The way to reduce San Joaquin Valley’s pervasive poverty is to get more water to farmers
The San Joaquin Valley is home to some of the most entrenched poverty in California. Time and again, studies have found the Valley to be lagging in almost every economic indicator used to assess prosperity. Agriculture is the major economic backbone of the Valley, and water used for farming is a key mechanism for economic mobility and opportunity. As long as agriculture continues to lack a reliable water supply, efforts to reduce poverty in the region will continue to fall short.
A recent economic analysis of the nation’s largest agricultural water district, Westlands Water District demonstrated that agricultural activities in Westlands — an area slightly smaller than Rhode Island located on the western side of Fresno and Kings counties — accounted for more than $4.7 billion of economic activity and more than 35,000 jobs. Communities in and adjacent to the district, like Kerman, rely on those jobs directly and indirectly as residents consume goods and services in their towns. This in turn allows our cities, counties, and schools to provide services.
The combination of inadequate water infrastructure, outdated or poorly tailored environmental restrictions, and the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act pose new and continued challenges for the region’s agriculture and economy. The unreliable water supply has forced farmers to pull fertile land out of production. In 2019, Westlands received 75% of its federally contracted water supply. Had Westlands instead received 100%, growers could have added up to another 8,000 jobs, which could have helped lift families out of poverty. In 2021 and 2022, Westlands received a 0% water supply. As a result, hundreds of thousands of acres have been fallowed and countless jobs lost because of an inadequate water supply, and communities like Kerman have been hit with the inevitable economic ramifications.
Opinion
If the water supply remains unstable or worse, declines, the Valley will see fewer jobs and more economic instability. During the height of the last drought, agriculture-dependent communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties experienced unemployment rates of more than 30%. Then, groundwater was a stop-gap supply. However, the challenges posed by SGMA combined with the effects of a worsening drought will leave the Valley in an even more precarious position.
To make matters worse for struggling families, if California does not intentionally preserve the Valley’s crucial production of fresh fruit, nuts, and produce, we are likely to see fewer choices and more expensive fruit, nuts, and produce. This will compound the negative effects on our most vulnerable Californians.
Ag jobs are critical to the San Joaquin Valley and were among the few “essential” jobs that were required to show up throughout the pandemic. If California is to make a dent in alleviating poverty, it must act now to secure agricultural water to protect these jobs and the food supply they represent.
The state must both be a steward of the precious inventory of water and identify new sources for the future. As the governor’s recent water strategy acknowledged, it is no longer a question of conservation, efficiency or new supplies. We must find new ways to bolster the state’s water storage — both surface and subsurface — conserve and recycle the water we use, and create new supplies.
Ultimately, California needs to ensure it can maximize the beneficial use of water to meet all purposes — agricultural, urban, and environmental alike. Some of our most vulnerable Californians depend on it.
Gary Yep is the mayor of Kerman.
