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This article was published on 02.21.13.

A panel of six local water experts speaking at Chico State Tuesday evening (Feb. 19) discussed everything you ever wanted to know about local groundwater issues. Well, everything but the controversial stuff. Chico State’s Book In Common panel discussion “The Tuscan Aquifer—How It’s Used and What We Know About Our Groundwater Resource” educated the audience on Butte County water sources and practices, but didn’t wade into more controversial matters such as shipping North State water south. That was disappointing to some in attendance because the book in common, Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to Do About It, by Robert Glennon, examines the issue of piping water from relatively wet regions to drier ones.

John Scott, a local water advocate and board member of the Butte Environmental Council, said he enjoyed the talk overall but felt “it didn’t go deep enough.” He said he wanted more emphasis on the best economic uses of local water, whether that be keeping it local or transferring it south. “In Northern California it takes one unit of water to make one unit of food,” he said. “Whereas south of the Delta, it takes eight units of water to make one unit of food.”