Opinion: Companies guzzling our water have no regard for the community
To The Editor:
I am awestruck by the county, who we elected in good faith, caving to these large corporate vineyards/companies who seem to be under the impression that all the water below the surface is only theirs to use. A practical and partial moratorium was granted which shouldn’t be broken solely because of what they have in the pipeline.
Our water is precious and is depleting very quickly with the advent of these new vineyards. Granted, they do bring in newfound money to the county, but inevitably, the people surrounding these vineyards will run out of water and many cannot afford to drill deeper wells. The county will then be faced with the loss of taxable revenue from homes which can no longer be lived in. The North County cities and townships will also be hit with the lack of water. This problem isn’t going away anytime soon and we can’t afford to misuse this natural resource.
Roll Global, AKA Justin Winery, AKA Fiji Water, AKA Paramount Farms, AKA POM Wonderful juice, etc. has been staking and wiring and preparing the remainder of there holdings on Creston Road for the last few weeks in order to slam in the thousands of new plants to finish there project. I believe they should be halted until we have sufficient water to squander on their project. Remember, the water they use on their grapes is water out of your daily use (showering, cooking, etc). Of course, some small vineyards will be affected but until the basin is replenished, we must all make sacrifices.
This also pertains to builders in the North County–they had a moratorium years ago down in Santa Barbara County which caused problems, but the people stuck by the moratorium until things got better. We can do the same. Projects that have already had water meters issued can continue, but no new permits should be issued until we are on better footing. Remodels would be accepted, but rezoning would not.
Our main issue is that the vineyards in the area are using up the most water and cooking the numbers to suit their agendas. These large vineyards are owned by out of town corporations who don’t give a damn about what goes on in our community because they don’t live here. They think the water is an unlimited supply. Granted they drill very deep wells but just remember the old saying, “That water seeks it’s own level”, and the well water we rely on will seek the deep running water and we will be left with a empty basin.
In conclusion, the companies consistently putting in more vines, and in turn, apathetically guzzling our water, have no regard for our community and believe their financial means have earned them entitlement over our land. We, as the community affected, must work together to utilize the water we still have. We must make sure it is not squandered on new grape plants, and that these additional plants are forced to wait until our basin fills back up. Election time will also be crucial for us–keep aware of the candidates that are for and against expansion of vineyards and vote accordingly. Also keep in mind the candidates who own a vineyard themselves.
Sincerely yours,
Les Orlick
Templeton, California
Special thanks to Tyrian White-Khan.
So true. I read the proposed legislation and only people who own land can be board members. Its a stacked deck. The county should go with one-person, one-vote for all board members and not limit participation on the board to land owners only. Out-of-town vineyard owners should not control our water.
Agree with much of this, but on the other hand, I don't think its quite fair to blame grape growers for the problem. I have seen data showing that Ag use of water is down compared to 30 years ago, whereas use by the city of Paso Robles has tripled in that same time frame. Is that not true? The city draws from the basin and has just gone ahead and approved a new 1200 home project. So, I think it plays into some peoples agenda to stir up people "against the grape growers". In my opinion, the thing to try to prevent is a private corporation gaining control of our basin (as happened in Kern County) and then, once the rains return, to declare there is no problem and start selling our water out of the area for their profit. That scenario is worth worrying about, and that won't be our local grape growers doing that.
Add Westside Ag to that list of out of town companies (Fresno) that has zero regard for our water resources….he just planted a giant lawn at his home on Creston Road! And I heard that he bought his very own water well drilling rig!
the vineyard owners will do what they please….end of story…till theres no water left at all..my father who worked ranches in this area for 40 years predicted this 20 years ago when they were starting to take over….everybody else be damned.
For those of you that were not aware justin winery has been purchasing water from another vineyard off of adelaide rd. due to their wells drying up and the pool that leaks thousands of gallons
So, I planted a couple of acres of lavender, specifically lavender, because it requires so very little water. My well ran dry just before the last grape harvest, and I've lost 2/3 of my investment/crop, property value and the ability to just live on the land my family has owned for 50 years. (No, I cannot afford to drill deeper.) Do ya think I caused this myself, when my land is surrounded on three sides by vineyards?
The city of Paso Robles has the biggest straw in the water, and continues to drain at record levels as they approve large hotels and resort spas. Looking at who owns Roll Global and recognizing that his money comes from the sales of water in the valley, you cant help but agree he is increasing his land holdings ( just added 200 acres in Shandon where the water is shallow) so as to increase his share of the new water district and water bank.
And at a time when the govenor is telling us not to flush our toilets as often…but I guess new construction still goes on
This boy is coming to see u. We are hppy to keep him he wants to see the Lego movie or frozen.
Darleene..It seems like we all have the same problem, developers who just don't have any concern about the communities they want to build in. They don't live there, so why worry. It's your problem if you run out of water, not theirs, even if they caused the problem. Same here in Las Vegas. And why? The county letting them build & build. We can protect our communities & our water in the next elections, by dumping those who will not do the job we elected them for.
No you didn't, Look around you as you have stated. We did not have this problem before the vineyards came. It was AFTER they started to develop and draw on our fragile supply. All I ask for is a moratorium till the water table gets back and not just one company or organization owning and dictating what we can and can't do with our water. We All have to vote on it. People wake up and together we can do something about this problem.
The city wants to sell more water, hence the building, regardless of what is good for it's citizens, because if they read or listened to the people , they would do what they ask. Vote the douche bags out.
Heard today from Fresno radio station KMJ: "If it's yellow, let it mellow,,,,If it's brown put it down", this I guess is there way of conserving water.?
So true. I read the proposed legislation and only people who own land can be board members. Its a stacked deck. The county should go with one-person, one-vote for all board members and not limit participation on the board to land owners only. Out-of-town vineyard owners should not control our water.
Agree with much of this, but on the other hand, I don't think its quite fair to blame grape growers for the problem. I have seen data showing that Ag use of water is down compared to 30 years ago, whereas use by the city of Paso Robles has tripled in that same time frame. Is that not true? The city draws from the basin and has just gone ahead and approved a new 1200 home project. So, I think it plays into some peoples agenda to stir up people "against the grape growers". In my opinion, the thing to try to prevent is a private corporation gaining control of our basin (as happened in Kern County) and then, once the rains return, to declare there is no problem and start selling our water out of the area for their profit. That scenario is worth worrying about, and that won't be our local grape growers doing that.
Add Westside Ag to that list of out of town companies (Fresno) that has zero regard for our water resources….he just planted a giant lawn at his home on Creston Road! And I heard that he bought his very own water well drilling rig!
the vineyard owners will do what they please….end of story…till theres no water left at all..my father who worked ranches in this area for 40 years predicted this 20 years ago when they were starting to take over….everybody else be damned.
For those of you that were not aware justin winery has been purchasing water from another vineyard off of adelaide rd. due to their wells drying up and the pool that leaks thousands of gallons
So, I planted a couple of acres of lavender, specifically lavender, because it requires so very little water. My well ran dry just before the last grape harvest, and I've lost 2/3 of my investment/crop, property value and the ability to just live on the land my family has owned for 50 years. (No, I cannot afford to drill deeper.) Do ya think I caused this myself, when my land is surrounded on three sides by vineyards?
The city of Paso Robles has the biggest straw in the water, and continues to drain at record levels as they approve large hotels and resort spas. Looking at who owns Roll Global and recognizing that his money comes from the sales of water in the valley, you cant help but agree he is increasing his land holdings ( just added 200 acres in Shandon where the water is shallow) so as to increase his share of the new water district and water bank.
And at a time when the govenor is telling us not to flush our toilets as often…but I guess new construction still goes on
This boy is coming to see u. We are hppy to keep him he wants to see the Lego movie or frozen.
Darleene..It seems like we all have the same problem, developers who just don't have any concern about the communities they want to build in. They don't live there, so why worry. It's your problem if you run out of water, not theirs, even if they caused the problem. Same here in Las Vegas. And why? The county letting them build & build. We can protect our communities & our water in the next elections, by dumping those who will not do the job we elected them for.
No you didn't, Look around you as you have stated. We did not have this problem before the vineyards came. It was AFTER they started to develop and draw on our fragile supply. All I ask for is a moratorium till the water table gets back and not just one company or organization owning and dictating what we can and can't do with our water. We All have to vote on it. People wake up and together we can do something about this problem.
The city wants to sell more water, hence the building, regardless of what is good for it's citizens, because if they read or listened to the people , they would do what they ask. Vote the douche bags out.
Heard today from Fresno radio station KMJ: "If it's yellow, let it mellow,,,,If it's brown put it down", this I guess is there way of conserving water.?