Water deliveries increase for Valley farms
By: Mark Grossi and Robert Rodriguez

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday announced a five-fold increase in west Valley irrigation supply for summer, but water officials wonder if the news has come in time to help farmers make last-minute crop plans.

Salazar raised the water forecast to 25% of the amount that west San Joaquin Valley growers are allowed each year from the Central Valley Project. Last month, he could only assure west siders of 5%.

Thanks to continuing March storms, the announcement was moved a week ahead of schedule to help farmers with planning.

Officials added that allotments might be increased further in the coming months.

Salazar has personally delivered each forecast to California this year after receiving political pressure from lawmakers and water officials, who point to the west side's increasing unemployment and economic plight after three years of drought. Usually, water forecasts are made by lower-level federal officials in Sacramento.

Both Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had threatened legislation overriding environmental rules to ease the west-side water shortage, and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said they were pleased with the increase.

So was the federal project's largest customer, Westlands Water District. But district spokeswoman Sarah Woolf said the news might have come too late for farmers who needed assurance of additional water before they could get crop loans.

"There are guys who literally are still waiting to see if they can get a bank loan," Woolf said.

West-side farmer Joe Del Bosque said many growers are in survival mode after receiving only a 10% supply last year.

Del Bosque fallowed 800 acres last year that would have grown processing tomatoes, cantaloupes and grains.

He will use the additional water announced Tuesday to keep his 670 acres of almond trees alive and grow about 500 acres of cantaloupes.

"This will help us get through another year," Del Bosque said. "Last year, we were cut so deeply that many farmers are still struggling."

The increased forecast comes as the state completes its wettest year since 2006. The Sierra snowpack is above average for the season.

In Northern California, Shasta Reservoir, which provides federal water for the Valley's west side, is at more than 100% of average for this date.

From the San Joaquin River, the 15,000 east Valley farmers in the Friant Water Authority will receive 100% of their high-priority deliveries and 10% of the lower-priority water that is mostly funneled into ponds to replenish ground water.

West-side cities on the federal project, such as Huron and Coalinga, will get 75% of their annual allotments, up from 55% last month.

West-side farmers have lower allotments partly because the three-year drought has left many reservoirs low, federal officials said.

Protections for dwindling fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta may also reduce water pumping for irrigation this spring. The 25% projection for west-side farmers is conservative, officials said.

"We are still coming off of a dry fall," said Mike Connor, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, owner of the Central Valley Project. "And in some watersheds, we're still looking at below-average spring runoff."