Central Valley Project water contractors will be receiving more water after an announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Water supply allocations have been increased significantly from the initial announcement back in February. Several atmospheric river events helped improve hydrological conditions immensely, prompting an increase in allocations.
“We appreciate the Bureau of Reclamation’s time and effort to increase the water allocation and consider the changes in precipitation, reservoir storage levels, and snow water content in the Sierra that we’ve been blessed with since the initial allocation in February,” said Westlands Water District interim general manager Jose Gutierrez. “For farmers and our Westside communities who have dealt with drought, and a 0% allocation these past two years, being in a position to have certainty of additional water supplies for the year to come will help them recuperate, hire and retain staff, and bolster their ability to continue feeding the world.”
Irrigation water service and repayment contractors north-of-Delta will now receive 80 percent of their contract total. South-of-Delta contractors have also received the same 80 percent allocation. Initial allocations had been more conservative at 35 percent. While Class 1 water for Friant Division contractors already had a 100 percent allocation, Class 2 was previously increased from 20 percent to 70 percent.
“Despite this positive news for this year’s allocations, the decades long delay in investment in water storage and conveyance infrastructure has resulted in large volumes of water being uncaptured for use,” Executive Director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, Federico Barajas said in a news release. “The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires more sustainable conjunctive use – but we must be able to capture maximum sustainable quantities of water in years like this to fully implement the Act without undue harm to communities in the San Joaquin Valley. The time to act is now.”
Increases to Central Valley Project allocations come after notable increases in reservoir levels. Shasta Reservoir has improved from 59 percent to 81 percent of storage capacity. The San Luis Reservoir has also increased to 97 percent of storage capacity over the last month. A record-breaking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is also holding additional water capacity.
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