Farmers in Debt

Farmers who signed contracts to get water from the Central Valley Project got a great deal: subsidized loans to cover capital costs and water delivered at cost, or less. (Typical prices of $30-45/acre foot are far below the $300-$500/AF that farmers pay to get State Water Project.)

Now a report from the GAO says that CVP farmers still owe the government about $450 million:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in its first update in a decade on the debt repayment status of the Westlands Water District and several smaller irrigation districts, concluded Westlands still owes $372 million, the bulk of the $449 million owed by the districts. The debt, which dates to the late 1960s, carries no interest.

"If they were homeowners, they would be foreclosed on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, one of three lawmakers who requested the report.

In the past, I have said that Westlands would not exist without these subsidies and that it is trying to foist its own problems (toxic runoff) back onto the government. This story is just another battle in that war. Let's hope that we citizens win. Either declare bankruptcy (and go away) or pay off the debt.