It is raining here on Rhinefarm this morning; it is cold and dark outside even though it is midday. But the weather is not nearly as gloomy as the news Rhinefarm received from the California State Water Resources Control Board in the mail today.
Four years ago we applied for water rights with the Board, asking them to grant us the right to construct a storage pond to capture and store 22 acre feet of water, as part of the construction of our water recycling program. We also submitted a second application asking them to grandfather us a water right to a reservoir we constructed in 1976, to store water for the purpose of irrigating some of our hillside vineyards during the hot summer months. Of course we had to lawyer up, as the application forms were so cumbersome.
Meanwhile since filing our application, as you are likely aware, water has reached its tipping point as a scarce and valuable commodity. The historical rights to have access to its use are being modified by the Water Resources Board in recognition of that fact as you read this. It is a new frontier.
They informed us in a personal letter that they are not certain they will be able to grant us our water. The decision rests in committee, and the probable outcome will be that the rain drops falling among Rhinefarm vines this morning now belong to you – the American public. You now are part owners of each drop. They used to belong to our vines.
We have decided that water should be socialized. We do not want water to become oil, diamonds or gold, allowing favor to those whose land contains these natural resources. It is difficult to find fault with this reasoning if one has any sense of social responsibility, and we accept this responsibility here at Gundlach Bundschu. We can only hope that there will be a balanced sanity about the distribution of water – that it does not become politicized. For this we rely on the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Department of Fish and Game, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Army Corp of Engineers. These people will hopefully render a balanced decision.
We hope they allow use of our existing pond and the right to construct a new one. We make efforts to reduce usage by recycling water in the winery, and are blessed with productive wells that provide ground water to supplement our ponds, though the availability of this resource may be threatened by increased demand on the water table by municipal wells being drilled by the city of Sonoma.
On Rhinefarm, which has depended on capturing winter rain for 150 years, we are hoping to secure the supply of needed water so that future generations may continue to produce wines on this site.
Salud amigos,
Jim Bundschu
