[env-trinity] California water allocation has winners, losers

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29714209/california-drought:-water-allocation-has-winners-losers


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| California water allocation has winners, losers |
| By Paul Rogers, progers at mercurynews.com
San Jose Mercury News |
| Posted:Sat Apr 02 08:20:51 MDT 2016 |
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| In the latest sign of California's improving drought picture, federal officials announced Friday that South Bay cities will receive 55 percent of their contracted water amounts this summer -- up from 25 percent last year -- from the Central Valley Project, California's largest water delivery system.Heavy rains in March boosted the amount of water in Northern California's large reservoirs such as Shasta and Folsom, allowing farmers in the Sacramento Valley and wildlife refuges to receive 100 percent of their contracted amounts, while the Contra Costa Water District also will receive 100 percent, up from 25 percent a year ago.Friday's allocations were the highest since 2013 overall across the state. But some San Joaquin Valley farmers will receive only 5 percent of contracted amounts -- barely up from zero last year.Officials at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees the Central Valley Project, say that's because the rain and snow this winter fell mostly in Northern California. Also, they noted, because it came in March, when endangered salmon and smelt were near massive pumps at Tracy, that limited the amount under federal law that they could pump south into San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos. "The news today is primarily good news for many of our water users. But the ones who are still impacted are being hit hard," said Shane Hunt, a bureau spokesman.Some agricultural leaders lashed out at the way the bureau has interpreted the federal Endangered Species Act."We prayed for rain and Mother Nature blessed us. We begged for a water supply and instead are handed a pittance that is destroying farms, jobs and communities," said Jason Peltier, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, whose members irrigate 1.2 million acres of farmland in the San Joaquin Valley."The faith we once had in the government to intelligently manage our public water resources has also, sadly, been destroyed," Peltier added.The low delivery amounts did not affect all farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. Some with more senior water rights will receive 100 percent of their contracted amounts.The federal Central Valley Project -- which was constructed starting in the 1930s and moves water from Shasta Lake to Bakersfield through a vast array dams, canals and pumps -- provides about 80 percent of its water to farms. In dry years, however, cities receive priority over farms.Friday's news brought smiles to the faces of Bay Area water leaders who have contracts for the federal water."This is good news," said Colleen Valles, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves 1.9 million people. "It's more than we got last year, and that will definitely help us recharge our aquifers and manage supply."Since last year, the water district has asked all cities and private water companies in Santa Clara County to reduce demand by 30 percent from 2013 levels. A key reason is that Central Valley Project water makes up about 25 percent of the district's supply, but last year, the district received only a quarter of its contracted amount.In May, water district officials are expected to relax their conservation targets, though some may remain.Similarly pleased Friday were officials at the Contra Costa Water District, which receives 85 percent of its water via the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta from Central Valley Project contracts. The district serves 550,000 people in central and eastern Contra Costa County."A 100 percent allocation means that we will certainly be able to meet customer demands," said district spokeswoman Jennifer Allen.Other urban areas that will receive 100 percent allocations are north of the Delta, including Sacramento, Roseville and Redding.She noted that full deliveries this summer will allow the agency to raise Los Vaqueros Reservoir, its largest, which now sits at 51 percent full, to at least 70 percent full. It also means that the district will ease water restrictions on residents in the coming months, she said, after state water board officials change mandatory conservation targets across the state on May 3.Other major water agencies around the Bay Area receive no Central Valley Project water. Customers in San Francisco and parts of the Peninsula and South Bay, for example, get water from the Hetch Hetchy system.For the 1.4 million people served by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the federal water represents a small percentage of overall supply.Paul Rogers covers resources and environmental issues. Contact him at 408-920-5045. Follow him at Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN |


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