Central Valley farmers will receive over double the amount of water that they were initially set to receive last year.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced Tuesday that south-of-Delta water contractors will receive 35% of their contracts in an initial allocation.
The big picture: Last year the federal government only gave an initial allocation of 15% of contracted amounts, which eventually rose to 50% later in the year.
- The 35% allocation provides a better start to 2025 than 2024 despite both years having similar hydrology over the first couple months.
- Along with farmers, municipal and industrial south-of-delta contractors will receive 75% of their historical use or public health and safety needs.
- South-of-Delta contractors will also receive around 180,000 acre-feet of unused allocated water from 2024 for use this year.
- Friant Division contractors will receive 45% for Class 1 and 0% for Class 2. Class 1 is the first 800,000 acre-feet of available water supply, while Class 2 is the next amount of available water supply up to 1.4 million acre-feet.
Water storage boost: The federal government also announced a $315.5 million investment to create new water storage at the future Sites Reservoir and at the existing San Luis Reservoir.
Driving the news: The Bureau of Reclamation credited President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14181, which directed the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to override policies that “unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries” to the Central Valley Project.
What he’s saying: Reclamation Regional Director Carl Stock said recent atmospheric rivers and the good condition of California’s reservoirs going into this water year have benefited the supply outlook even as the San Joaquin Basin has experienced critically dry conditions this winter.
- “There is still a portion of the traditionally wet season in front of us, and we are committed to delivering as much water as possible to our contractors consistent with the goals of the Central Valley Project and Executive Order 14181,” Stock said. “We will continue to work closely with our Central Valley Project contractors and partners, monitor the forecasts, and adjust numbers accordingly as the remaining winter and spring months play out. Further, both Reclamation and the Department of the Interior are committed to investing aggressively in projects such as Sites Reservoir and B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and San Luis Reservoir Expansion to improve water supply reliability for project contractors.”
Water stakeholders react: The Friant Water Authority called the allocation “a sensible and appropriate initial allocation.”
- “We appreciate the Bureau of Reclamation’s timely action in announcing this initial allocation, which provides clarity and allows our stakeholders to plan accordingly for the upcoming water year,” Friant said in a statement. “The early allocation demonstrates the BoR’s commitment to providing water managers with the information they need to make informed decisions.”
- Westlands Water District called the initial allocation a “very positive first step toward implementing recent directives aimed at maximizing water supply,” adding that much work remains to invest in additional water storage capacity and infrastructure.
- “We are encouraged by the state and federal administration’s recent efforts concentrating on water maximizing water supply for Californians and spotlighting California’s complex longstanding water issues,” said Westlands General Manager Allison Febbo. “This allocation offers our farmers the opportunity to make critical planting decisions that optimize feeding the nation. Westlands looks forward to working with Reclamation and other agency partners to continue prioritizing improvements to our state’s water supply and reliability for all of California.”
- The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority said many of its members were hoping for a higher initial allocation given the high storage conditions and current high Delta outflow from the recent storms.
- “Unfortunately, this year’s rainfall has disproportionately fallen in the northern portion of the Central Valley Project, which has benefitted water storage, but has negatively impacted forecasted operations due to reduced San Joaquin River flows, thereby impacting Reclamation’s ability to make a higher initial allocation,” said Executive Director Federico Barajas. “We appreciate Reclamation’s work and expertise coordinating with the Water Authority and its members to identify and implement improvements in the allocation process over the last year, which has in part led to this higher initial allocation.”
