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Feds reduce water to Central Valley farms; Westlands Water District growers in crisis, to decide which crops to abandon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 3, 2008 at 6:46 am

From the Fresno Bee:

Federal officials told hundreds of farmers in the Westlands Water District on Monday that they will get even less irrigation water — just days after the district announced a rationing plan. Farmers in the nation’s largest federal water district will be hit hard — many said they expect to abandon crops or even go out of business for lack of water.

Two members of Congress and district officials urged Gov. Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency. “Half the people in this room are going to go broke,” Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manger, said at a meeting that drew about 400 to the fairgrounds in Los Banos. “This is a crisis that has to be fixed now.”

A dry spring and the Wanger court ruling are creating a crisis situation. The Westlands Water District announced rationing plans last Friday, and on Monday, Bureau of Reclamation officials announced water allocations were being reduced from 45% to 40%. Farmers are also being hit hard by soaring fertilizer and fuel costs:

Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson said the crisis is certain to go beyond farms. He said it will affect small businesses that rely on farming. “There are many jobs at stake,” he said.

Milligan said the Bureau of Reclamation will ask the State Water Quality Control Board to adjust standards to allow more ground water to be pumped into the delta.

The Metropolitan Water District, which serves Southern California, also has found its supplies strained by a drought that cut back supplies from the Colorado River. But that district has built storage facilities that give it enough water to cover needed supplies for two years, reclamation officials said. They said they are talking with MWD officials to see whether they will agree to reduce the amount of water they get from the delta. “Their day of reckoning is coming, too,” said John Davis, the bureau’s deputy regional director.

From KFSN, ABC affiliate for Fresno, maybe there is a silver lining, though:

Congressman Jim Costa described the water crisis as the perfect storm created by a critically dry spring, a dry 2007, and a variety of regulations. But he said these desperate times may finally lead to legislative action.

Jim Costa: “Maybe, just maybe, this is the crisis necessary, I hate to say this, we need to try to get some decisions made both in Sacramento and Washington.”

Many farmers at this briefing called for improvements to the state’s water delivery system along with increased storage and relaxed regulations.

Tom Birmingham (Westlands Water District GM): “We have a very important decision. Do we want to sustain agriculture? And it’s going to be up to people in Washington and Sacramento to make that decision.”

Read the full text of this article from the Fresno Bee by clicking here. Read the full text (or see video) from KFSN ABC in Fresno by clicking here.

June 3, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Central Valley Project