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Water help coming soon for West Side farmers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 5, 2008 at 5:54 am

From the Modesto Bee:

The thirsty West Side of the San Joaquin Valley soon will get a boost in its water supply but not enough to ward off all the effects of the drought.

The California Department of Water Resources this week announced the first water transfers under last month’s emergency declaration by Gov. Schwarzenegger. At least 87,500 acre-feet of water is expected to be moved around to aid areas with severe shortages. An acre-foot is enough to cover an acre 1-foot deep.

The beneficiaries will include the Del Puerto Water District, a 45,000-acre strip next to Interstate 5 in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. It stands to get about 3,500 more acre-feet, helping to make up for a 10,000-acre-foot shortage, general manager Bill Harrison said. Just when the water will be delivered is not yet known, he said.

“We’re still suffering from shortages and restrictions, and in spite of the emergency declaration, we have seen no real relief,” he said.

Del Puerto is in especially tough straits because its usual supply comes entirely from the federal Central Valley Project. The allotment has been cut to 40 percent this year because of the drought and protections for fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where the wa- ter is pumped into the Delta- Mendota Canal.

Most other districts have access to groundwater or rights to rivers. The Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts, for example, tap the Tuolumne River, though the TID has capped its deliveries this year to help assure a supply for 2009.

Read the full text of this article from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.

July 5, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Water Transfers

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