Water Crisis

Michael Parrish’s commentary (“City Hall Missing the Boat on Water Crisis,” Oct. 27) is right on. The San Diego County Farm Bureau wholeheartedly agrees, there has been a lack of foresight.

In addition to the delivery and storage inequities you point out, relying on agricultural water from the Central Valley is not as simple a solution as may appear on the surface. Studies indicate only minimal amounts of surplus water can be made available through conservation methods.

If a large number of farmers decide not to produce food, fruit or fiber, we may be impacting the largest and most efficient food factory in the nation, strangling the state’s already struggling economy and wreaking havoc upon hundreds of thousands of people who depend on agribusiness.

While Mr. Parrish is probably right about the need for money to solve our “many faceted water crisis,” Mayor Maureen O’Conner brings up a good point. The height of a recession and during a successful conservation effort is not the time to charge massive rate increases. Her honor is also correct in calling for tight budgets and sound fiscal policies from water agencies before proceeding.

MICHAEL R. HORWATH

President

San Diego County Farm Bureau