Agriculture Today - June 2008
Special Section: Water
West side water supply is reduced, inches per acre will not finish many crops
By Liz Hudson, APR
FCFB Public Relations Coordinator
The harsh reality that west side farmers and water officials have been forecasting for 15 years is happening this summer. Farmers may lose valuable crops during the next few months, affecting food supplies, jobs and rural communities, and the county’s overall economy because of the simple fact of not having enough water to bring the crops to harvest.
Described as the “Perfect Storm,” the combination of a bone-dry spring and unworkable environmental restrictions to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have resulted in dangerously low levels in San Luis Reservoir, where the water supply for western Fresno County (and much of the southern San Joaquin Valley and Southern California) is stored.
At a Congressional Briefing in Los Banos on June 2, farmers, water district and elected officials, agricultural industry representatives, the media and others learned the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reduced the 2008 federal water supply by five percent for agricultural water users south of the Delta, and heard that federal Central Valley Project (CVP) agricultural contractors’ water supplies may be restricted between now and the end of August due to limited supplies in San Luis Reservoir. The Bureau will be working with federal water contractors over the next few weeks to refine delivery schedules, notwithstanding that Westlands Water District has already imposed a water rationing plan on its farmers now through August.
The reason for the drastic water cuts during agriculture’s peak water demand period stems from the inability to fill San Luis Reservoir because of implementation of court-ordered pumping limitations from January through April, other environmental restrictions on CVP operations, and lack of precipitation during one of the driest springs on record.
“Our water supply has reached it limit,” said Rep. Jim Costa, who along with Rep. George Radanovich called for the special briefing from Bureau of Reclamation officials.
“The state’s water system is designed for 20 million people, but today we have 37 million people,” said Rep. Costa. That system inadequacy and dry conditions have created this “Perfect Storm crisis we see today,” he added. “Maybe this crisis is necessary to get some decisions made,” he added.
“I’m tired of agriculture bearing the brunt of an old antiquated [water] system. We need to build a peripheral canal and Temperance Flat [reservoir on the San Joaquin River],” said Rep. Radanovich.
The need for long-term fixes was echoed by CA Agricultural Secretary A.G. Kawamura, who said, “We need to do everything to build infrastructure to give a water future for the state.”
The low-point issue
In the meantime, farmers on the west side of Fresno County are faced with a water-rationed amount of only 0.47 acre-feet per acre between now and the middle-to-end of August, whenever the low-point concern in San Luis Reservoir subsides. The water level in San Luis is critical during summer months, when demand is higher and pumping to fill the reservoir cannot keep up with the amount of water being sent south to farms and communities via the California Aqueduct. This year, that problem has been exacerbated because the driest spring since 1924 did not add to once-encouraging snowpack levels and additional restrictions on export pumping from the Delta because of the Endangered Species Act-listed Delta Smelt and other environmental regulations.
For most of agriculture, June, July and August are the highest water use months when trees, vines, and plants require a necessary amount of water to produce the crop. For example, almonds will require about two acre-feet per acre to “finish” the crop, which will be harvested in late-August/September. Almonds are Fresno County’s number two crop, and there are about 66,210 acres planted in Westlands Water District that are in jeopardy.
Likewise, processing and fresh market tomatoes – a prominent crop on the County’s west side with more than 101,000 acres in 2007 and the County’s number three crop – will need an additional eight inches of water per acre to bring the mid-July crop to harvest and more water will be required to bring the later season fields to harvest. With the rationed amount of water, farmers will receive only about six inches of water per acre during these next two months.
Also impacted will be the County’s cotton crop, most of which is grown on the west side of the County. Cotton begins its typical irrigation in June and continues through September. It is the number seven crop in the County.
At question, too, is the fall lettuce crop, which supplies about 95 percent of the nation’s supply of head lettuce during the fall marketing period.
Come late-August/September when water demand drops – and if export pumping can resume to normal levels-- the Reservoir can begin to re-fill, and water users can expect to see the short-term rationing lifted. But, now is when most of the crops need the water.
On May 29, Westlands’ Board of Directors authorized a water rationing plan in response to the growing realization the Bureau would not be able to meet all water demands between now and the end of the low-point period in San Luis Reservoir. District numbers show the CVP share of San Luis Reservoir storage will reach negative 240,000 acre-feet at the end of August, without some actions being taken to either reduce demand or increase water supplies.
Because the Reservoir is a joint federal-state facility, the Bureau and CA Department of Water Resources have been able to work together in past years to manage water levels and accounting during the critical summer water use months. However, because of the combination of a natural and regulatory drought, that flexibility is gone.
“The CVP has lost complete flexibility to manage the project,” said John Davis, who’s in charge of Bureau operations, citing the restrictions under the biological opinions for ESA-listed species such as the Delta Smelt and salmon.
Short-term fixes?
Because of the need for increased flexibility during crisis periods like this, the Bureau and others will ask the State Water Resources Control Board to relax the standards, asking for “an emergency review of the standards” to increase pumping from the Delta.
Likewise, efforts are underway to urge Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a drought emergency for the state, which can open up federal drought assistance.
The Bureau will be working with its water district customers to try to work through this short-term crisis by trying to increase flexibility and manage daily operations, and develop “new” water supplies, said Ron Milligan, of Bureau operations. Milligan said the Bureau will be contacting wildlife refuges to see how they help manage their water needs through the low-point period, looking at short-term transfers between districts and regions, as well as working with districts that can utilize groundwater or a fallowing program.
“This is very unusual. We haven’t seen this [dry conditions] in quite some time, but it’s different because of the regulatory background today,” Milligan told those in attendance at the June 2 briefing.
Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham acknowledged the Bureau’s efforts to work with the districts and water managers to help get through this crisis, pointing the blame on the lack of leadership to address long-term water supply problems in the state.
“The people in this room have been screaming for 16 years that this day would come. We have to fix the problem. Tell the President, the Governor, and the Congress that it needs to be fixed now. This warrants immediate attention,” said Birmingham.
“In 2006 there was 2.6 million acre-feet of spill out of Shasta [Reservoir], due to flood releases. We need more storage and conveyance,” he added.
Riverdale area diversified farmer Mark Borba also called for stronger leadership, especially on the part of the Governor, to bring about additional storage and conveyance facilities for the long-term sustainability of the Valley’s agriculture and jobs.
“It’s not just the farmers who are affected,” said Borba. “It’s the people out there trying to put food on their families’ tables. What happens to them when we let our 2008 crops go and not plant in 2009? What happens to their jobs?” he asked.