Central Valley Project Archives

Calif. Senate Advances Bill to Spend $785mil to Repair Valley Canals

A bill aimed at improving the Valley’s two largest canal systems from continued subsidence-driven damage advanced through one house of the California State Legislature on Friday.

Senate Bill 559, a top priority for legislators on both side of the aisle in the San Joaquin Valley and led by Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D–Sanger), seeks to dedicate $785 million in spending for improvements to four sets of waterways, spearheaded by two canals servicing the Central Valley Project: the Delta-Mendota Canal and the Friant-Kern Canal.

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Urban Water Districts Consider Mandatory Conservation as Drought Deepens

June 1, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kristiene Gong /Politicoby Debra Khan

Urban water agencies are planning to impose mandatory conservation orders after federal water managers slashed deliveries this week amid a rapidly deepening drought.

The Bureau of Reclamation cut water deliveries from the Central Valley Project by about half. That has prompted the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves 2 million residents in the Silicon Valley region, to consider a potential conservation order at its board meeting next month. And the Contra Costa Water District, which serves 500,000 residents in the East Bay, is now planning to vote on one in July.

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Federal Government Slashes Water Deliveries to Farms, Cities as California Drought Worsens

May 27, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

California’s water supply got cut again Wednesday, with the federal government reducing allocations to cities and farms as the drought intensified.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that municipal water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project will have this year’s allocations slashed from 55% down to 25% — a level not seen since the drought of 2015.

That could put additional pressure on the municipalities around greater Sacramento that depend on supplies from Folsom Lake, whose water levels have sunk dramatically this spring. The reservoir is at 46% of its usual capacity for late May.

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Drought Forces Drastic Water Cuts to Valley Towns, Farmers

May 27, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /GV Wireby Bill McEwen

It’s not yet Memorial Day weekend, but the Bureau of Reclamation is taking drastic measures because of the California drought. On Wednesday, the Bureau announced that farmers north and south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta would receive no water from the Central Valley Project. Municipal, Industrial Water Deliveries Cut 30%. In addition, municipal and industrial water-service contractors north and south of the Delta will see their allocations cut from 55% of their historic use to 25%.

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Irrigation Districts Look to Transfers as Water Dwindles

May 19, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /AgAlertby Christine Souza

With very little water to spare this drought year, water districts struggling with limited or no supplies look to their counterparts in other districts to negotiate water transfers to add whatever flexibility they can.

Districts on the west side of the Central Valley, both north and south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, face the prospect of receiving no water from the Central Valley Project.

“Water transfers are absolutely critical to preventing a disaster on the west side of the Sacramento Valley this year. Other than groundwater, it’s the only water many of our folks have,” said Jeffrey Sutton, general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority; the TCCA, a joint powers authority, serves 17 water districts in Tehama, Glenn, Colusa and Yolo counties.

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Reclamation Halts Water Deliveries to Northern Calif. Farmers

May 6, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The San Joaquin Valley Sunby Alex Tavlian

More than a month after announcing it was suspending water deliveries to farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, the Bureau of Reclamation delivered equally bad news to farmers north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Their water supplies, tabbed at 5 percent of their contracted amount, were not available for delivery via the Central Valley Project due to limited supply.

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California’s Drought is Back, but Nobody Wants to Hear it from Newsom

March 25, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Politicoby Debra Kahn

California’s drought conditions might normally prompt calls for shorter showers and shutting off sprinklers. But Californians are in no mood to hear it after a year of pandemic deprivation. Especially from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facing an almost certain recall election after imposing multiple rounds of business closures and constantly telling residents to stay home.

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Some Irrigators on West Side of Stanislaus County can Expect Only 5% of Federal Water

February 26, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Modesto Beeby John Holland

West Side farmers using the federal Central Valley Project can expect 5% to 75% of their contracted supply this year.

Two straight dry winters brought that announcement Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It involves water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to as far south as Kern County.

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Red Alert Sounding on California Drought, as Valley Gets Grim News About Water Supply

February 24, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

A government agency that controls much of California’s water supply released its initial allocation for 2021, and the numbers reinforced fears that the state is falling into another drought.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that most of the water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project will get just 5% of their contract supply, a dismally low number. Although the figure could grow if California gets more rain and snow, the allocation comes amid fresh weather forecasts suggesting the dry winter is continuing.

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Feds Start 2021 with Light Water Supply for Valley Farmers

February 23, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Joaquin Valley Sunby Alex Tavlian

Valley farmers had low expectations heading into the spring. Federal water authorities likely met them, to say the least.

Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced its first water allocations for farmers and water users along the Central Valley Project.

Light snowpack is, once again, the culprit, Federal officials said.

“Although we had a couple of precipitation-packed storms in January and early February, we are still well below normal for precipitation and snowfall this year,” said Bureau region director Ernest Conant. “We will monitor the hydrology as the water year progresses and continue to look for opportunities for operational flexibility.”

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