Lloyd Carter made his comments during a public debate about water.

Activists agree, while the comments made by Carter are unfortunate, the controversy has brought the original debate once again to the forefront.

And that is, how to bring water here to the valley, while protecting the environment.

Valley U. S. Representatives are pleading with state and federal leaders to turn on the delta pumps, and deliver much needed water to the valley's parched crops.

A Federal judge ordered the pumps be turned off in 2007, the result of a lawsuit to save a fish species, the delta smelt.

The Valley is suffering the consequences - no water, no crops, no jobs.

Lloyd Carter's comments during the Fresno State water debate highlight the tension between the agricultural industry and environmentalists.

"And if these pumps don't get turned on... the only ones who can do it are the Democratic party, and the democrats don't want to do it because they are slaves to the radical environmental movement," said Republican Congressman Devin Nunes.

Other Valley representatives say it's not about partisan differences, but about the differences between urban and agricultural communities.

"The majority of people who live in our urban areas sadly think that food comes from a grocery store... milk and vegetables come from a produce section, and they don't understand they grow right here in the San Joaquin Valley, and unless you have water, they don't grow the food," said Democratic Congressman Jim Costa.

As for the prospect of turning the pumps back on, that might not happen until the Los Angeles area cries for more water.

"Those pumps being shut down denies about 30% of Southern California's water supply, they can get by without that for a year or two, but after that they're going to be in serious hurt. I think until the urban part of California can't get water out of their faucet we're not going to see some changes here, so unfortunately, we've got to be in a very bad situation until something is finally done," said Republican Congressman George Radanovich.

Other water activists in the valley, say it is time to move on past Carter's comments, and past the same old arguments.

"It's not that we need more water, it's that we need to be more efficient with the water we do have," said Steve Haze, director of the San Joaquin Water Leadership Forum.

Valley representatives and even Governor Schwarzenegger have proposed water bonds in the past to modernize the state's water infrastructure, but so far, they have not come to fruition.