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| Irrigation districts brace for cutbacks |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 | |
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LOS BANOS — Local irrigation districts can expect rationing and a drop in water allocations this summer, federal leaders said Monday at a congressional briefing. The driest spring in recorded history in the Sierra Nevada, coupled with a court ruling that aims to protect a threatened Delta fish, have helped create a water crisis for West Side growers. “What you’re facing is a combination of events that I liken to the perfect storm,” said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, who hosted the briefing with Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa. More than 200 attendees, including many agribusiness and irrigation district representatives, showed up to the Merced County Spring Fairgrounds to hear the bad news. Officials from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that water allocations for growers south of the Delta are dropping from 45 percent of normal to 40 percent. Dry season The latest cutbacks are weather-related, bureau officials said, following two years of less-than-normal rainfall and a particularly dry spring 2008. A court ruling that has restricted the operation of state and federal pumping stations near Tracy to protect the Delta smelt, a finger-sized fish, has contributed to past supply reductions. The bureau on Monday asked irrigation districts to provide information on their water scheduling, as the amount of pumping will be limited certain times during the summer. Bureau officials expressed concern about water levels at San Luis Reservoir, which provides water for both the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. The CVP serves farms, homes and industry, using the Delta-Mendota Canal to distribute water locally. The SWP distributes water through the California Aqueduct. Ron Milligan, operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Operations office, said he expected the reservoir near Los Banos would be low at least through August and probably through September. The bureau must prevent the quality of water in the reservoir from becoming degraded when it reaches its lowest point. “To get through the San Luis low-point this year is going to be very, very much of a challenge,” Milligan said. Bureau officials hope to get the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to relax some restrictions, such as certain required flows out of the Delta, to ease the situation.  Water heads south via the Delta-Mendota Canal, but the water levels might drop this summer after the driest spring on record in the Sierras. Irrigator file photo. Tough times ahead In the meantime, farmers and irrigation districts are bracing to make major sacrifices. Tom Birmingham, general manager of the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District in western Fresno and Kings counties, said half of the people who attended the forum could be out of a job. “This is an emergency, and it warrants immediate action,” he said. Bill Harrison, general manager of the Patterson-based Del Puerto Water District, said he did not know the consequences yet, but he expects there will not be enough water to meet demand. A variety of crops could feel the pinch, from row crops like tomatoes and beans to tree crops such as almonds and apricots. Growers and irrigation district officials alike blamed state and federal leaders for not preparing for the crisis. Crows Landing farmer Earl Perez noted after the meeting that growers also faced drought conditions in 1991, when they received 25 percent of normal allocations. That should have been a signal to state and federal leaders to do something about the situation, he said. Looking for solutions As cities in the Bay Area and Southern California that use Delta water feel the shortage, some state leaders who have opposed a dam at Temperance Flat in the past may warm up to the idea, speakers said. “Maybe this is the window of opportunity to expand the state’s water supply,” Costa said. Radanovich also mentioned creating a “peripheral canal” around and through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, an option that has been supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That idea has received support from legislators and farming interests south of the Delta and opposition from other legislators, northern valley leaders and Delta farmers, who worry about resulting problems with Delta levees and increased salinity in the waterways. A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said Schwarzenegger is worried about the water crisis. At the same time, he said farmers need to stick together and make their case known. “The state really has to galvanize itself to push those politicians who have been holding up the process,” Kawamura said. Water officials said they would do what they could to get through the summer. Dan Nelson, general manager for the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which operates some of the water conveyance systems used by the Central Valley Project, said he is trying to get districts prepared for rationing. The sooner water districts get specifics about the reclamation bureau’s forthcoming restrictions, the better, he indicated. “Time is of the essence,” Nelson said. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at jonathan@patterson irrigator.com
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