Several weeks ago as I was contemplating the water situation here in the Valley, I found myself in the middle of a rant about how pumping water is a moral issue. I normally have these rants in the privacy of my tractor cab gazing over at the Sangres, but this time it was right in the middle of the annual ditch meeting with actual people listening. Unlike the “tractor sermons” where I nail each point home perfectly to the sound of thunderous applause, this time some of the key nails were totally missed. This is an attempt to hit those nails.

There is a lot of worry about the water situation in this Valley. I’ve heard it said that worry can be divided into two categories:
1. Things I have no control over
2. Things I can do something about

I can’t make it snow or rain directly; only pray for wisdom to manage what the Lord provides. I can, however, stop the accumulative drop of the water level under my farm by pumping less water than I bring in. (credit pumping)

My wife and I farm two quarters of ground near Hooper where we are bordered by ten tracts of land owned by six entities and all but one tract having wells. For the sake of this illustration, we’ll assume that all the bordering tracts are maintaining zero-change of the aquifer. If, at the end of a year, I pump more than I recharge (deficit pumping) I have created a vacuum under my ground and the water levels of all surrounding tracts will be lowered to fill in the hole I have created. I don’t know how many years I have deficit pumped but I am sure there have been many. Not once have I ever asked permission from any of my neighbors to deplete their water levels, I just did it.

Now let’s jump back to reality and consider my neighboring tracts. If most of them are also deficit pumping, the resulting depression of the water table is magnified so there is a ripple effect across the entire Valley floor. Thus, we find ourselves in a perilous situation.

Now before anyone starts throwing things, let me clarify. It is not against any law to deficit pump as I have defined it, however, in light of the state of the aquifer today, I just don’t think it is right for me to continue to do it. Just because something is legal does not mean it’s always right. This is not just an economic issue, this is a moral issue as well and I for one have been ignoring it by blaming everybody else but me. Granted there is more than enough blame to go around for the present depleted state of the aquifer, but most of those factors are entirely out of my control. The only thing I have power over is my farm’s effective water level (deficit / credit). The only person who controls that is the one looking back at me in the mirror.

I’m reminded of the well-known 12-step programs where addicts go for accountability and encouragement. Each one who speaks states their name, their addiction, and how long they’ve been sober. Some are sober for mere hours, others for years, but all recognize the importance to persevere and the fragility of their sober condition. The success of each group is dependent on the commitment and the synergism that results from groups of people coming together for a common cause.

I have made many changes in our farm operation since 2002 and we have reduced our pumping dramatically but still much needs to be done to be water sustainable.

Yes, I realize many others need to do this as well but I can’t ask others to do what I am not.

I may succeed to credit pump for a season but I know that there will always be that insatiable thirst to pump more the next year.

Hello, my name is Rob Jones and I am a deficit pumper.