The levee that broke in the heart of the state's complex irrigation system put 1 million acres of irrigated Central Valley farmland on alert for possible water cutbacks, just as peak irrigation season begins.
San Joaquin County estimates the damage, and the cost of rebuilding the levee which failed last week, at more than $82 million.
The nation's most productive farmbelt, California's Central Valley is watered by irrigation districts as large as Rhode Island. Six thousand miles of levees contain and channel snowmelt as it runs down the Sierra Nevada and runs through the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to the Pacific.
And yet one broken levee - one burst capillary in the heart of the intricate system - can hurt users more than 100 miles away.
"The scary part of it is still evolving," said Dan Errotabere, a board member of Westlands Water District, which uses delta water to irrigate 550,000 acres of farmland in the western San Joaquin Valley. "We're getting cooler weather, and that's helping with demand, but the concern is, are we going to have water when we need it?"
The American Red Cross and the Catholic diocese in Stockton helped the hundreds of farmworkers who were displaced by the flood when a levee bordering the lowland island west of Stockton broke last week, flooding 12,000 acres.
Growers were frustrated and helpless, watching the water rip open a 500-foot hole and cover everything they owned.
The San Joaquin County Agriculture Commissioner calculated lost crops at nearly $10 million. The county office of emergency services estimated damage to homes and structures at $25 million, and damage to other property at up to $30 million.
Crews spent the weekend piling rocks around the initial opening, and stabilizing other levees, although wind gusts up to 30 mph pushed water onto an access road used by two nearby islands. Seventy-five residents of the islands were evacuated.
Rebuilding the levee and pumping out the floodwater from Lower Jones Tract will take at least two months and up to $15 million. It's unclear how long it will take farmers to produce again once the water is gone.
The 15 area farmers forming the reclamation district spend a yearly average of $200,000 maintaining the levees, said Richard W. Johnson, the district's secretary and legal counsel. The East Bay Municipal Utility District matches that amount.
While the emergency lasts, the U.S. Corps of Engineers and state agencies are helping close the gap in the levee and pumping the water out. But much of the expense is going to fall onto farmers, Johnson said.
"The reclamation district can't afford these repairs," said Johnson. "It's all very expensive, and farming is a chancy occupation. They don't have that much to fall back on."
BURLEY, Idaho (AP) After two years of researching, designing and installing the 120-foot tower and 20-kilowatt turbine, LeRoy Jarolimek's farm is being powered by wind.
Thanks to the Farm Bill of 2002, a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture covered a quarter of the cost of the $40,000 project.
Federal and state agencies interested in seeing the development of wind generated power in Idaho came out for a ceremony on Tuesday to see Jarolimek's efforts materialize.
"If we can get one project like this, then we can show it's possible throughout the state," Jarolimek said, adding that wind energy is a way to help Idaho's struggling farms survive.
Research is already under way for an $11 million, 10-megawatt expansion of the wind farm. Jarolimek said he would like to see six more turbines.
Under a "net-metering" arrangement with Idaho Power Co., power producers are credited for any excess electricity put back into the grid.
Jarolimek's son, Ronnie, said the turbine has generated about 360 kilowatts of power since being hooked up June 2 despite relatively light winds.
"It's been running pretty consistently," Ronnie said. "We're actually turning the meter back already."
Scott Gates of Idaho Power said three small hydroelectric and 10 solar producers are also taking advantage of the net-metering program. Some have reduced their electric bills, while others receive monthly checks for their power overages, he said.
"The wind resources in the state are actually greater than the hydro resources," said engineer Brian Jackson of Renaissance Engineering and Design.Associated Press Online:
