[ti:California Wants to Buy out Farmers to Save Water] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Some lawmakers in the U.S. state of California [00:04.41]want to use taxpayer money to buy out farmers. [00:09.94]A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion for their "senior water rights." [00:20.37]That would permit farmers to take as much water as needed [00:25.29]from the state's rivers and streams to grow their crops. [00:30.79]If state officials owned those rights, [00:34.64]they could leave the water in the rivers to aid endangered salmon and other fish. [00:41.96]California has faced severe lack of water for most of the last 20 years. [00:48.01]Lawmakers want to more closely examine [00:52.52]the state's complex water system to see how it might be changed [00:57.89]to ensure continual supplies during especially dry periods. [01:04.12]A separate state proposal would pay farmers to grow fewer crops to save water. [01:12.00]Currently, about 98 percent of the state has severe drought conditions. [01:17.63]Summer months in California rarely produce any major rainfall. [01:23.93]Many areas have begun restricting water use for homeowners. [01:29.17]And farmers have had their water supply from the two major state-owned water systems [01:36.85]reduced or, in some cases, completely shut off. [01:42.28]Legally, all the water in California is the property of the government. [01:47.77]But farmers have "water rights" that let them take water for agriculture. [01:54.84]Farmers have used those rights to turn California's Central Valley into a major agricultural center. [02:04.08]The area provides much of the nation's fruits, nuts and vegetables. [02:10.92]California now has a record budget surplus of nearly $100 billion. [02:17.90]The $1.5 billion proposal to buy senior water rights [02:23.18]would involve either buying the land connected with the rights or buying just the right itself. [02:30.54]Lawmakers could also require that the water be used for fish and other animals and plants. [02:39.12]The proposal is part of budget negotiations between lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration [02:47.75]that should be completed by the end of this month. [02:52.20]Regulators measure water by "acre foot." [02:56.08]An acre foot is defined as enough water to cover 1 acre, [03:01.33]or 0.4 hectares of land to a depth of 30 centimeters. [03:06.99]That is the same amount as 1.2 million liters. [03:11.93]The $1.5 billion would be enough to buy about 200,000 acre feet of water. [03:20.64]That amount is based on an average price of $7,500 per acre foot, says Tom Birmingham. [03:30.24]He is the supervisor of Westlands Water District, [03:34.90]the largest agricultural water district in the U.S. [03:40.24]Right now, the only way to get more water flowing in rivers and streams [03:46.11]is to get state and federal regulators to change the rules. [03:51.56]They can do that by requiring more water be left in rivers and streams. [03:57.56]But that means less water for farmers. [04:01.40]Those rule changes often bring about lawsuits [04:05.22]that can take 10 years or longer to reach a decision, said Lester Snow. [04:11.72]He is a former secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency [04:17.51]and regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. [04:22.61]"We need a way to take much quicker action. [04:25.88]And I think acquiring water rights for that purpose is one of the ways to do that," he said. [04:33.25]"With climate change, we just don't have that kind of time." [04:39.20]For this to work, farmers would have to voluntarily sell their water rights. [04:45.10]Tom Birmingham says that should not be a problem. [04:49.19]Lots of farmers try to sell their water rights to Westlands Water District every year, he said. [04:57.68]Birmingham added, "For many farmers ... their children simply are not interested in continuing to farm." [05:05.90]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM