perspectives on addressing the overdraft. The Community Water Dialogues are ongoing and for any grower in the Pajaro concerned about changes to their water bill, they are a key resource for information and solutions.
There is a consensus among growers at the Community Water Dialogue meetings that agriculture should and will adopt best practices to reduce overdraft of the Pajaro aquifer. Many growers are already using best practices and insist that measurement is key in understanding how much water crops need and when they need it. Growers feel that water use must be addressed by all sectors of the community, including for example, the city’s water use, but the purpose of the Dialogue meetings is to determine what agriculture is going to do to reduce it’s water use.
The vision of the Dialogues taped to the wall of the last meeting stated the following idea: To create long term solutions for the aquifer by bringing water use and replenishment into balance while protecting the agriculture vitality of the Pajaro Valley.
Also posted, were the three principles by which the Dialogues hope to reach their vision: 1) A commitment to protect the Pajaro Valley as an important agricultural resource; 2) A recognition that the solution will not be an importation pipeline; 3) A willingness to pursue diverse strategies which entail costs & sacrifices in order to bring the aquifer into balance.
While there are a number of growers already involved in the discussions, ongoing since 2009, smaller growers from the organic mixed veggie sector are mostly missing from the dialogue. These growers will be every bit as affected by the outcome of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) Process and by the suggestions adopted by the Agency from the Community Water Dialogue group. How are the concerns of these growers to be addressed if they are not brought up to date on the dialogues and brought into the discussion?
To this end, Community Alliance for Family Farmers (CAFF) and EcoFarm are hosting a forum on November 29th at 10am at the Corralitos Grange, Watsonville and inviting all agriculture producers in the jurisdiction of the PVWMA to attend. The forum will address the PVWMA process and the Community Water Dialogue water management projects underway. These projects include managed aquifer recharge and remote soil moisture monitoring. If you are a producer in the Pajaro unaware of the history of the overdraft situation and forthcoming water regulations, you are strongly encouraged to attend and learn about what’s at stake. There will be ample time for questions and ways to give your feedback. We hope to see you there! Register online: http://www.eco-farm.org/programs/cawsi/
