San Joaquin Valley Farmers

1. As farmers, you depend on a constant supply of water to irrigate your fields. The Tuolumne River is your primary source of water. If the Raker Act is approved, the river will be dammed, and much of its water will be diverted through aqueducts to the city of San Francisco.

2. You are concerned that the city will divert so much water that your supply for irrigation will be endangered. As one Senator Borah noted, "It should kill the potential valley agriculture".

3. You need enough water to irrigate 275,000 acres of farmland. Presently, you can divert 3,600 acre feet (the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with one foot of water is called an acre foot.), of water each day from the Tuolumne River.  The normal flow of the river is 4,700 acre feet per day. During floods, 40,000 to 60,000 acre feet come down the river daily.

4.  In 1906, similar arguments in conjunction with Turlock and Modesto Irrigation District staff convinced the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to abandon Hetch hetchy development.  (Unfortunately, the earthquake later that year disrupted the water supply and the city burned for three days.  The proposal was resurrected).

5.  You demand some guarantee that the rapidly growing population of San Francisco will not some day snatch away your entire water supply.  Presently, you need 3,600 acre feet of water every day.  You will require more in the near future.