Lawsuits Continued from Page 1
to store water in Don Pedro Reservoir,” saidMelissa Williams, spokeswoman for Modesto Irrigation District. “We will take all legal steps necessary to challenge the statewater board’s regulation authorizing the issuanceof curtailment orders and the individual curtailment orders themselves.” Williams said the board’s order is not likely to affect the districts’ water deliver- ies this year. But, she said, “Curtailments
Stanislaus County farmer RonMacedo, amember of theTurlock IrrigationDistrict board of directors, said “the hard part is the board has not given any indication as towhen itmight lift thecurtailment orders or how theywill be enforced.” “Farmers need to plan land purchas- es, rental agreements, cropping patterns. They need to plan all of that and how do you do that with all the uncertainty
has done a great job in adoptingmore ef- ficient irrigation practices and technolo- gy. But, he said, “You still need a certain amount of water to grow the crop.” Farmers and water leaders say that the state is in for a troubledwater futureunless immediate action is taken to invest and construct newwater infrastructure. Macedo said it is imperative that the state gets serious about increasing water infrastructure to store water in the wet years for use in drought years. “It is important tobeable tomovewater among thehaves andhave-nots sowe can continue to farmand provide to the econ- omy,” he said. Despite California voters’ approval of a $7.1billionwater infrastrucure initiative in 2014,water storageprojects remainstalled —withconstructionstillmany years away. “If a year like this doesn’t convince us to get off the can in terms of infrastructure and building resiliency into the system, thenIhave toconclude that certainpeople are digging in their heels as a policy mat- ter in a way that’s contrary to the forward interests of California,” Scheuring said. “There are identified water infrastructure projects and steps that we can take tomit- igate years like this. “All eyes are on the coming season and whether it is going to bring us back from thebrink,”Scheuringsaid. “If not, it’sgoing to be a really tough time next year.” (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
“Nothing about the board’s authority over reasonable use or illegal diversions confers a generalized jurisdiction over pre-1914 and riparian rights,” said Chris Scheuring, California Farm Bureau se- nior counsel. “There is still a meaningful distinction in the law between post-1914 rights and these historically senior water rights, which predate the board’s estab- lishment in 1914.” Another lawsuitwas filed inSacramento County Superior Court on Sept. 1 by Patterson, West Stanislaus and Banta- Carbona irrigation districts, which have water rights on the west side of the San Joaquin River. And on Sept. 7, theMerced IrrigationDistrict filedsuit over its rights to divert water fromtheMercedRiver. “While there is little question about the currentdryconditions inCalifornia, thereis plentyquestionableabouthowthestatewa- terboardhasgoneabout carryingout its re- sponse,”Merced IrrigationDistrictGeneral Manager JohnSweigardsaidinastatement. The suit in Fresno County Superior Court claims the state overreached in cutting off supplies to senior water rights holders. It charges that the board denied dueprocess to regionalwater districts and potentially impacted their historic water rights by not specifying when the curtail- ment order ends. “We’ve raised concerns regarding the ambiguous process for the state wa- ter board lifting curtailment orders and how the process will impact our ability
“If a year like this doesn’t convince us to get off the can in terms of infrastructure and building resiliency into the system, then I have to conclude that certain people are digging in their heels as a policy matter.” —Chris Scheuring California Farm Bureau
could have a substantial impact on avail- ablewater in2022andbeyond, depending onwhen this current curtailment is lifted.” Oakdale Irrigation District General Manager Steve Knell said the curtailment order also impacts a district’s ability to store water. “We want to put ourselves in the best position so that whatever rain comes,wecancapture it, store it andmake it available,” he said in a statement. Echoing that idea, Scheuring said, “We recognize the necessity of protecting re- leasesof storedwater fromillegaldiversion, andtheboard’senforcement inthat regard should followrecognizedprocedure.”
hanging over your head? That’s what’s ex- tremely tough,” said Macedo, who grows almonds, pumpkins and other field crops inTurlock. “We’rehoping it’s going tobe a wet winter.” Merced IrrigationDistrict said it joined other local water agencies and senior wa- ter rights holders in sending letters to the state water board months before curtail- ment regulationswereadopted.The letters proposed a variety of actions to address the drought. But the district said it didn’t receive a “substantive” response. Farmers are already doing more with less, Macedo said, adding that agriculture
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
For the week September 2 - September 8, 2021 ETO (INCHES/WEEK)
YEAR
3.0
THIS YEAR
2.5
LAST YEAR AVERAGE YEAR
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
MACDOEL II (236)
BIGGS (244)
DAVIS (06)
MANTECA (70)
FRESNO (80)
SALINAS-SOUTH (214)
FIVE POINTS (2)
SHAFTER (5)
TEMECULA (62)
IMPERIAL (87)
THIS YEAR LAST YEAR AVG. YEAR % FROM AVG.
1.20 1.44 1.28 -7
1.36 1.11 1.26 9
1.69 1.82 1.64 3
1.69 1.53 1.47 15
1.49 1.38 1.37 8
1.50 1.56 1.48 2
1.66 1.47 1.50 12
1.29 1.29 1.12 15
1.26 1.16 1.31 -3
1.82 1.86 1.72 5
W eekly reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the rate of water use (evapotranspiration—the sum of soil evaporation and crop transpiration) for healthy pasture grass. Multiplying ETo by the appropriate “crop coefficient” gives estimates of the ET for other crops. For example, assume ETo on June 15 is 0.267 inches and the crop coefficient for corn on that day is 1.1. Multiplying ETo by the coefficient (0.26 inches x 1.1) results in a corn ET of 0.29 inches. This
information is useful in determining the amount and timing of irriga- tion water. Contact Richard Snyder, UC Davis, for information on coefficients, 530-752-4628. The 10 graphs provide weekly ETo rates for selected areas for average year, last year and this year. The ETo information is provided by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) of the California Department of Water Resources.
For information contact the DWR district office or DWR state headquarters:
SACRAMENTO HEADQUARTERS: 916-651-9679 • 916-651-7218
NORTHERN REGION: Red Bluff 530-529-7301
NORTH CENTRAL REGION: West Sacramento 916-376-9630
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
SOUTHERN REGION:
Fresno 559-230-3334
Glendale 818-500-1645 x247 or x243
18 Ag Alert September 15, 2021
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