Central Valley farmers will receive slightly more of their contracted water than what was initially allocated.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced that it has increased the allocation for south-of-Delta contractors to 40%.
The big picture: The boost to 40% is a five-point increase from what was initially announced in late February.
- Bureau of Reclamation Acting Regional Director Adam Nickels said the boost is consistent with the intent of President Donald Trump’s executive order to maximize water supply in California.
Go deeper: Municipal south-of-Delta contractors will remain at the 75% allocation that they received in February.
- Friant Division contractors had their Class 1 allocation increased from 45% to 80%. Class 1 water supply is the first 800,000 acre-feet of available water. The Class 2 allocation – which is the next amount of available water supply up to 1.4 million acre-feet – remains at 0%.
What they’re saying: Westlands Water District General Manager Allison Febbo said the farmers have some additional assurances that there will be water to support their crops with the announcement.
- “This modest increase from the initial allocation offered in February demonstrates that we must continue to work at both the state and federal levels to identify practical yet meaningful changes to strengthen our state’s water supply and reliability for all of California,” Febbo said. “We continue to be encouraged by the state and federal administration’s recent actions to maximize water supply for Californians and look forward to a subsequent allocation update that reflects the totality of recent hydrology.”
