Officials worried that Fresno water district may want to shift Shasta County water rights south

[XemaSab]

Some Shasta County officials are worried that a Fresno-area water district may ask to annex almost 3,000 acres it owns along the McCloud River — a possible move to shift the water rights hundreds of miles south.

The issue will be discussed this morning at the Shasta Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) meeting.

So far, no annexation proposal has been filed by the Westlands Water District, Shasta LAFCO Executive Officer Amy Mickelson said. Westlands, the largest water district in the nation, includes farmland in western Fresno County and Kings County.

But both she and LAFCO Commissioner Irwin Fust said they and others wonder if annexation would enable Westlands to claim area-of-origin water rights for its farmers hundreds of miles away.

http://www.redding.com/news/2009/apr/02/officials-worried-that-fresno-water-district-may/

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The part that's really scary about this is that the biggest snag to enlarging Shasta Dam is the drowning out of the McCloud River, which is possibly the best wild trout fishery in the state. Westlands bought the Bollibokka Club in order to gain private control of the river and squelch dissent. That's not the worst part, though. Somehow Westlands became the lead state agency on the project! Their job is now making sure the project is in compliance with all applicable state environmental laws! Like, can you say conflict of interest? x(

(Cross-posted to e/e)

[XemaSab]

1. .

:kick:

[XemaSab]

2. .

:kick:

[stevedeshazer]

3. Water wars

Coming to a Western town near you.

It's inevitable.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Big decisions are coming

This is only squabbling.

The water problem in California will be indicative of coming water problems all over the world.

City needs vs. Rural needs vs. Ecological needs when the supplies run short.

I sure don't envy Western Californians.

[PufPuf23]

5. Westfields is serious as they paid $35,000,000 for 3000 acres

The property is probably in timber zoning (low taxes) and Westfields paid nearly $12,000 an acre; this is easily twice what the land is worth as commercial timberland (assuming timber market values and good inventory of merchantable mixed conifer timber).

Are you saying that Westfields is the lead agency for an EIS to raise Shasta Dam? They are one of the largest ag based water districts in the nation.

The US Forest Service was doing feasibilty for raising Shasta Dam in the early 80s. There was alot of resistence because of much development would be moved or underwater and various ecological impacts.

In the late 1950s, there was a CA State Water Plan that called for building a series of dams on the Trinity, Klamath, Salmon, and Smith Rivers complete with tunnels to re-route the water south. Trinity, Lewiston, Whiskeytown, and Shasta lakes are from the four dams actually constructed.

When I was a young boy, my family would frequently drive through Whiskeytown and went camping by Minersville. I remember both areas being cleared for flooding (by Whiskeytown and Trinity lakes respectively).