California
- Farm workers were joined today by farm owners in a unique alliance
to national notice of the Valley's dire water situation by marching from
Mendota to the San Luis Reservoir.
The March for Water, organized by the California Latino Water Coalition, began Tuesday and will conclude Friday at the large reservoir west of Los Banos. It is designed to draw attention to the effect that the lack of water is having on the Central Valley economy. Organizers say that court rulings curtailing water flowing from the Central Valley Project to Westside farms are causing massive job losses and economic hardships.
The Latino Water Coalition says its goals include suspension of the Endangered Species Act standards that prevent pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and getting state legislators to agree on a comprehensive water plan along with public assistance for farm workers impacted by the drought.
Many of the marchers are from the hard hit towns of Mendota and Firebaugh experiencing 40 percent unemployment due to the fallowed farm fields that cover the Westside. Firebaugh City Manager Jose Ramirez says the things that happened in the Dust Bowl era are happening in his town right now. City revenues are down $400,000 in the latest quarter because businesses are closing and the city is forced to layoff employees.
The whole economy is spiraling down, he says. Ramirez fears the loss of the town's two auto dealers – the largest sales tax generators – soon because there is no work and people can't afford to buy vehicles.
Snow Pack Improves
The most recent snow survey, while an improvement over previous surveys, did not free up more water for the Westside of the Valley where farmers there have been told they will get no water for irrigation this summer.
The Sierra snowpack is now put at 85 percent of average for April 1. Locally, the snowpack should be enough to fill Lake Kaweah this spring.
The state Department of Water Resources reported that statewide the snowpack water content is 81 percent of average. Water content is an important measurement in that it is the water that will flow in streams and reservoirs.
“A below-average snowpack at this time of year, especially following two consecutive dry years is a cause for concern,” said DWR Director Lester Snow. “Our most critical storage reservoirs remain low and we face severe water supply problems in many parts of our state. Californians must continue to save water at home and in their businesses.”
The April 1 survey is the last official survey of the year and is the main indicator how much runoff will be realized in a year. The survey found water content at 87 percent in the Northern Sierra, 80 percent in the Central Sierra, and 77 percent in the Southern Sierra.
While there won't be any more snow surveys, April is not exactly a dry month, but daily rainfall average drops considerably by the end of the month, although some rain and snow was expected this week.
The feds have announced that Friant contractors will get 85 percent of their Class I water allotment, an improvement over earlier announcements. However, Westside growers are still at zero and officials do not indicate that will change.
Lake Kaweah
Phil Deffenbaugh, park manager at Lake Kaweah, said the lake will reach 715 feet in elevation in the next few weeks, but he doubted the level will be at capacity for very long.
“We didn't get plum full last year. This year, indications are we will get plum full – just not for a very long time,” he said.
The lake is considered full when the
water elevation hits 715 feet. Deffenbaugh said the lake is rising about
a foot a day right now, but that will increase as the temperatures rise.
When the water level hits 715 feet, it will mark the third time in the
past four years the lake has reached capacity. It fell “just inches
short” last year.
By the time the lake does get full, the new boat ramps will be ready for
use.
Deffenbaugh said all that is left to be completed is a well for the restrooms and a final cap on the parking lot. Both are expected to be done by May 1. The lake reaches the ramp at 670-foot elevation.
“Hopefully they will be ready
to be used when the water gets there,” he said. The new boat launch
will have two ramps, the restrooms and the parking lot. The new ramps
are designed to allow boater access to the lake when it is full and is
completely submerged by the new lake level. The raising of the spillway
a few years ago means one boat ramp will go underwater during peak runoff
into the lake.
“Snowpack is looking good. It's not a bad snowpack,” said
Deffenbaugh.
Nunes Brings Fish
Earlier this month, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) took a fish bowl of Delta Smelt to a House Resources Committee hearing on the water situation in California – a situation Nunes and others are calling a manmade drought.
Nunes and others say action to protect the Delta Smelt has reduced pumping of water from the north to irrigation districts south of the Delta.
Committee members were urged to take action to provide both temporary and long term solutions to the state's water needs. A bill to temporarily suspend portions of the endangered species act was proposed as one short term solution.
Officials fear a forthcoming Biological Opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect salmon and steelhead may further reduce pumping capability. DWR expects it will be able to deliver only 20 percent of requested State Water Project water this year to the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California
Joining the panel of lawmakers, Tulare County Supervisor Allen Ishida pointed out that while California is experiencing its third year of below-average precipitation, this fact alone is not the cause of the state's water crisis.
Like most of those testifying, Ishida blamed federal court decisions related to the Endangered Species Act for limiting water transfers to the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) to protect the delta smelt.
“This fact has put stress on our surface water providers, increased the over-drafting of our underground water aquifers, caused massive economic losses and emotional stress for all of our residents who are dependent upon this water supply,” Ishida said.
Since passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) in 1992, he said California has redirected more than 3 million acre-feet of water that used to serve farms and cities to support fisheries and habitat.
Prior to 1992, he testified that roughly
85 percent of California's applied water supply was used for agriculture,
with the balance going to urban and industrial uses. Today, agriculture
accounts for only 41 percent, urban uses for 11 percent, and the largest
share, 48 percent, is devoted to these newly defined environmental purposes.
Westlands Water District gave up more than 800,000 acre-feet of water
for the environment following the passage of CVPIA.
“This was supposed to be the extent of their contribution to restore the environment,” Ishida said, with promises made to restore some of their losses through the now defunct Cal-Fed process.
Noting that the House of Representatives
passed legislation that will fund the San Joaquin River Settlement, he
said that, as a Friant water user, “I am concerned we will face
the same fate as the Westlands water users when this law is implemented.”
“We're not asking for a billion-dollar bailout. We aren't even asking
for one single dollar,” Nunes said. “All we need is for this
committee to move emergency legislation which would allow the delta pumps
to return to historic export levels.
“We cannot recycle our way out of a drought when there is no water to recycle,” he continued. “The solutions to this drought are clear. In the short term, we must turn the delta pumps back on and start pumping the water to the communities, water users and farmers who need it most.”
During the hearing, lead by Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, government officials were asked about the progress of the joint state and federal drought action team. J. William McDonald, acting commissioner for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said the team will work to maximize aid to drought-stricken communities and direct the appropriate departmental agencies and bureaus to work with the state's drought response team.
California Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman told the committee: “Each year, and especially in drought years, the acute tension between the environmental and economic uses of water generates lengthy, time-consuming and expensive controversy in the form of protracted process and litigation.”
He said there needs to be an investment in a long-term solution that includes “robust ecosystem restoration, increased water conservation, regional water investment, increased water storage, and a change in the manner in which we convey water across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The California Farm Bureau Federation contributed to this report.
The above story is the property
of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit
permission in writing from the publisher.