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State and federal agencies are planning to deliver more water to California farms and cities after recent storms that brought rain and snow and increased levels of reservoirs.
Cities in Southern California and other agencies that rely on water delivered from Northern California via the state’s water project are projected to receive 35% of the water supply requested from an estimated 20% last month. the state Department of Resources said Tuesday.
In a similar announcement, the Federal Reclamation Agency is expected to receive 35% of the full contract amount from the Federal Central Valley Project, the agricultural irrigation district south of the Joaquin River Delta in Sacramento and San. At this point last year.
The agency said in a written statement that officials are acting in a recent order by President Trump to “maximise water supply, particularly for contracts in the South.”
This month, after two years of wet years and the latest storms, the state’s largest reservoir, including Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta, stands above average levels.
“California is experiencing extreme winters,” said department director Carla Nemez. “We have seen mainly dry conditions broken by the events of very wet short storms, and these conditions mean that there must be a lot of water running when available. ”
The Agriculture and Water Agency welcomed the announcement, saying that supply had been significantly improving since last year despite similar water conditions at the time.
Alison Febbo, general manager of the Fresno-based Westlandswater district, said the allocation “provides our farmers the opportunity to make important planting decisions that optimize feeding for the country.” I stated.
The state and federal water systems, including dams, aqueducts and pumping facilities, are one of the largest facilities in the world. They send water out of the Delta, sending farmland in Central Valley and supplies that flow to around 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 Department in Los Banos, said this year’s federal allocation is a significant improvement over last year’s first allocation.
“However, given the high storage conditions from the recent storm and current high delta spills, I know that many of the Water Bureau members wanted a higher initial allocation,” Barajas said.
Authorities typically set water allocations based on Sierra Nevada reservoir conditions, precipitation and snow packs. As conditions change between winter and spring, allocations are often updated.
This year, the storm has brought the most snow and rain to Northern California, but below average precipitation was observed in the southern regions. This means reducing the flow of the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, and waters of the Central Valley Project in the San Joaquin Valley for environmental regulations aimed at protecting endangered fish species in the Delta This led to supply restrictions.
“Unfortunately, this year’s rainfall has fallen disproportionately in the north of the Central Valley Project,” Barajas said.
He said federal officials worked with his agency to “implement improvements to the allocation process last year, which is partly high in this initial allocation.”
Carl Stock, regional director of the Department of Reclamation, said recent Atmospheric River storms and relatively high reservoir levels have benefited the surface.
“But the San Joaquin Basin is experiencing a very dry condition,” he said. The first assignment “reflects this major variation in the entire Valley of Sacramento and San Joaquin.”
The agency said other water suppliers north of the Delta have been allocated 100% of the contract amount, as well as suppliers along the American River and along the Delta region. Meanwhile, agricultural suppliers who received water from the Friant-Kern and Madera canals were assigned 45% of their basic allocation.
The stock noted that California still has some of the traditional wet season that remains until April. He said the agency is “committed to sending as much water as possible to contractors that align with the goals of the Central Valley Project.” [Trump’s] Executive Order 14181. ”
Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Institute for Public Policy at the California Water Policy Center, said the announcement appears to be a normal part of the Reclamation Bureau, which generally sets quotas based on current conditions. I stated.
“They say they’re trying to maximize this, but they don’t really give details about how they’re going to do it in direct operations,” Mount said.
Federal agencies have moved to taking a more conservative approach in their expected allocation following the severe drought of 2020-22, Mount said.
“They seem to exist a little more in the way they were predicted, rather than the conservative approach they were taking after the drought,” he said.
The initial supply forecast is timed to notify farmers when farmers plan crops to plant. When federal supply is reduced, growers will usually pump more groundwater. So if the federal government ends up sending more water to farms this year, Mount said it would help farmers be able to pump less groundwater.
Southern California’s Metropolitan Water District, which supplies supply to urban and local agencies from state water projects, has seen an increase in water delivery help meet demand, and record-breaking water currently stored in reservoirs and underground storage areas. It said there is a possibility of adding to. .
MWD general manager Deven Upadhyay said the increase in allocations “helps the inevitable swing preparations return to dryness.”
Environmental advocates have criticised state and federal water management decisions in recent years, citing a decline in the population of Delta endangered fish and a season of cancelled salmon fishing for the second consecutive year due to a low population population. I’m doing it.
Ashley Overhouse, a water policy advisor for the wildlife group defender, said that state and federal government announcements to increase water supply are “irresponsible and reckless” and by extracting excess water, the delta It said it will further harm worsening ecosystems and native fish.
“Last year, we saw the highest mortality rate for winter-operated Chinook salmon in four years,” Overhouse said. “We also saw an unusually large number of Central Valais steelheads affected by delta pumps exceeding the thresholds established under the Endangered Species Act.”
She said the state “we must prioritize the health of our waterways” as climate change continues to affect California’s water resources.
The Bureau of Reclamation said the Trump administration has announced it has invested more than $315 million in new water storage projects, including plans to build the reservoir and grow dams to expand the San Luis Reservoir.
However, these federal investments are not new. The project was also supported by the Biden administration.
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