Madera County supes shut down proposed well moratorium

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Madera County supervisors on Tuesday shut down a proposal to temporarily ban all new wells on the Valley floor.

The board chairman said he proposed the well moratorium to get everyone's attention, even though he doesn't really think it's the best idea. But a lot of people there agree something drastic must be done to keep a lot of other wells from running dry.

The dropping water table in Madera County has people looking for who's to blame.

"If the farmers have to stop sucking so much water, or whoever it is, it's certainly not me. Whoever is taking all that excess water just needs to stop! And I don't care how you do it," said Bev Walsh of Madera Ranchos.

The Board of Supervisors has been looking for ways to deal with the drought, and Chairman Tom Wheeler recently proposed a moratorium on new wells below the 300-foot elevation line. It would have temporarily banned them on the Valley floor throughout the county.

"When you're in a hole, you have to stop digging," said Baldwin Moy with California Rural Legal Assistance. "So whether you call it a moratorium or not, it needs to be directed at the source that's using the water."

But critics argued the plan would have infringed on private property rights and unfairly targeted farmers who are already taking steps to limit their water use.

"We get bashed a lot, but we are feeding a hungry world, and you take water away from us, you're taking food out of somebody's mouth," said Tom Rogers, a Madera almond farmer.

During this meeting, the supervisors all agreed a moratorium is not the right move, but they are considering a plan to require meters on new wells...and eventually existing ones too.

"We have to meter all wells because the only way to really know scientifically what is happening as far as an individual taking water out of the ground is metering," said Madera County Supervisor David Rogers.

Rogers has also created a long list of other options for conservation and storage that seem to have support among farmers and other residents alike.

"All the public is asking for is OK, we've gone through a lot of discussion, a lot of rhetoric, let's take some action," said Tom Walsh of Madera Ranchos.

The board is moving forward with a joint powers agreement between the county and its irrigation districts to find long-term solutions for the water crisis.

Supervisors are expected to discuss the idea of meters for wells at their meeting in two weeks.