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State warns of water allocation cuts |
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Written by PI Web
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Wednesday, 28 November 2007 |
A couple of local water users will likely have to find new ways to supplement their water sources, following predictions of state cutbacks next year.
The state Department of Water Resources announced Monday that State Water Project contractors likely would receive 25 percent of their normal water allocations.
Those contractors include the Oak Flat Water District, which provides water for a 4,000-acre rural area southwest of Patterson. The developing community of Diablo Grande receives water indirectly through the state.
The promise of 25 percent of allocations is far below the 60 percent offered this past year. It would be the lowest offered since 2003.
“It’s not uncommon for analysts to start out with a relatively low figure at the beginning of the year,” said Don Strickland, spokesman for the DWR.
State Water Project water is distributed via a series of waterways, including the California Aqueduct, to 29 long-term contractors who serve more than 25 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of farmland.
Contractors are expected to receive a bit more than a million acre-feet, though state officials said that might increase during the winter, depending on snowfall and other water-related factors.
Hydrologic conditions this year resulted in a “dry” water year in the Sacramento region and a “critically dry” water year in the San Joaquin region. If California experiences another dry winter, allocations could drop even farther, state officials say.
State water officials also factored in regulatory conditions.
A federal judge ruled earlier this year that pumping would have to be curtailed at certain times of the year to prevent the endangered Delta smelt from getting caught in state and federal intake pumps.
State officials have estimated the pumping cutbacks may reduce water allocations for contractors by 10 percent to 30 percent.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who knows down to a gnat’s eyelash what it’s going to be,” Strickland said.
Bill Harrison of the Oak Flat Water District was out of the office this week and could not be reached for comment, and Dwain Sanders of Diablo Grande also could not be reached at his office for comment.
Strickland, however, noted that contractors tend to rely on other sources as well as the State Water Project for water.
He said the last time contractors received 100 percent allocations was in 2005, but there was flooding in Southern California at that time, and many contractors at the southern end of the state did not need the extra water.
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