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| Patterson native makes long trek to spread water message |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 28 May 2008 | |
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San Diego County farmer and former Patterson resident Eric Anderson felt so strongly about the state’s water problems that writing a letter to legislators was not enough. So, he climbed into his tractor Thursday and decided to make a nearly 500-mile journey to the Capitol to make sure Sacramento got a special Memorial Day message.  Eric Anderson rides his tractor as he starts his venture to the Capitol steps. Anderson took the trip from San Diego to Sacramento to express his views on state water storage and conveyance issues. Courtesy photo by Evelyn Alemanni “I’m just one person, but I feel like I need to do something,” Anderson, said in a prepared statement last week. Anderson, son of retired Patterson physician Dr. Albert and Violeta Anderson, grew up in Patterson and lived there full-time until his junior year of high school in the mid 1970s, when he became a foreign exchange student and, ultimately, a college student. Anderson, who grows ornamental plants in Elfin Forest and Bonsall, said his farm has suffered major water cutbacks. He left his home in Elfin Forest near Escondido on Thursday and spent the night at his former home in Patterson on Sunday as one of his stops before arriving at the Capitol steps. Along the way he braved rain, snow and occasional alternator problems, as he traveled at speeds of up to 16 mph. He did a lap around the Capitol building when he finally arrived before having a barbecue lunch with farmers at a nearby park. Anderson’s goal is to get more water storage and a solution for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a major source of water for Central Valley and Southern California farmers and millions of residents. He also wants Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ask President Bush to convene an Endangered Species Committee to examine limitations on water pumping that result from the federal Endangered Species Act. During the past few years, federal courts have ruled that state and federal water pumping must be curtailed at pumping stations near Tracy because of a decline in the population of the Delta smelt, a threatened finger-sized fish. Bill Harrison, who serves as general manager of the Del Puerto and Oak Flat water districts, which are only receiving 45 percent and 35 percent of normal water allocations this year as a result of the cutbacks, said he hopes state leaders take note of Anderson’s message. “I think he’s hit on a lot of the hot-button issues that are affecting California water,” he said. “More power to him.” Harrison said many of the water agencies are now working together to find solutions, as they think state and federal leaders have not done an adequate job. Schwarzenegger has advocated for water storage and has proposed building a “peripheral canal” around and through the Delta. The idea has received opposition from several legislators, northern valley leaders and Delta farmers, who worry about resulting problems with current Delta levees and increased salinity in the Delta as the flow of freshwater decreases. The governor also has advocated for more water storage at Temperance Flat and Sites Reservoir and expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir, plans that have come under fire by environmental critics. Anderson said he appreciated the governor’s talk of a long-term water plan, but he said solutions also must be found in the short term. Harrison said he was proud of Anderson's stance, though he sid it would be a challenge to change the Endangered Species Act. “It’s a pretty sacrosanct piece of legislation,” he said. Still, Anderson hopes something will be done soon to remedy the situation. “We’ll see if this gets any results,” he said Friday. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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