Senator Feinstein introduces revised drought relief bill
WASHINGTON (KFSN) -- Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced a revised water bill. It's her third shot at providing farmers and the rest of California some relief from the drought.
Joe Del Bosque's farm is slowly drying up. He has 2,000 acres in Firebaugh and nearly half of it is producing nothing but dust. Del Bosque said, "We're losing jobs, we're losing economy, we're losing food."
Two years ago, President Obama visited his farm and walked the fields to get a first-hand look at the impact of the drought. Del Bosque voiced his concerns but his main one wasn't answered - he needed water back then, and he needs it even more now. "We need something to keep agriculture alive because, without water, we're suffering here," Del Bosque added.
Every day is critical with a water supply running low. Recent storms have helped but Del Bosque is really counting on politicians like Senator Dianne Feinstein who introduced a new drought relief bill. She says her legislation will pump money into storage, desalination, conservation and clean water supplies for communities. She says it'll also improve operations to pump water from the Delta when it's safe for the fish which would be a game changer for Del Bosque and farmers all over the valley.
Johnny Amaral with the Westlands Water District said, "We have to stop the bleeding right now, the bleeding is federal fish agencies making these decisions that amount to an utter waste of water and we have to stop that from happening if we're ever gonna climb out of this hole we're in."
Del Bosque agrees. There is more rain in the forecast and he has hope the state will take advantage of it. "We gotta capitalize on those opportunities and we need this bill right now to do that," Del Bosque said.
Valley lawmaker, David Valadao has his own bill which was passed by the House last year. He doesn't agree with everything in Senator Feinstein's bill but he's hoping the Senate will approve her legislation so both sides can hammer out the differences.
