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State Curtails River Diversions Again. What That Means to Modesto-area Water Users

/in , , /by /The Modesto Beeby John Holland and Dale Kasler

The state has again stopped river diversions in much of Stanislaus and nearby counties, but the effect on farms and cities is minimal for the moment.

The orders allow water agencies to continue delivering supplies already in reservoirs. They include the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts and San Francisco on the Tuolumne River, and the Oakdale and South San Joaquin districts on the Stanislaus River.

These agencies have enough stored water for this year, but they still challenge the state’s authority over their long-held river rights.

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Opinion: New Melones Modeling & Megadroughts: Setting Stage for State’s Water Armageddon

/in , /by /Manteca Bulletinby Dennis Wyatt

New Melones Reservoir is the proverbial canary in the mine when it comes to where state water policy wedded with the return of megadroughts is taking California.

Using historical hydrology data on the Stanislaus River basin between 1922 and 2019:

*Based on current regulatory rules New Melones Reservoir would fall below 250,000 acre feet of storage in 3 out of the 98 years.

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‘Everyone Loses’: Sacramento Valley Struggles to Survive Unprecedented Water Cuts

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Standing on the grassy plateau where water is piped onto his property, Josh Davy wished his feet were wet and his irrigation ditch full.

Three years ago, when he sank everything he had into 66 acres of irrigated pasture in Shasta County, Davy thought he’d drought-proofed his cattle operation.

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Farmers Across State Face New Water Cuts, California Farm Bureau Reports

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Timesby Christine Souza

With 60% of the state now in extreme drought conditions, state officials are warning water-right holders that they should expect more curtailments during peak irrigation season in June and July.

In a statement last week, the state Division of Water Rights said “curtailments are expected to increase progressively through the spring and summer and continue through the early fall until significant precipitation occurs.”

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Why Farmers Often Pay Higher Water Rates and Fees During Drought

/in , /by /Capital Pressby Sierra Dawn McClain

California walnut grower Tim McCord is at the dry end of the spigot, facing a zero-water allocation from the Central Valley Project, which is supposed to deliver to his local San Benito County Water District.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said McCord.

The farmer is not just concerned about his orchard; he’s also frustrated that he owes substantial water-related taxes to the district, and, if water is eventually delivered, he’ll be charged $309.75 per acre-foot — more than in non-drought years.

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As California Gets Its Final Winter Rains, Drought Is Setting Up a Water Battle

/in , , /by /PBSby Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado

On a recent day in the San Joaquin Valley, the rain falling outside was cause for celebration for Aaron Fukuda.

“For us, water is a mood,” Fukuda, president of the Tulare Irrigation District, said over the phone.

As a third consecutive dry year sets in on California, drought has become a source of stress and anxiety for farmers and communities. But rain brings happiness. If only the rain came more often, Fukuda stated.

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‘Urgency Change’ Will Allow More Water to Be Stored in Lake Oroville and Shasta Lake

/in , , , /by /Action News Nowby Kelli Saam

Federal and state water agencies have issued an urgency change to conserve more water in Lake Oroville and Shasta Lake.

District 1 Rep. Doug LaMalfa announced Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources have issued a temporary urgency change petition. It will be in effect now through June 30.

The urgency petition allows the State Water Project and Central Valley Project to release less water through the Delta, in order to conserve stored water at reservoirs including Shasta Lake, Lake Oroville and Folsom Lake.

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Proposed Tulare County Reservoir Could Begin Banking Water as Soon as 2026

/in , , /by /The Sun Gazetteby Reggie Ellis

Last Friday’s report that California’s snowpack is just 38% of normal underscores the importance for Tulare County to not only take the drought more seriously, but to brace for drier winters to become the rule rather than the exception.

Two Tulare County irrigation water agencies aren’t waiting around to see how the state will cope with the current and future drought and are taking steps to secure more water storage in the Kaweah Subbasin. Tulare Irrigation District (TID) and Consolidated Peoples Ditch Company (CPDC) purchased 260 acres in December 2020 near McKay Point, where the Kaweah River forks into the Lower Kaweah and St. John’s rivers near Lemon Cove, to build a reservoir capable of storing 8,000 acre feet of water.

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As It Enters a Third Year, California’s Drought Is Strangling the Farming Industry

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Scott Wilson

The school is disappearing.

Westside Elementary opened its doors nearly a century ago here in the San Joaquin Valley, among the most productive agricultural regions on earth. As recently as 1995, nearly 500 students filled its classrooms. Now 160 students attend and enrollment is falling fast.

This was where the children of farmworkers learned to read and write, often next to the children of the farm owners who employed their parents.

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Drought Limits Water Supply for Western US Agriculture

/in , , /by /Argus Mediaby Jasmine Davis

The US Bureau of Reclamation announced last month that irrigation districts accounting for farmers across California’s Central Valley would receive a zero-water allocation from the Central Valley Project as early-year dryness weighs on anticipated water supply. No water is allocated for irrigation north and south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta, including off the Sacramento river, according to the 23 February announcement. Additional allocations will be announced in May.

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