Chico Enterprise-Record 5.14.14:

Whether you are a farmer or an environmentalist, love gardening or hunting, are conservative or liberal, are an atheist or Catholic, we all have something in common. We live in a beautiful area that is made so by water.

Our water tables have dropped dramatically due to previous water transfers as well as the drought. However, despite protests from groups and individuals, in June, the government plans to transfer 195,000 acre-feet to the south. This will drastically affect our oak trees, our spring-fed creeks and our wells — well water we need for our crops and our daily lives. The only way this can be stopped is in court. AquAlliance is in the process of filing a lawsuit. However they lack the funding to continue. Please consider making a donation at www.AquAlliance.net (it is tax deductible) and tell your neighbors, friends and coworkers.

Also, please do your bit to conserve our precious water. Turn the shower water off while soaping up and collect the water in a bucket to use for flushing the toilet. Convert part or all of your thirsty lawns to plants with drips. Don’t overwater, sending it down the storm drain, or water when it is raining (something businesses in particular are guilty of). Let’s all work together on this one common goal!

— Linda Calbreath, Chico