Kings farmers learn they will get 100 percent of Central Valley Project water

“Following the California Department of Water Resources exceptional March 30 snow survey results, Reclamation is pleased to announce this increase to a 100 percent allocation for our South-of-Delta water contractors,” said Acting Regional Director Pablo Arroyave. “However, as Governor Brown reminded us last week when lifting California’s drought state of emergency, the next drought could be around the corner. It is crucial that we remain vigilant in conserving our precious water resources.”

Central Valley Project

On Feb. 28 and March 22, 2017, Reclamation announced a 100-percent allocation for all CVP contractors except for agricultural water service contractors South of the Delta.  Local contractors, like Westlands Water District, were instead promised just 65 percent of their allocation.

Thanks to water availability south of the Delta – and a larger snowpack and a very wet winter -  The Bureau of Reclamation was able to make this significant water supply allocation increase.

Westlands Water District, a CVP contractor and the largest agricultural water district in the United States in the Central Valley, welcomed the increased allocation – from 65 percent to 100 percent – but not without some reservations.

In a statement released by Westlands, it said that Tuesday’s announcement by the Bureau is certainly good news. “For farmers with permanent crops, the increase is a real blessing,” Westlands stated via a press release. “Those farmers will have sufficient, good quality surface water to irrigate their orchards and vineyards that suffer damage when irrigated with poorer quality groundwater. This allocation decision will enable all farmers to avoid pumping an over drafted groundwater basin.”

But Westlands also pointed out that yesterday’s announcement helps underscore a fundamental problem; under existing regulations the CVP is unable to operate as originally designed. The last time Reclamation allocated 100 percent to south-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors was more than a decade ago, in 2006, another exceptionally wet year. In the interim, the State of California has experienced wet years, average years, and dry years.

Furthermore, Westlands stated that the CVP was designed to deliver full supplies in all types of water years, and the contracts between the United States and the public water agencies that supply farmers stipulate allocation announcements will be made in mid-February. This is intended to enable farmers to make timely planting decisions.

However, in the decade since 2006, “we have experienced allocations ranging from zero to 80 percent. For three consecutive years, 2014, 2015, and 2016, the allocation amounted to zero. (In 2016, the allocation was 5 percent, but farmers were told the allocation could not be used during the irrigation season.) For farmers who had to make planting decisions several months ago, today's announcement of an increase in supply comes too late in the season to aid their operations.”

Westlands argues that for much of the past two and a half decades, farmers have been forced to make all too familiar and unfortunate decisions to lay off employees, cancel farm plans, and idle much of the most productive farmland in the world, simply because the water delivery system in the state has been paralyzed by laws and regulations. Policies that prevent the CVP from making adequate water supplies available for farmers, except in the most extreme wet years, must be reexamined.