Study Shows Federal Water Subsidies Go to Largest Farms FRESNO,
Calif. A handful of large farms get most of the water and
subsidy dollars delivered by the country's biggest federal water
supply project, according to a study by a national environmental
organization. The Central Valley Project, authorized in 1936 to
support family farms, now funnels up to $416 million of
subsidized water to agricultural giants in California's Central
Valley, according to a study released earlier this month by the
Environmental Working Group. Specifically, the report indicated
that the top 10 percent of agricultural water users were getting
67 percent of the water. "The system is broken," said
Environmental Working Group spokesman Bill Walker. Fixing it is
more important than ever, Walker added, since the Central
Valley's water districts are currently going through contract
negotiations that could lock in millions of acre feet of water
deliveries for decades to come -- a time when the state's
booming population is expected to in