Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
The Ripon reader mailed the problem on the head with his letter about Manteca allowing more than 9,000 homes eventually to be built.
Will Manteca consider or let the push for over expansion ruin this city? There are crime issues such as increased mail theft, gangs, in town traffic congestion, Bay Area commute congestion, and water shortages. Everything needs water for sure and we do over use water.
Here are the facts to chew on:
Farm land uses 78% of developed water from here all the way south in the San Joaquin Valley. Homes use 18% based on an audit done by Fresno State along with the feds.  The focus is on Central California and as we all know there are two canals that are full of our water going south. 
The thought is grow what we eat and not the alfalfa that is grown on thousands of acres and uses three times the water as regular alfalfa for cows.  Special alfalfa goes to where the camels are as pointed out on a TV show.  All food cannot be grown in Central California to feed the world.  All almonds have to be converted to drip irrigation and not flooded and tax breaks need to be uses to get the systems in place.
In Israel everything is drip irrigation. 
Remember $2.89 for a gallon of gas and the ones trying to buy water from the watershed we have here. We will eventually be paying $2.89 for a gallon of water and that price will get here sooner than later.  You are cutting people water to build more houses and the bigger picture is the farmland and the focus should be to help them in new ways by using some of the state’s extra funds.

Lawrence W. Scrivner Jr
Manteca