Water Continued from Page 1
that therebemore collaborationandpart- nerships to turn problems into solutions. “There is concern throughout the valley of seeing asmuch as 800,000 acres poten- tially going out of production as a result of implementationof SGMA,”D’Adamosaid. “There is tremendous concern wherever you go in the valley of what this is going to mean for the transfer market, what’s it going tomean if youhaveongoing surface water challenges, soreally looking forpart- nerships there, expanding groundwater recharge andbeingmore creativewith re- schedulingwater deliveries.” Four th-generat ion Kern County farmer Bret Sill grows almonds, wal- nuts, row crops, alfalfa and wheat. He said, “We’ve been trying to work sus- tainably for many generations.” Over the years, his family added recy- cledwater to irrigate some crops and em- ployed new technology such as moisture probes to reducewater use. He has also worked with a company to automate irrigation among other invest- ments innew technology. “We are looking at what we cando to be more sustainable inour practicesnot only by increasingsoil fertility, butby increasing water retentionandcarbonsequestration,” Sill said. “My goal is to reduce our reliance onsynthetic inputs.Weareconservingwa- ter,weare conservingenergy and trying to bemore sustainable for the future.” (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.)
An aerial view of Shasta Dam on Oct. 28 re- vealed a stark water picture. Reservoir levels recovered briefly after December storms, only to shrink after an exceptionally dry start to 2022.
happening right now about what this year will shape up like, but it’s going to be pretty tough.” Aspart of aconferencepanel discussion onwater sustainability, Bettner described how farmers and the district have part- neredwithothers tohelp fishpopulations and stretchwater use. State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel talked about broadwater issues facing the state, includ- ing water rights, storage and balancing groundwater supplies as required by the SustainableGroundwaterManagementAct. Inasummaryofhisremarks,providedby the state water board, Esquivel discussed imposing water curtailments in critical watersheds to preserve supplies for cities and limiting the amount that water-rights holdersmay be able todivert this year. Last year, the stateboardadoptedemer- gencycurtailments for severalwatersheds, including the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, due to severe drought conditions. That action halted 2021 water diversions for 10,300water rightson theSacramento- SanJoaquinDeltaanddeniedsurface-wa- ter deliveries for some 4,500 farms. California Irrigation Institute President Chase Hurley said Esquivel’s remarks sig- naled potential emergency actions again this water year. He said water rights will also be a topic of discussion for the board. “You can tell that water rights is some- thing that Joaquin and the board are real-
ly thinking about,” saidHurley, managing partner of Water & Land Solutions and former generalmanager of SanLuisCanal Company inDos Palos. Hurley expressedadded concernabout how the Bay-DeltaWater Quality Control Planwould requirediversion flows for fish in three San Joaquin River tributaries. “It (altering water rights) is a scary proposi- tion, especially if the state board is able to pull 40-50%of yourwaterandleave it inthe river,” he said. A look at water rights may stem from recommendations released lastmonthby water lawandpolicy leaders that formthe Planning andConservation League. Citing hotter summers and the disap- pearing rain and snowpack, the league released recommendations to update California water laws to address drought and climate change. In its report, the group said California’s current system of water laws is “ill-equipped to respond to
modernwater shortages.” It said the water picture must be reas- sessed to safeguard the health, safety and livelihoods of the state’s 40 million resi- dents, support the economy and protect imperiled ecosystems. Bettner, meanwhile, called for protect- ing existingwater rights. “Westronglysupportourwater-rightssys- temandthatourinfrastructure,agreements, operations, etc., arebuilt on that system. “While some may want to change it or toss it out, ourwater-rights systemandwa- tercodeprovide for flexibility tomanage, in changing hydrologic conditions, environ- ment and infrastructure. What we need is ourwater-rightssystemtobe implemented to its fullest extent versus cherry picking sectionswe agree or disagreewith.” To achieve a more sustainable water supply in the state, DoreneD’Adamo, vice chair of the state water board, suggested
CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
For the week February 24 - March 2, 2022 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.
.67 .67 .55 35
.64 .91 .65 -3
.91 1.16 .67 43
.93 1.08 .66 49
.79 .93 .59 42
.75 1.17 .61 30
.85 .91 .60 50
.99 .98 .70 51
1.09 1.14 .72 68
1.11 1.16 .99 14
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
22 Ag Alert March 9, 2022
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