Vorster quoted on EPA finding that Bay Area waterways more polluted than previously thought
Hydrogeographers such as Peter Vorster of the Bay Institute are on one side. KTVU met him along the last stretch of the wild San Joaquin River, arguably the most desiccated -- and desecrated -- major river in California.
"This has a lot of salts in it from the agricultural runoff, Vorster remarked. "The water that would have been in here, a lot of it has been diverted to make these fields grow these amazing crops. The San Joaquin Valley is the most productive agricultural region, arguably, in the world."
Vorster, along with many people in his camp, told KTVU one of the obvious solutions is in the hands of California ranchers and farmers who use the vast majority of California's diverted waters.
"This water right here where we're standing is getting 20 percent of what nature would supply," Vorster added. "We're not asking for the whole thing back, we're saying 'Hey, let's split it. Let's do a 50-50 split.'"
