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In Monterey County alone, officials estimated damage to crops and farm in- frastructure at $600 million. Hundreds of millions of dollars in agricultural losses were also reported in Kings and Tulare counties as storms resurrected the dor- mant Tulare Lake, submerging farmlands and dairy properties. State and federal crews are racing to make repairs in anticipation of more storms to come. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding three sections of the Pajaro River levee that failed in March, flooding the town of Pajaro and Monterey County farm fields. State officials said they are investing $52 million for levee repairs and local flood control projects in the ensuing months in hopes of preventing additional flooding in the next water year. Gary Lippner, DWR’s deputy director of flood management and dam safety, said the potential of new flooding “keeps me awake a little bit at night going into an El Niño year.” Last month, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said there is a 95% probability that El Niño conditions will persist through January to March of 2024, with a 71% likelhood of strong weath- er impacts. Nemeth said it is “absolutely critical”
Heavy equipment was deployed in March to close a levee break on the Pajaro River that flooded farm fields. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now rebuilding three sections of the levee as state water officials accelerate flood-control projects elsewhere in California.
for water officials to keep a close eye on “long-duration forecasting” to plan for potential flood emergencies. Yet Craddock of the State Water Project said officials also must plan “for both dry and wet scenarios.” He said that means meticulous decisions on adjusting res- ervoir levels, whether releasing water for
flood control or holding it back “in the event conditions turn dry.” After dealing with California’s driest years on record from 2020 to 2022, Nemeth said the state was blessed with water abun- dance this year. But she said there were also abundant challenges in managing the water deluge. “Mother Nature really helped us out, and she did help us out in a really, really big
way in certain parts of the state,” Nemeth said. “But there are always ways in which Mother Nature can throw us a curve ball, and we shouldn’t expect that necessari- ly again. There’s a lot of work to continue to be done, particularly when it comes to flooding and protecting our communities.” (Peter Hecht is chief editor of publications for the California Farm Bureau. He may be contacted at phecht@cfbf.com.)
2023 Health & Safety on the Farm and Ranch
California Farm Bureau is pleased to offer this year-long program of training sessions presented by Nationwide. Select topics will be presented in both English and Spanish. Members, enjoy access to free classes! Register for the upcoming training webinars. Trainings will be presented via Zoom. The Hazardous Agricultural Materials (HAM) training must be attended in person at a participating County Farm Bureau office or at the California Farm Bureau office in Sacramento. For a list of class dates and to register, visit cfbf.com/FBE or call (800) 698-FARM for assistance. You will receive a Zoom link and details two days prior to your selected webinar date.
October 11, 2023 Ag Alert 11
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