State and federal agencies plan to provide more water to California farms and cities after the recent storm brought rain and raised reservoir levels.
Cities that expect other agencies that provide water from Northern California through the state water program are expected to receive 35% of the water supply needed, up from 20% last month, the state Department of Water Resources said Tuesday.
The Federal Reclamation Agency said in a similar announcement that the agricultural irrigation area south of the Sacramento-Shan Joaquin River Delta is expected to receive 35% of its full contract amount from the Federal Central Valley project, which is 15% of their allotment. More than twice as much. This time last year.
Officials are on the latest one, the agency said in a written statement President Trump’s order “Maximize water supply, especially the contract south of Delta.”
After two years of wetness and the latest series of storms this month, the state’s largest reservoirs, including Oroville Lake and Shasta Lake, are at above average.
“California is experiencing an extreme winter,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the department. “We have seen dry conditions break down due to very wet short storm events. These conditions mean we have to be available in When moving as much water as possible.”
The Agricultural Water Agency welcomed the news, saying that despite similar water supply conditions at the time, its supply volume improved significantly except for last year’s supply situation.
Allison Febbo, general manager of Fresno-based Westlands Water district, said the allocation “provides our farmers with key planting decisions to optimize feeding countries.”
State and federal water supply systems, including dams, aqueducts and pumping facilities, are the largest in the world. They pumped water from the delta and sent it to the Central Valley farmland and about 30 million people.
In the San Joaquin Valley, farmers use water to irrigate pistachios, almonds, grapes, tomatoes, hay and other crops.
Federico Barajas, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority in Los Banos, said the federal allocation this year was more than last year’s There have been significant improvements in the initial allocation.
“However, given the higher storage conditions in the recent storm and the current high delta outflow, I know many members of the Water Authority want higher initial allocations,” Barajas said.
Officials usually distribute water based on reservoir conditions in the Sierra Nevada, precipitation and snow. As winter and spring conditions change, allocations are usually updated.
This year, the storm has brought the most snow and rainfall in Northern California, while the southern region has fallen below average precipitation. This means reducing the flow of the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, which leads to the limitations of the Central Valley project’s water delivery in the San Joaquin Valley, as environmental regulations are designed to protect threatening fish in the delta.
“Unfortunately, the rainfall this year has fallen disproportionately in the north of the Central Valley project,” Barajas said.
He said federal officials had worked with his agency “innovation of the allocation process over the past year, which in part led to higher initial allocations.”
Karl Stock, regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation, said a recent series of atmospheric river storms and relatively high reservoir levels benefited the waterscape.
“However, the San Joaquin Basin has experienced severe dryness,” he said. The initial allocation “reflects a significant difference between the entire Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley.”
Other water suppliers north of the Delta and suppliers along the U.S. River and Delta region also allocated 100% of the contract amount, the agency said. Meanwhile, agricultural suppliers who obtain water from the Friant-Kern and Madera canals allocated a 45% basic allocation.
Stock noted that California still has a portion of the traditional wet season until April. He said the agency is “committed to deliver as much water as possible to our contractors and with the Central Valley project’s goals and [Trump’s] Executive Order 14181. ”
Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the California Water Policy Center Institute for Public Policy, said the announcement does not appear to be a common announcement from the Reclamation Bureau, which is usually allocated based on current conditions.
“What they’re saying is that they’re going to maximize that, but they don’t really provide details on how to do it in a direct operation,” Mount said.
Shan said federal agencies have taken a more conservative approach to the expected allocation after a severe 2020-22 drought.
“It seems they’re more predicting than they did before, rather than the conservative approach taken after a drought,” he said.
The initial supply forecast is to inform farmers regularly because they plan to grow crops. Growers usually turn when reducing federal supplies Pump more groundwater. So if the federal government ends up providing more water to the farm, it will help farmers by enabling farmers to reduce groundwater, the mountain said.
Southern California’s metropolitan waters will provide supplies from state water projects to urban and local agencies, saying the increased water will help meet demand and may increase the area currently stored in reservoirs and underground storage.
MWD general manager Deven Upadhyay said the added allocation “helps us prepare for the inevitable swaying to restore to dry conditions.”
Environmental advocates have criticized state and federal water management decisions in recent years and cited Threatened fish population decreases In the delta and Salmon fishing season canceled for two consecutive years Due to the low population.
Ashley Overhoune, a water policy adviser for the defenders of the Wildlife Group, said the state and federal governments announced that the increase in water was “irresponsible and reckless” and would further damage the delta. Deteriorating ecosystems and native fish by extracting too much water.
“Last year, we saw the highest death rate for Chinook salmon in winter for four years,” Overhouse said. “Last year, we also saw an unusually high number of central valleys affected by delta pumping, exceeding the threshold set out in the Endangered Species Act,” said Overhouse. .”
As climate change continues to affect California’s water resources, the country “must prioritize our waterway health.”
In the announcement, the Trump administration also invested more than $315 million in new storage projects, including plans Build reservoirs And lift the dam Expand the St. Louis Reservoir.
However, these federal investments are not new. These projects are also Received support from the Biden Administration.
