Letters to the Editor: Farms vs. cities is an outdated way of looking at California’s water crisis

To the editor: Your article, “California’s water-saving plan slammed as costly, complicated and unrealistic,” pursues an outdated line of thought that tries to pit urban water users against farms.

The only way we adjust to water shortages and climate change is by working together, not picking winners and losers. And that’s exactly what California farms have been doing.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, overall farm water use is down 15% since 1980 due to implementation of conservation measures and utilization of new technology. In addition, California farmers have pioneered urban-rural partnerships, which have led to hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water being shifted from farms to California families, taking pressure off the entire system.

And let’s not forget that farms are not the end users of water, consumers are. The water sent to farms is used to grow food, protecting our safe, affordable, domestic food supply.

Mike Wade, Sacramento

The writer is executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition.

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To the editor: Agriculture uses 80% of the state’s developed water supply. Our primary effort should be to mandate drip irrigation to save water.

Janet Cupples, Sherman Oaks