(Top) Comedian Paul Rodriguez speaks to thousands during a water rally in front of Fresno City Hall on Wednesday.  The event also drew such VIP speakers as California Secretary of Food and Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, Congressmen Devin Nunes and George Radanovich, and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.

(Bottom Left) Former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry speaks to the gathered audience.

(Bottom Right) A crowd of thousands attending the water rally Wednesday at Fresno City Hall listen to numerous speakers, including politicians and farmers.

(Photos by Ralph Berrett)

  

Fresno, CA (July 2, 2009) – Thousands gathered in front of Fresno City Hall Wednesday for a rally to bring additional much-needed water to the Central Valley and its farmers.

Many dignitaries taking part included Congressmen Devin Nunes and George Radanovich, California Secretary of Food and Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, and numerous Valley farmers, among many farmers.

Mario Santoyo of the Latino Water Coalition was the coordinator of the rally.  His previous similar events have caught the attention of such politicians as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who just made a Valley visit, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who recently asked President Barack Obama to declare an emergency in the region.

“It’s an opportunity for people to voice their concern over a bad situation,” Santoyo said of the event.

Santoyo says the cause of the state drought is due to smelt in the Sacramento Delta.  A biological opinion was made on the smelt that regulated the operation of the delta pumps.

“You had to throttle them down certain months of the year so as to not push volumes of water out in order to preclude what would be a tank of smelt,” Santoyo said.

Also, the biological opinion did not take into account wastewater being discharged into the delta, or predator fish.

“In other words, it didn’t include a variety of other factors that have a negative effect on the delta smelt,” Santoyo said.

The shutting down of the pumps and the lack of water has resulted in the loss of jobs.  For instance, the city of Mendota has a 40 percent unemployment rate.  Also, farmers are being forced to grow less crops.

“They (farmers) still don’t have money to pay for their homes, they don’t have money to pay for the medicine for their kids, no one would want to be in that situation,” Santoyo said.  “And for that to be happening in the United States, I just don’t see how that would be acceptable.”

Kawamura agreed with Santoyo.

“Without water, there is no food, and without water, there is no jobs,” he said.

Also participating in the rally was comedian Paul Rodriguez, whose family came to the area from Mexico when he was young.  He shows no signs of ceasing to be an advocate for water in the Central Valley.

“We’re not going to stop farming, we don’t know what else to do,” Rodriguez said.  “So either we’re all going to wind up in jail someday because we’re gonna open those pumps without a court order, or we’re gonna get the court order to come to the realization that we’re not kidding.”