Yesterday, state officials announced a modest increase in the State Water Project allocation for 2015 to 15%; state and federal officials also held a media call briefing to review their response to the drought last year, the lessons learned, and their plans for responding to conditions in 2015, should drought conditions remain.
Here are the responses from water agencies on all the news of yesterday, listed in alphabetical order:
From the Association of California Water Agencies:
Timothy Quinn, executive director of the statewide Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), issued the following statement on drought-related announcements made today by state and federal agencies. Citing the likelihood of continued drought in 2015, the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced they have submitted a drought contingency plan to state regulators that highlights potential modifications to water quality rules and water rights permits to respond to drought conditions. DWR also announced a modest increase in 2015 forecasted deliveries for the State Water Project.
“The announcements today confirm this historic drought is far from over. While we can’t know for certain how the water year will turn out, we must plan for the worst and do all we can to manage through another challenging year.
“We credit state and federal agencies for their proactive planning and their high level of coordination as this drought continues. Many lessons were learned last year, and the agencies applied that knowledge to capitalize on the storms in early December and put as much water in storage as possible. That puts us in a better position to function this year.
“The modest increase in State Water Project allocations announced today is certainly welcome, but it is still the second-worst allocation in the project’s history. Local water managers will have their work cut out for them once again to make the most of existing supplies and meet demands this year. Funds from emergency drought legislation enacted in 2014 and Proposition 1 will help put more options on the table.
“Water conservation will continue to be the critical lever we can pull to reduce water use and reserve every drop we can in case we find ourselves in a fifth year of drought in 2016.
From the Kern County Water Agency:
Today, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced that the State Water Project (SWP) water allocation will increase from 10 to 15 percent of contracted amounts due to recent northern California storms and related precipitation. The SWP provides water to more than 25 million residents and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural land throughout California.
This increase represents an important and welcome step in the right direction. “We appreciate the efforts by the California Department of Water Resources to quickly act to increase the SWP allocation. This is an important first step toward increasing water supplies for Kern County and all of California,” said Kern County Water Agency (Agency) Board of Directors President Ted Page.
The Agency and its participant local water districts are contractually obligated to make the full payment for their SWP allocation, whether they receive the water or not. “Although this is very welcome news, it is hard to ignore the fact that we are only receiving a portion of the water we are paying for,” Page said. “Kern County’s water reserves have been severely diminished due to dry conditions and regulatory restrictions imposed on water flowing through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to areas throughout California. We are hopeful the allocations will continue to improve during the remainder of the water year,” added Page.
To offset water shortages, Kern County people, farms and businesses have relied on water previously stored in the ground to make up for low SWP allocations. This practice, called groundwater banking, allows water users to recharge water into the groundwater basin during wet years for use during dry years.
“Kern County’s groundwater banking facilities are arguably the most advanced in the nation, which has lessened the massive impact of limited water supplies in recent years,” said Page. “Kern County has also been experiencing some much needed rain, but it is important to remember that we still need a lot more storms before we’re out of this drought. So, in the near-term, we will continue implementing creative water management strategies to help deal with the shortage.”
From the State Water Contractors:
Public water agencies are now projected to receive 15 percent of contracted water supplies from the State Water Project (SWP), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced today. Water agencies began 2015 with an initial allocation of 10 percent, and recent winter storms allowed for a 5 percent increase.
While the increase is welcomed, and the additional water allocations will provide greater flexibility for SWP contractors and will improve local water management efforts, 95 percent of the state is still in severe drought. Reservoir levels remain low, and the Sierra snowpack – the source of water for 26 million Californians, millions of acres of farmland and the majority of the state’s businesses – is only 50 percent of average for this time of year. Forecasted SWP allocations may go up or down depending on the amount of precipitation received in the coming months, and DWR will provide water agencies with periodic estimates of how much water they will receive as winter and spring progress.
“The increase in allocations is a small – but important – boost in water supplies for what could be another year of drought in California. Water agencies are relying on nearly-depleted reserves through this multi-year drought and new water is desperately needed to serve our customers and replenish supplies. Unfortunately, we are operating under a broken system that puts significant constraints on water deliveries, even when a great deal of water is available. The increased allocation is welcome, but it remains clear that we need a modernized water system that allows us to capture supplies from large storms.”
Terry Erlewine
General Manager
State Water Contractors
Source:FWD_ Press Release_ SWP Allocation Increases to 15 Percent
Get the Notebook blog by email and never miss a post!
Sign up for daily emails and get all the Notebook’s aggregated and original water news content delivered to your email box by 9AM. Breaking news alerts, too. Sign me up!
