From the Bureau of Reclamation:
In support of ongoing efforts to provide maximum water supplies in California, the Bureau of Reclamation announces an increase in Central Valley Project 2025 water supply allocations that will provide farmers and other CVP contractors greater water supply certainty throughout the growing season. Initial allocations for the 2025 water year were announced Feb. 25 and are updated today.
“While most of the Central Valley Project contractors are at 100% allocation, we are very pleased to announce an increase in allocations for our South-of-Delta and Friant Division contractors,” said Acting Regional Director Adam Nickels. “Consistent with the intent of Executive Order 14181, we are able to increase South-of Delta agriculture to 40% and Friant Division Class 1 to 100%.”
Reclamation is striving to maximize water supply, particularly for South-of-Delta contracts to meet Executive Order 14181’s directives. Demonstrating its commitment to California farmers and communities, Reclamation continues its dedicated efforts to deliver more water and produce more hydropower. Reclamation will continue to maximize pumping whenever possible at the federal pumping facility to move water to parts of California where it is needed most and provide the greatest economic value to the entire country.
Based on current hydrology and forecasting, Reclamation is announcing the following increases to CVP water supply allocations:
South-of-Delta Contractors
· Irrigation water service and repayment contractors south-of-Delta are increased to 40% from 35% of their contract total. Municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors south-of-Delta remain at 75% of their historical use, or public health and safety needs, whichever is greater.
Friant Division Contractors
· Friant Division contractors’ water supply is delivered from Millerton Reservoir on the upper San Joaquin River via the Madera and Friant-Kern canals. The first 800,000 acre-feet of available water supply is considered Class 1; Class 2 is considered the next amount of available water supply up to 1.4 million acre-feet. The initial Friant Division water supply allocation for Class 1 was increased from 45% to 80% on March 14. Today’s announcement includes a further increase to 100%; Class 2 water remains at 0%.
All other allocation amounts announced on Feb. 25 remain at 100%.
Reclamation reserves about 83,000 acre-feet of water in San Luis Reservoir that is attributed to a drought reserve pool and is not considered available for water supply allocations in non-critical years. Further, Reclamation recognizes around 210,000 acre-feet of previous year water rescheduled by Central Valley Project contractors for use this water year. This rescheduled water, representing enough to support around an additional 10% south-of-Delta irrigation water service and repayment contract allocation, is not considered available for current year water supply allocation, though it may be used by these contractors this year.
As the water year progresses, changes in hydrology, actions that impact operations, and opportunities to deliver additional water will influence future allocations. Reclamation will continue to monitor hydrology and may adjust basin-specific allocations if conditions warrant. Water supply updates are posted on Reclamation California-Great Basin Region’s website.
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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation’s largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits.
Central Valley Project contractors respond …
From the Friant Water Authority:
The Friant Water Authority is pleased to announce that the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) has updated the Class 1 water allocation for the 2025 water year to 100%. We are extremely grateful for the BoR’s continued responsiveness and leadership in delivering a full allocation for Class 1 contractors, which brings certainty and relief to many of our growers and communities in the Friant Division.
This 100% Class 1 allocation reflects a positive water supply outlook and supports the ongoing planning and operations of our water users as they enter the 2025 growing season. Timely and clear communication from the BoR is vital, and we commend the agency for its efficient response to changing hydrologic conditions.
The allocation for Class 2 contractors remains at 0%.
It is important to note that the Friant Division has two water contract types that reflect its purpose and design as a conjunctive water management project that encourages contractors to store water underground in wet years for later use, such as during dry periods.
- CLASS 1 Friant supply is the first 800,000-acre feet of water captured in Millerton Lake, and the contractors of Class 1 supply are usually cities or districts without access to groundwater supplies.
- CLASS 2 Friant supply is the subsequent 1.4 million acre-feet of water captured in Millerton Lake; and the contractors of Class 2 supply use much of this for groundwater recharge.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation to ensure long-term water reliability and sustainability for the Friant system. Today’s announcement is a strong step forward in supporting California agriculture, local economies, and resilient water management.
From Westlands Water District:
In response to the recent announcement fromthe U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on updated water allocations for the Central Valley Project (CVP) waters, Westlands Water District’s General Manager, Allison Febbo, offers the following statement.
“This updated allocation reflects some of the recent rains that brought water to San Joaquin Valley and Northern California reservoirs and gives our farmers some additional assurances that there will be water to support their crops in the coming months. This modest increase from the initial allocation offered in February demonstrates that we must continue to work at both the state and federal levels to identify practical yet meaningful changes to strengthen our state’s water supply and reliability for all of California. We continue to be encouraged by the state and federal administration’s recent actions to maximize water supply for Californians and look forward to a subsequent allocation update that reflects the totality of recent hydrology.”
