But the farmers and others in the Central Valley, veterans of multiple drought-and-flood cycles, know the reprieve is only temporary. On Wednesday they pressed new U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris to work to ensure a more reliable source of water for the nation’s most bountiful farming region. “This area is drying on the vine,” Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, told Harris during a roundtable with Central Valley officials. A long-term solution can only come through federal and state action to protect the area’s water supply, he said. But Harris’ predecessor, former Sen. Barbara Boxer, was allied more with environmental groups that have fought dams and other water systems.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 06, 2017 00:00 UTC