The attractiveness of our region drives an increased need for housing and corresponding municipal services, and those are built on a steady supply of water.
This is a good deal all around…Jake would be proud. :)
Editorial: Natomas water deal may make sense for region
As agricultural demand for water shrinks, we either use it here or lose it to the south
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, August 13, 2007
To lubricate its expansion south of Highway 50, Folsom has gone shopping for water -- enough to supply 12,000 homes.
Miles away, an obscure water purveyor, the Natomas Central Mutual Water Co., has voted to supply this water. Wearing two hats in this transaction is developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, who owns property south of Folsom and also has voting rights with the Natomas water company, by virtue of his holdings in Natomas.
Sounds like a scene straight out of "Chinatown," you say? Well, maybe.
Put aside the cast of characters, and the dubious ways land sometimes gets developed, and focus on the water for a moment. Seen purely from a regional water supply standpoint, the transaction that is being planned between Folsom and Natomas Central sounds pretty reasoned.
To appreciate its virtues, consider the threatened nature of water rights in Northern California.
Over the past century, landowners in Natomas developed extensive water rights by growing rice and other crops that demand lots of H2O. In recent decades, land speculators have replaced farmers and subdivisions have replaced rice fields in Natomas. Those developments get their water from the city of Sacramento, instead of the Natomas water company. As a result, Natomas Central has far more water rights than it has available uses for its supply.
For Natomas Central, that equation spells trouble. "Use it or lose it" is the reality of Western water law. If Natomas Central doesn't find a user (or a buyer) for its water, it risks having its rights challenged and taken by others.
