Some lawmakers in the U.S. state of California want to use taxpayer money to buy out farmers.
美国加州一些议员想用纳税人资金买断农场主的水权。
A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion for their "senior water rights." That would permit farmers to take as much water as needed from the state's rivers and streams to grow their crops. If state officials owned those rights, they could leave the water in the rivers to aid endangered salmon and other fish.
州参议院的一项提案将为他们的高级水权花费15亿美元。这种权利允许农民从该州的河流和溪流中获取所需尽可能多的水来种植农作物。如果州官员拥有这些权利，他们可以将这些水留在河流中以帮助濒临灭绝的鲑鱼和其它鱼类。
Severe drought in California
加州严重干旱
California has faced severe lack of water for most of the last 20 years. Lawmakers want to more closely examine the state's complex water system to see how it might be changed to ensure continual supplies during especially dry periods. A separate state proposal would pay farmers to grow fewer crops to save water.
加州过去20年大部分时间里都面临严重的缺水问题。议员希望更严格地检查该州复杂的供水系统，了解如何对其进行改变，以确保在特别干旱的时期持续供水。一项单独的州提案将支付农民费用，让他们种植更少的农作物以节约用水。
Currently, about 98 percent of the state has severe drought conditions. Summer months in California rarely produce any major rainfall. Many areas have begun restricting water use for homeowners. And farmers have had their water supply from the two major state-owned water systems reduced or, in some cases, completely shut off.
目前，该州约98%的地区处于严重干旱状态。加州夏季很少下大雨。许多地区已经开始限制住户用水。农民从两大国有供水系统的供水减少，或者在某些情况下彻底关闭。
Legally, all the water in California is the property of the government. But farmers have "water rights" that let them take water for agriculture. Farmers have used those rights to turn California's Central Valley into a major agricultural center. The area provides much of the nation's fruits, nuts and vegetables.
从法律上讲，加州所有水资源都是政府财产。但是农民拥有水权，允许他们将水用于农业。农民利用这些权利将加州的中央山谷变成了一个重要农业中心。该地区提供全国大部分水果、坚果和蔬菜。
Buying water rights from farmers
向农民购买水权
California now has a record budget surplus of nearly $100 billion. The $1.5 billion proposal to buy senior water rights would involve either buying the land connected with the rights or buying just the right itself.
加州现有预算盈余达到创纪录的近1000亿美元。购买高级水权的15亿美元提案将涉及购买与权利相关的土地，或者仅够买权利本身。
Lawmakers could also require that the water be used for fish and other animals and plants.
议员可能还要求将这些水用于鱼类或其它动植物。
The proposal is part of budget negotiations between lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration that should be completed by the end of this month.
该提案是议员和州长加文·纽森政府之间预算谈判的一部分，该谈判应在本月底完成。
Regulators measure water by "acre foot." An acre foot is defined as enough water to cover 1 acre, or 0.4 hectares of land to a depth of 30 centimeters. That is the same amount as 1.2 million liters.
监管机构按“英亩英寸”来衡量水量。一英亩英尺的定义是足以覆盖1英亩或0.4公顷土地到30厘米深度的水。这相当于120万升。
The $1.5 billion would be enough to buy about 200,000 acre feet of water. That amount is based on an average price of $7,500 per acre foot, says Tom Birmingham. He is the supervisor of Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural water district in the U.S.
15亿美元足以购买约20万英亩英尺的水。汤姆·伯明翰说，这个数量是根据每英亩英尺7500美元的平均价格计算的。他是美国最大的农业用水区韦斯特兰兹供水区的主管。
Climate change demands quick action
气候变化需要快速行动
Right now, the only way to get more water flowing in rivers and streams is to get state and federal regulators to change the rules. They can do that by requiring more water be left in rivers and streams. But that means less water for farmers. Those rule changes often bring about lawsuits that can take 10 years or longer to reach a decision, said Lester Snow. He is a former secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency and regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
目前，让更多水在河流和溪流流动的唯一方法是让州和联邦监管机构改变规则。他们可以通过要求将更多水留在河流和溪流中来做到这一点。但这意味着农民的用水量减少了。莱斯特·斯诺说，这类规则变更通常会引发诉讼，可能需要10年或更长时间才能作出决定。他是加州自然资源局的前任局长和美国垦务局的区域主任。
"We need a way to take much quicker action. And I think acquiring water rights for that purpose is one of the ways to do that," he said. "With climate change, we just don't have that kind of time."
他说：“我们需要一种更快采取行动的办法。我觉得为此目的获得水权是实现该目标的办法之一。随着气候变化，我们没有那样的时间。”
For this to work, farmers would have to voluntarily sell their water rights. Tom Birmingham says that should not be a problem. Lots of farmers try to sell their water rights to Westlands Water District every year, he said.
为此，农民必须自愿出售他们的水权。汤姆·伯明翰说这应该不是问题。他说，每年都有许多农民试图将他们的水权出售给韦斯特兰兹供水区。
Birmingham added, "For many farmers ... their children simply are not interested in continuing to farm."
伯明翰还表示，“对于许多农民来说，他们的孩子根本对继续种地不感兴趣。”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
我是阿什利·汤姆森。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)