Claim OwnershipWe Grow California
Subscribed: 4Played: 58
Subscribe
© 2026 We Grow California
Description
We chat to people in the water industry to find out the latest news
88 Episodes
Reverse
It’s January 2023, and California is enjoying record snowpack and rain. So, what’s the Exchange Contractor’s water supply forecast? Join us as we welcome Chris White, Executive Director for the Exchange Contractors. He’s back to discuss how the 2022 water year went and offers a 2023 water preview. Chris will also be the featured speaker at the next Exchange Contractors Political Action Committee meeting on February 28th. This is a great preview of what he is going to c...
Join us as Assemblyman Adam Gray, representing the 21st Assembly District, weighs in on the Governor’s Water Plan. We also discuss Gray’s fight to defeat the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, his water efforts in Sacramento, his opinion on what needs to happen now, and how Washington can help. Send us a text We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
Listen in as We Grow California welcomes co-founder, contributing editor and senior fellow with the California Policy Center, Ed Ring. Ed is a senior fellow with the Center for American Greatness, and a regular contributor to the California Globe. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Forbes, and other media outlets. Ring’s undergraduate degree is in Political Science from UC Davis, and he has an MBA in Finance from USC. He is the C...
Water rights and the California’s recent budget allocation to purchase water rights in strategic areas of the state that the State Water Resources Control Board has deemed important is extremely controversial. Listen in as co-hosts Darcy Villere and Darcy Burke debate both sides. Send us a text We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
We Grow California welcomes Joe Del Bosque. Joe is a former California Water Commissioner, member of the Latino Water Coalition, 2nd generation California farmer, and has been featured on the media channels across the globe including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc. Mainstream and social media fans can’t get enough of Joe and follow not only his cantaloupes but his love of California farming. Joe shares with us his thoughts on this drought, what has changed sinc...
We Grow California welcomes former California State Assemblymember, former California Secretary of State, and third-generation family farmer into the studio, William (Bill) Jones. Bill shares his water reliability while in the legislature, what his observations are now of current legislative efforts, where he gets his news and information, and his insights on water, agriculture, and today’s farming challenges. Send us a text We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contra...
The Exchange Contractors Political Action Committee (ECPAC) produces We Grow California to engage Californians, policy makers, and influencers on the importance of water reliability, ag, food security, and related policies/regulations. Send us a text We Grow California Podcast is paid for by the Exchange Contractors Federal PAC and Exchange Contractors State PAC and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
In this episode of We Grow California, Darcy Villere sits down with Joaquin Esquivel, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, to talk about the future of California water. The episode covers how the Board balances the competing needs of agriculture, communities, and the environment during an era of droughts, floods, and climate uncertainty. Joaquin shares insights on SGMA enforcement, groundwater recharge, and the state’s push to ensure safe, clean drinking water for all Californian...
After a few weeks of hiatus, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma joined Darcy & Darcy for an in-depth discussion on water, ag, infrastructure financing, and public service. If you don’t know what the state treasurer does, think of this position as the state’s primary banker. Treasurer Ma’s office processes more than $3 trillion in payments within a typical year and provides transparency and oversight for an investment portfolio of more than $124 billion, approximately $34.8 billion of whi...
Darcy & Darcy welcomed California State Senator Anna Caballero, representing District 14, which stretches across parts of Madera, Merced and Fresno counties. Last year, Senator Caballero joined us and shared with us her efforts on SB 366, a bill that was intended to modernize the California Water Plan and mandated that the Department of Water Resources to set long-term water supply targets.SB366 died in committee, leaving many in the water sector wondering if the water plan would ever hav...
With growing frequency, water systems, cities, and other water utilities have been held for ransom as a direct result of a cybersecurity attack. These attacks can hold a system hostage for millions of dollars, jeopardizing customer data as well as water and wastewater operations; ultimately impacting public health and safety. Many systems have recently discovered that insurance is no longer covering the bill. For policymakers, believing “We’re fine” is not only naive but also dang...
Agriculture scored a win recently when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California’s ruling that the Clean Water Act’s exemption for “irrigated agriculture return flows” shields projects like the Grassland Bypass Project (GBP) from federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements. At the heart of the issue is David Cory, President of the Grasslands Basin Authority. This week David joins Darcy a...
One of Darcy Villere’s favorite projects is the long-awaited San Joaquin River Restoration Project. And after 16 years, there is some good news! This week Steve Chedester, Director of Policy and Programs for the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, joins Darcy V. and Darcy B. He provides a great project overview, the benefits, new funding, and of course, the ever-important new project price tag. This is a multi-faceted project, with lots of complexities (Of course, t...
Anja Raudabaugh, Chief Executive Officer of Western United Dairies joins Darcy and Darcy this week and shares how she led the effort to defeat Sonoma Ballot Proposition Measure J a citizen-led initiative which would have banned dairy as well as similar farming operations. The ballot initiative was defeated with 85% of voters, NOT supporting the proposition. Anja was able to get the Republican Party of Sonoma County, but also the Democratic Party of Sonoma County AND the North Coast Regional W...
The K.I.S.S. method, Keep it Simple (Sweetheart), is easier said than done. This is especially true when you are coordinating 23 Groundwater Sustainability Agencies and their respective plans and consultants into one Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Yes, you read that right, twenty+ agencies! Jarrett Martin, General Manager of Central California Irrigation District (CCID), took on that task for the Delta-Mendota Subbasin and believes that after two failed attempts they are close to approval. ...
Assemblyman David Tangipa joins Darcy and Darcy for a great conversation that covers a wide range of California issues and topics! For those that don’t know him yet, David is the youngest person serving in the California legislature. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 2024 and represents District 8, which includes Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne counties. Darcy & Darcy discuss with David his perspective on the business of California’s le...
Karla Nemeth, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, a verifiable Woman of Water – aka a WOW - joins Darcy and Darcy this week and the conversation never stops! Karla shares her experiences and how relationships are the key to California’s water response success – especially in a crisis. She tells the Darcys how she has learned and adapted. Those lessons and adaptations came from weather uncertainty, regulations, legislation, and serving four (Yes FOUR!) Governors, each wit...
Time is of the essence for the Delta Conveyance Plan (DCP) studies and to help us understand what’s going on and the urgency, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Chairman Adán Ortega joined Darcy and Darcy. Recently Governor Newsome included the DCP as part of his Budget Trailer Package. Adán sets the record straight on how this legislation simply finishes the studies that are necessary so that decisions can be made with good data, rather than propaganda, misinformation, and ...
Darcy and Darcy are back from the Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) Spring Conference! They had the pleasure of meeting Dan Keppen, the Executive Director at the Family Farm Alliance (Alliance). This week Dan joins them and discusses his upcoming retirement, his successes, challenges, and accomplishments. After twenty years with the Alliance, and over thirty years in agriculture and water, Dan shares some advice and insights for our next generation leaders, as well as tho...
Did you miss them? Darcy B. has literally been traveling the world, and Darcy V. has been planting acres and acres of tomatoes. They are finally back in the studio and are catching up on everything that happened while Darcy B. was globe-trotting including the Central Valley Project (Federal) and the State Water Project allocations, Metropolitan’s new General Manager (Deven Upadhayay), Metropolitans Climate Adaptation Master Plan and Business Model, another Canyon Lake Fish Kill, future guests...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States