Investors want share of water
By WES SANDER
Capital Press
A San Joaquin Valley lawyer says hundreds of millions of dollars are waiting to be invested in California's water infrastructure.But there's a tradeoff: The investors putting up the cash want a piece of agriculture's available supplies, which they could sell to urban users for high prices.
Despite the loss of the water, such investment could make supplemental water more affordable, and therefore accessible to more farmers, said Gary Sawyers of Sawyers & Holland, a San Joaquin Valley firm that serves mostly agricultural clients.
"There are folks who would love to invest in California water infrastructure if we choose to accept it," Sawyers told the State Board of Food and Agriculture at a Sept. 22 meeting.Sawyers recently spoke with 10-15 fund managers in New York, and is aware of up to $500 million ready to be invested in a California water project promising a decent return.
That means state and federal managers need to smooth out the kinks in their regulatory processes, including the unpredictable allocations and species protections of the past few years, Sawyers said. But the biggest question is whether water interests can learn to live with the concept, he said.
"Can agriculture tolerate the idea of selling water in the marketplace?" Sawyers said. It's an idea "that would have gotten me shot in a lot of rooms just a few years ago."
Resistance comes from environmentalists who decry the concept of privatizing water, saying it can only be equitably distributed as a public resource. Farmers, meanwhile, fear any loss of water allocated to agriculture.
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