{"id":100076,"date":"2025-12-18T20:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T20:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/100076\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T20:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T20:08:08","slug":"westlands-study-captures-bad-water-year-impact-lost-jobs-and-revenue-more-valley-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/100076\/","title":{"rendered":"Westlands Study Captures Bad Water Year Impact: Lost Jobs and Revenue, More Valley Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"

A study from Westlands Water District lays out the difference on the local economy between when farmers have water and when they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s third economic impact report, which was released Wednesday, compares 2022 , a year following scant rainfall and a 0% water allocation \u2014 later marginally increased \u2014 with 2019, a plentiful water year and a 75% allocation.<\/p>\n

As farmers planned for lower water allocations in 2022, increases in farm unemployment, poverty, and decreases in tax contributions followed, said Michael Shires, a consultant for Westlands.<\/p>\n

He said the impact goes beyond the buyers and sellers of crops but extends to the farm equipment companies reliant on ag production.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also the folks that are hulling almonds, who are processing tomatoes, and processing grapes for raisins,\u201d Shires said. \u201cAnd then it\u2019s all the people who work for those. It\u2019s the community around them that rely on them to come and spend their money in their local grocery store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shires said to balance employment and food security, the region needs more water storage and recharge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spend a lot of time saying this is a good idea, we\u2019ve been really slow at actually acting on it and in fact, are actually in the active process of eliminating some of that surface storage,\u201d Shires said.<\/p>\n

Related Story: Costa, Gray Propose $4.4 Billion for Central Valley Water Projects<\/a><\/p>\n

2022 Worse Than Even the 2015 Drought Year<\/p>\n

The study pegs $2.28 billion in direct impact from ag in Westlands in 2022. Adding the indirect impact, ag activity created $3.55 billion in total effect, leading to 27,657 jobs. That\u2019s a 28% decline in direct economic activity and a 25% decline in total activity from 2019, when farm activity created 35,114 jobs.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s lower even than 2015, when ag in Westlands created $2.6 billion in direct effects and $3.6 billion indirectly, employing 28,851 people.<\/p>\n

Shires directly correlates that to scant water allocations and land fallowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost $900 million of agricultural production over those three years because of less water available, which then spilled over into all of these other areas of the economy,\u201d Shires said. \u201cA total economic impact of something like $1.2 billion. This a large number \u2014 7,500 jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shires estimates about $100 million in lost tax revenues to various governments, about $25 million to local governments, and $75 million to the federal government.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Westlands also helps create food security, Shires said, as the fruit and nut production in the county accounts for 3.3% of U.S. total production and 2.8% of all vegetable and melon production. That 2.8% figure marks a decrease from 5.4% recorded in 2019, according to the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is a national security issue,\u201d Shires said. We want to make sure that we have our own food supply. I mean, one of the lessons we did learn from COVID when there were 200 ships parked offshore who couldn\u2019t get onshore and literally produce is rotting on the ship. We can\u2019t completely rely on foreign sources to backfill things.\u201d<\/p>\n

7,500 Jobs Lost From 2019 to 2022: Westlands Study<\/p>\n

The report states that decreased water allocation exacerbate poverty issues in Fresno and Kings counties, where farm jobs directly account for 9.5% in Fresno County and 15.3% in Kings County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had 7,500 more people who weren\u2019t working in that sector,\u201d Shires said. \u201cAt that same time, you had all these people probably going on public assistance programs to help support their families as a transition, at least unemployment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"An economic study from Westlands Water District breaks down employment and impact in 2019 and 2022. (Westlands Water District)
\nFallowed Land Spikes in 2022. Could It Contribute to Valley Fever?<\/p>\n

Fallowed land within Westlands reached highs in 2022, spiking past 200,000 acres. Shires drew a connection between the amount of fallowed land and Valley Fever disease caused by a fungus that lives in the soil.<\/p>\n

While he kept from drawing a scientific correlation, when charted, rises in Valley Fever cases follow rises in fallowed Westlands acreage.<\/p>\n

The same parallel can be drawn for rises in rodent populations<\/a>, which thrive in undisturbed land. A study done earlier this year by the California Department of Food and Agriculture documented the outsized damage caused by rodents on irrigation and farm operations. Shires drew a connection between rodent populations and predatory bird species, which then can cause bird strikes on military aircraft flying out of Naval Air Station Lemoore.<\/p>\n

The U.S Centers for Disease Control report about 20,000 cases of Valley fever are reported each year in the U.S., primarily in California and Arizona. Cases may go underreported, however, and some believe the true number may be closer to 200,000 to 360,000 annually. On average, about 200 people die of the disease each year.<\/p>\n

Board chair of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and farmer Nick Rocca shared at the Westlands presentation how Valley Fever impacted his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father actually was diagnosed with Valley fever, and the diagnosis of that ended leading to other health complications that ultimately led to his death, and so Valley fever is a huge issue,\u201d Rocca said.<\/p>\n

\"\"While not studied scientifically, this chart maps Valley fever cases against acres of fallowed land in Fresno and Kings counties. (Westlands Water District)
\nWestlands Farmers Among Most Water Efficient in World: Rocca<\/p>\n

By the time Westlands does its next economic report, California\u2019s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will be further implemented. The landmark law reduces groundwater pumping to protect the aquifer and prevent further land subsidence. In 2022, water agencies had just begun facing pumping restrictions.<\/p>\n

As fallowed land increases and water restrictions become stiffer, Shires said the best way to prevent further harms to the Central Valley economy is to increase water availability.<\/p>\n

Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Adam Gray, D-Merced, put forth a bill this week to provide $4.4 billion to improve water infrastructure. A majority goes to canal repairs and conveyance. Studies have shown<\/a> that repairs would significantly decrease water loss, but farmers still need increased storage, said Rocca, who is the incoming president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe largest water storage we have is our snowpack. So how do we manage the snowpack and capture as much runoff as we can? That will save us for generations to come,\u201d Rocca said. \u201cYou talk about legacy, you talk about sustainability \u2014 farmers are using the water here in California more efficiently than almost any part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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