Water allocations get a slight boost as reservoirs rise

State and federal water agencies last week announced additional allocations for farmers and other users, citing improving reservoir levels amid spring snowmelt.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it is increasing promised water deliveries from the Central Valley Project for agricultural contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River to 40% of requested supplies, up from 35% pledged last month.

But the Westlands Water District, which serves 1,000 square miles of farmland in Fresno and Kings counties, criticized the water-supply pledge as insufficient.

“With the state’s reservoirs and snowpack at above-average levels and much of the state out of drought conditions, this meager increase in allocation continues to present unnecessary and unjustified hardships for the hard-working people of our District,” Allison Febbo, Westland’s general manager, said in a statement. “Water from the Central Valley Project is the lifeblood of our farms and communities that rely on the crops they grow.”

Karl Stock, director for Reclamation’s California-Great Basin region, said the “gradual increase” in allocations was based on improving hydrologic conditions, which the agency continues to monitor.

“We realize that our contractors were hoping to see a greater amount of water, and we understand how critical irrigation is to California agriculture and the surrounding communities,” Stock said in a statement. “However, continued uncertainty in long-term hydrology and regulatory constraints necessitate Reclamation’s approach with available water supplies.”

The California Department of Water Resources said it will increase water deliveries to 40% of requested supplies from the State Water Project, up from a pledge of 30% last month.

DWR said the allocation decision was based on an 800,000 acre-foot increase in water storage at Lake Oroville and the latest snow survey data from key April 1 measurements. By April 28, the lake was at 126% of historical average and 97% of capacity.