by L.J. Devon
(NaturalNews) As the water shortage crisis in
California rises to a boil, desperate farmers are coming forward to bid on the
remaining steam. The Central Valley in California is indeed drying up, but
private landowners who still have leftover water reserves on their property are
now looking to cash in.
A California water rush is on, as water is being
auctioned for millions and aquifers are depleted.
According to state records, two water districts in
California are beginning to auction off their private supplies of water. The
two landowners in charge have reportedly made millions off their water stashes.
The Buena Vista Water Storage District has already raked in about $13.5 million from the auction of 12,000 acre-feet of water
this year.
Upon hearing the news, at least 40 other land owners
have begun to prepare for a massive sell-off of their surplus water storage.
Drilling for water has become more important than drilling for oil, as water
banks are drained at an alarming rate.
The demand for California water is at an all-time
high. In the past five years, the price of water has spiked tenfold. An
acre-foot of water can now go for $2,200 in drought-stricken regions. As the
aquifers are depleted to the highest bidder, it’s only a matter of time before
the less fortunate are put at the mercy of those who have a hand on the water
tap.
Some are calling on new state regulations to ensure
that the water distribution remains transparent. “If you have a really scarce
natural resource that the state’s economy depends on, it would be nice to have
it run efficiently and transparently,” said Richard Howitt, professor emeritus
at the University of California, Davis.
Others believe that the free market is more capable of
controlling the price of the important natural resource. “We think that buyers
and sellers can negotiate their own deals better than the state,” said Nancy
Quan, a supervising engineer with the California Department of Water Resources
California water rush is on, extracted like gold from
underwater caverns
Those auctioning off the high-demand water are private
firms who hold claims on the underground commodity that date back a century.
Underground caverns known as “water banks,” where individuals store extra water
for later use, are now being emptied as if water has become the new gold or
oil.
“This year the market is unbelievable,” said Thomas
Greci, the general manager of the Madera Irrigation District, which recently
made nearly $7 million from selling about 3,200 acre-feet. “And this is a way
to pay our bills.”
The water is quickly being bought up by the city of
Santa Barbara, which has been struck hard by the water shortages. Other top
bidders include almond farmers desperately needing some H2O for their crops.
Underground water banks aren’t the only sources being
extracted from. A water district northwest of Bakersfield, California,
announced that it would sell off water from the Kern River.The district claims
its right to the river due to a century-old right-to-use law.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the State Water
Resources Control Board have documented at least 38 separate sales this year.
The agency has set the maximum volume that can be sold, 730,323 acre-feet. This
amount is about one-fourth of what the State Water Project has delivered to
farms in previous years. There’s obviously a more desperate demand than ever
before.
Anthea Hansen, general manager of the arid Del Puerto
Water District, estimates that farmers will realistically pay on average $775
to $980 for an acre-foot of water in the year ahead.
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