News, Articles and Links from August 1, 2014

Water Supply

BLOG: How Conservation and Groundwater Management Can Gird California for a Drier Era From: Andrew Revkin, New York Times It's way past time for California to come to grips with the possibility that its extraordinary water woes are the new normal - and essentially the return of the old normal given the state's climate history, in which drought has been the rule and the verdant 20th century the exception. In the weekly update to the U.S. Drought Monitor site yesterday, nearly 80 percent of the state was in extreme or exceptional drought conditions.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Status quo in Delta isn't working for California From: Mark Cowin, Sacramento Bee  The California Department of Water Resources and its federal and state partners on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan have a legal responsibility to protect threatened species and supply water to millions of Californians. It is important to correct serious misrepresentations of facts around those responsibilities. Natural Resources Defense Council staff attorney Doug Obegi and Defenders of Wildlife program director Kim Delfino assert that DWR "has lost sight of the bigger picture and ignored the need for long-term solutions that work within real fiscal and environmental limits," ("  'Tunnel vision would worsen health of the Delta, California's fish stocks," Viewpoints, July 29).

Groundwater

OPINION: Groundwater can't be regulated without increasing surface supplies From: Dan Nelson, Sacramento Bee Increased groundwater pumping is under growing scrutiny. The devastating consequences of a third year of drought, coupled with over-regulation of surface supplies, have increased momentum in Sacramento for state intervention in local groundwater management. The governor, legislators and others are calling for potentially far-reaching changes in the use and management of groundwater - new fees, new requirements and new bureaucracy to administer it all. Protecting California's groundwater is vitally important for everyone. However, we cannot legislate new approaches to groundwater management in isolation; the surface supply shortages driving the overdraft of groundwater supplies must also be addressed if we are to successfully protect and restore our precious groundwater basins.

OPINION: Groundwater can't be regulated without increasing surface supplies From: Dan Nelson, Sacramento Bee Increased groundwater pumping is under growing scrutiny. The devastating consequences of a third year of drought, coupled with over-regulation of surface supplies, have increased momentum in Sacramento for state intervention in local groundwater management. The governor, legislators and others are calling for potentially far-reaching changes in the use and management of groundwater - new fees, new requirements and new bureaucracy to administer it all. Protecting California's groundwater is vitally important for everyone. However, we cannot legislate new approaches to groundwater management in isolation; the surface supply shortages driving the overdraft of groundwater supplies must also be addressed if we are to successfully protect and restore our precious groundwater basins.

OPINION: Increasing concern over valley water From: Tony St. Amant, Red Bluff Daily News There is increasing concern in the Northern Sacramento Valley that the dwindling well water supply that irrigates the valley's vast fruit and nut orchards and provides water to the large majority of homes and businesses is at risk of being drained beyond recovery. The threat comes from the agribusinesses of the western San Joaquin Valley where farmers no longer have enough local water.

OPINION: Selling Valley's water to hedge funds won't help us From: Neil Hudson, Modesto Bee Last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the drought-stricken town of Farmerville in Tulare County. Many homeowners' wells there have gone dry due to overpumping of the groundwater basin. In other parts of Tulare County, the land is subsiding from overpumping and the aquifer has disappeared forever. It was reported that Vilsack described an "extraordinary" demand from communities in rural America for capital to invest in wastewater systems, energy projects and infrastructure development.

Colorado River

$11M deal struck to conserve Colorado River basin From: Staff, Associated Press Water providers from four western states and the federal government announced an $11 million agreement Thursday to fund projects meant to counteract critically low water levels in the Colorado River basin, which supplies water to about 40 million people in seven states. The Interior Department said Thursday that local water providers in Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado will take part in the deal.

Water Use

OPINION: Water czar is key to California's survival From: Denny Freidenrich, Long Beach Press-Telegram  The broken water main that flooded UCLA Tuesday with millions of gallons of water was no comedy of errors. When you combine that one-time event with the state's recent water usage report, well, it's hard to know whether we should laugh or cry. Not only did California fail to meet its projected statewide reduction goal, overall water usage actually increased! Talk about playing with fire (no pun intended). We are on the verge of a catastrophe and no one seems to care.

Transfers

Federal agency determines Merced County groundwater sale has 'no significant impact' From: Ramona Giwargis, Modesto Bee The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday approved the environmental report for a multimillion-dollar proposal to allow the transfer and sale of Merced County groundwater to buyers in Stanislaus County. The federal agency issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" report, which occurs when an environmental analysis determines that a project has no major impacts on the quality of the environment.

News articles and links from May 19, 2014

Water Supply

EDITORIAL: Feinstein's strong words for environmentalists

From: Staff, Fresno Bee

Well, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California really has touched a nerve this time.

After years of politically paddling a little to the left and a little to the right, it appears she might leave her environmentalist friends on the left behind -- once and for all.

  

This week, Feinstein told Carolyn Lochhead, the San Francisco Chronicle's Washington, D.C., correspondent, that environmentalists "have never been helpful to me in producing good water policy."

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Bay Delta Conservation Plan is a 50-year gamble

From: John Kirlin, Sacramento Bee

Discussion about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan mostly revolves around new water intakes and the twin tunnels. But this ongoing debate misses a large elephant in the room; the plan proposes to lock in public policies on water operations for 50 years, and limit future policy decisions even though circumstances can - and inevitably will - change.

Fifty years is a long time; having been engaged in public policy analysis for nearly as many years, I know well the long-term impacts of policies that no longer fit the times. Before the state moves forward with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, potential unintended consequences need to be examined. In particular, Monday's announcement of the formation of the "Delta Conveyance Facility Design and Construction Enterprise" is worrisome, in that it shares state agency authority with water contractors. This will undoubtedly muddle accountability and invite conflict.

Drought

Water shortages force Stanislaus County's Westside almond growers to make tough, costly choices

From: J.N. Sbranti, Modesto Bee

Water shortages are forcing almond growers to make tough and costly decisions this spring. That includes killing off the natural vegetation that normally grows between orchard rows, even though those weeds and wildflowers are home to the beneficial insects needed for integrated pest management.

"We spray the weeds to kill them so they don't consume any water," botany consultant Wes Asai of Turlock explained Friday during the Almond Board of California's Environmental Stewardship Tour. "This is the first year we've had to do it."

LETTER: In drought, don't point fingers at valley farmers

From: Sharon Girod, Bakersfield Californian

Maybe Froma Harrop ("Even in drought, there are fortunes to be made," May 6) should ride around other cities and decry the use of water for swimming pools, fountains, lawns and car washes. Using water for growing crops that feed families, provide jobs and keep our state and country strong is, in my humble opinion, a much better use of this vital resource. Those farmers, their employees, their vendors and their suppliers all pay taxes: sales taxes, property taxes, vehicle taxes, use taxes, environmental impact fees, income taxes, payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, disability insurance and the list goes on. Those taxes are the life blood of state and county agencies and programs, which also employ people.

Documentary sheds light on drought

From: Pete Menting, Hanford Sentinel

One of the big issues the Central Valley - as well as most of California - is facing is the current drought and water shortage. It affects farmers and farmworkers. Other agriculture industries and consumers are also affected by the drought as well.

One filmmaker saw the plight of the Valley's farmworkers and decided to turn it into "The Fight for Water: A Farm Worker Struggle" documentary. When Firebaugh resident Juan Carlos Oseguera began filming in 2009, he thought it was going to be a short film.

Drought, Fire, and the New Normal in the American West

From: Dennis Dimick, National Geographic 

The wildfire season arrived early this week in southern California, at a time of the year when skies usually are covered in cooling clouds of gray. But this spring, the skies have been more like ashen gray, and fire agencies have responded to nearly 1,400 fires this year-twice the typical number, a Cal Fire spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times. A New York Times report May 16 said fire season in the West is now 75 days longer each year than it was a decade ago.

Pricing

Critics of a Modesto Irrigation District subsidy getting more vocal

From: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee

Some critics of a controversial Modesto Irrigation District subsidy are getting more vocal.

A former district administrator has fashioned a slide show attacking MID's policy of charging electricity customers more to keep farmers' irrigation rates low, and another power customer has created a Facebook page assailing the same practice. Lee Delano, a former MID assistant general manager over water operations, presented his 48-frame slide show to the Modesto Engineers Club earlier this month and wants to take it on the road to show other groups.

Transfers

EDITORIAL: Merced County needs time to look at groundwater sale

From: Staff, Merced Sun-Star

A plan to pump 23,000 acre-feet of groundwater from Merced County and sell it to a water district in Stanislaus needs closer examination. And the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was right to grant the Merced County Board of Supervisors an extra day to think it over.

4-S Ranch Partners, which owns 7,000 acres west of Atwater and outside any water district, wants to run 13 of its wells 24 hours a day for eight months to extract a substantial amount of groundwater. To get that groundwater to its customer, 4-S has requested permission to move the water either through the San Joaquin River or the East Side Bypass into the Bureau of Reclamation's San Luis Reservoir. From there, the Del Puerto Water District in western Stanislaus County would take it out.

Fisheries

Red Emmerson answers call to ensure enough water available for salmon

From: Damon Arthur, Redding Record-Searchlight

State and federal wildlife officials are asking ranchers and farmers in Siskiyou and Tehama counties for help in saving endangered fish in streams at risk of going dry. Agencies responsible for looking out for endangered salmon and steelhead trout are focusing on Mill, Deer and Antelope creeks in Tehama County and the Shasta and Scott rivers in Siskiyou County.

"There's a serious potential for these streams to dry up," said Howard Brown, Sacramento River basin branch chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

News articles and links from March 24, 2014

Delta

Drying up the delta: 19th century policies underlie today's crises

From: Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times

A shallow inland sea spreads across more than 160 square miles, speckled with egrets poking for crayfish among jewel-green rice shoots. The flooded fields could be mistaken for the rice paddies of Vietnam or southern China, but this is Northern California at the onset of severe drought. The scene is a testament to the inequities of California's system of water rights, a hierarchy of haves as old as the state.

Thanks to seniority, powerful Central Valley irrigation districts that most Californians have never heard of are at the head of the line for vast amounts of water, even at the expense of the environment and the rest of the state.

Coalition response... Water use and water rights have come a long way since the 19th century practice of nailing a post to a tree. The State Water Resources Control Board, charged with overseeing the proper allocation and efficient use of water alone is staffed by a bureaucracy of 1,500 regulators reporting to the Board. Permits are challenging to acquire and take years to navigate through review and challenges by environmental interest groups like NRDC.

It's no surprise that California values protecting the environment, including the endangered species in the Delta - it's such a high priority in fact, that we have proactively allocated 48% of our available water supply to environmental water uses without requiring that environmental water uses demonstrate or quantify benefits to the environment. We have, to date blindly hoped that increasing Delta flows would produce beneficial outcomes for those threatened and endangered species.

Water use in California agriculture has never been more efficient. California's farmers in the Central Valley have invested more than $3 billion dollars on 2.4 million acres to improve the efficiency of their irrigation systems. These improvements would be the envy of many 20th century countries, to say nothing of 19th century Californians. Between 1967 and 2007 California farmers have almost doubled their productive yield, improving quality, while using 14% less water to do it.

Water Supply 

California drought: Central Valley farmland on its last legs

From: Carolyn Lochhead, San Francisco Chronicle

Even before the drought, the southern San Joaquin Valley was in big trouble.

Decades of irrigation have leached salts and toxic minerals from the soil that have nowhere to go, threatening crops and wildlife. Aquifers are being drained at an alarming pace. More than 95 percent of the area's native habitat has been destroyed by cultivation or urban expansion, leaving more endangered bird, mammal and other species in the southern San Joaquin than anywhere in the continental U.S.

Coalition response... This year's drought gives us a sample of what California can expect from a land fallowing program the scale of the one being proposed. Agricultural economists say this year's idling of 800,000 acres or more of farmland in California will cost 20,000 jobs and roughly a $7.5 billion hit to the economy. The environmental community never talks about the downside of wholesale land retirement but it's there - and it's not good. What are the costs of 20,000 more unemployed, underemployed, or on the welfare roll? How will we pay those costs when the tax base is eroded due to land that is no longer growing food? The jobs California farms generate don't stop at the farm gate. They include jobs in processing, trucking, wholesale and retail as well as high-paying jobs at ports in the Bay Area and Southern California.

Alternatively, we can use today's technology to resolve drainage issues and make the land better. Last week The Chronicle ran a story on the success underway of using solar energy to desalinate poor water and return it to irrigate productive cropland. This year Panoche Water District says the project will deliver 45,000 acre feet of reclaimed water to farmers in the area. In the long run it can produce much more, keep valuable farmland in production, solve drainage issues and add to the state's water supply. That sounds much better than unemployment and food lines.

Water Bond 

California drought: So many water bonds, so little time

From: Jessica Calefati, San Jose Mercury News

As California's drought drags on, more farmers are being forced to fallow fields and a growing number of small towns run out of water. So Republicans and Democrats here finally agree on something: They need to spend billions of dollars to fix California's broken water system.

But that doesn't mean getting a water bond on November's ballot that voters will approve is a sure thing.

Gov. Jerry Brown hasn't even decided whether he supports the idea, while the Legislature has come up with seven different schemes aimed at making the next drought a lot less painful.

Coalition response... Unlike NRDC and the Sierra Club, the California Farm Water Coalition does not engage in lobbying activity of any kind. The CFWC was formed to help inform the public on agricultural water issues and seeks to keep a growing urban population connected with California's farmers who grow the food and fiber we all rely on.  While we are not a lobbying group, we believe people should understand that the Wolk bill does not provide sufficient funding to meet the new demands for storage that provide water supply and in-Delta water quality benefits.

Water Rights

California drought puts spotlight on water theft

From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

It's amazingly easy to steal water from a California stream. Even in this epic drought, the state has no way of monitoring exactly who is tapping into its freshwater supplies and how much they take. And those who do get caught taking water they have no right to often are allowed to keep taking it for years just by promising to obtain a permit.

Nearly 30,000 entities in the state hold valid water diversion permits, including individual property owners, farmers and water utilities. Some have meters or gauges to measure their diversions, but the state has no ability of its own to monitor those gauges in real-time.

Transfers

LETTER: OID's water sales benefit district

From: Steve Knell, Modesto Bee

Last Sunday's Modesto Bee focused attention on the relationship between groundwater pumping and out-of-area water transfers by some irrigation districts ("Continuing to pump districts sell surplus")

The tone of the article was less than positive and fully avoids the broader issues of resource management.

Water transfers and pumping groundwater are but two of a very complex set of resource activities available to irrigation districts. For Oakdale Irrigation District, how all these activities relate to our water business is fully covered in OID's Water Resources Plan, which was adopted in 2006 after a 21/2-year environmental review process. OID is on target with that document and our accomplishments speak for themselves in this drought.

MID revisits internal transfers

From: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee

A debate over farmers selling each other water will resurface at Tuesday's Modesto Irrigation District board meeting.

A month ago, the board took unprecedented action by embracing an open-market approach to water transfers, agreeing on a 3-2 vote to let growers negotiate transfers at any price. But both board members on the short end of that vote have said it's not a done deal.

"I will make an argument to rescind it on Tuesday," said board vice chairman Larry Byrd. Opponents of the open-market approach think the water rightfully belongs to everyone and don't like the idea of wealthy farmers outmuscling small growers with less to spend.

Water Storage 

EDITORIAL: Sites Reservoir good for North State and California

From: Staff, Redding Record-Searchlight

If luck - and political will - holds, Sites Reservoir might just be the overnight success that was a lifetime in the making.

It's easy to grow discouraged at the slow machinations of government, and indeed the path to this point has been awfully circular for a project that makes sense on its merits, respects the environment and gains a fast-growing state about 1.9 million acre feet in new water storage capacity.

Statewide drought is drying up Millerton Lake

From: Mariana Jacob, KFSN 30

People all over the state headed outside to enjoy the warm weather on Sunday, but the dry conditions across California are also affecting water levels at local lakes and reservoirs.

At Millerton Lake, miles and miles of parched soil remain where there was once water. According to the State Department of Water Resources, the lake is currently at 32 percent of total capacity.

Congress focuses on dams amid California's drought

From: Kevin Freking, AP

California's drought has sparked a new push by federal lawmakers to create or expand a handful of reservoirs around the state, ramping up a political battle that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger once referred to as a "holy war in some ways."

Government agencies have been studying five major water storage projects for nearly two decades, with nothing to show for the effort so far.

Groundwater

OPINION: A farmer's perspective on groundwater

From: David Mas Masumoto, Sacramento Bee

In this drought year, it's my only hope. Yet I can't see it, hear it or feel it. It lies hidden deep beneath my farm. Without it, my farm and my neighbors go thirsty. All my senses focus on groundwater.

With a depleted snowpack in the Sierra and record low reservoirs, thousands of Central Valley farms will depend on water extracted from wells to keep their plants alive and to grow food. Hundreds of pumps in Valley cities and towns also supply water to tens of thousands of thirsty households. Farmers and city folks will pray our machines will continue to suck water from aquifers below our lands.

California drought: How water crisis is worse for almonds

From: Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle

A huge shift away from annual crops to nut trees has transformed the California farm belt over the past two decades and left farmers perilously vulnerable to the severe drought that is currently gripping the state.

California farmers have spent past years busily ripping out lettuce, tomatoes and other annual crops in an attempt to sate the nation's growing appetite for almonds, pistachios and other nuts.

California drought to drive up food prices for Marin shoppers

From: Dana Hull & Megan Hansen, Marin Independent Journal

With 2013 the driest year on record and 2014 possibly worse, the devastation of California's drought is trickling down to crops, fields, farmers markets, grocery stores - and Marin residents' kitchen tables.

While it's too early to tell precisely how much the drought will push up household grocery bills, economists say consumers can expect to pay more for food later this year because fewer acres of land are being planted and crop yields are shrinking.

Food costs increase as farmers pay more for water

From: Christien Kafton, KYVU 2

California farmers are saying the drought means they're paying more for water, and have no choice but to pass those costs on to consumers.

Miguel Cuevas works for Cipponeri Farms in Turlock. He says one of the major canals that brings water to Central Valley farms is bone dry, and that his farm and others will have to pay more for water in the months to come.

Meetings 

LETTER: Firebaugh water rally deserved news coverage

From: Amanda Carvajal, Merced Sun-Star

California is in the midst of the worst drought on record. Even when the region was blessed with a little precipitation, much of the water was forced out to the ocean instead of stored because of federal protections of the Delta smelt. Farmers who have been making every effort to conserve, while still managing to produce large quantities, are left scratching their heads in frustration. When the State Water Resources Control Board declared it would make one of the most significant water grabs in history, the contracted landowners' frustrations peaked.

News articles and links from March 19, 2014

Water Supply 

OPINION: More of the GOP's water follies

From: Robert Merrill, Fresno Bee

California, especially the Central Valley, is experiencing a serious drought and today there will be a House Natural Resources Committee hearing starting at 10 a.m. at Fresno City Hall. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, requested the hearing after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3964, and several GOP congressmen are chastising the U.S. Senate for not being attentive to demands contained in the House bill.

H.R. 3964 appears largely a rewrite of Rep. Devin Nunes' previous bills. Nunes, R-Tulare, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, through their extreme statements seem to prefer an "environment" of cement-lined canals instead of rivers. They also pick and choose facts to fit their positions and fail to understand or ignore climate change and the geologic record.

Coalition response... Mr. Merrill effectively echoes the chorus of environmental interest talking points in the context of his field, geology - but in doing so he repeats persistent mistakes found in many of the arguments regarding agriculture. These errors, paired with advocacy for sweeping and intrusive changes to property rights are disheartening and disturbing.

By any measure, California agriculture has already answered the call of conservation and efficiency. In the last 10 years farmers have spent almost $3 billion upgrading irrigation systems on more than 2.4 million acres. These and other improvements have nearly doubled production while applied water use has declined by 14.5 percent. These and other investments in efficiency have resulted in leading irrigation researchers at the Center for Irrigation Technology and CSU Fresno to determine the actual amount of conservation potential from California agriculture is about 300,000 acre feet, or about 1 percent of typical applied water.

Farmers, long criticized for growing "low value" annual crops have been driven toward selecting higher value crop choices like pistachios (a crop particularly well-adapted to dry climates) and almonds by economic considerations (high labor, land and regulatory costs) unique to California, in addition to efforts to optimize returns on their effort. This "demand hardening" has been paired with an overall change in irrigation methods to improve the precise application of water to the crop through drip and microirrigation.

Mr. Merrill disappointingly attempts in his conclusion to create a false-conflict by providing a faceless scapegoat, when in fact there are over 80,000 farms in California, of that- 96% are controlled by families, not corporate machines.

Water Supply

California farms to get some drought relief

From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

California and federal water officials say there is enough runoff in the Delta from recent storms to begin delivering some water to farms, potentially offering at least temporary drought relief.

On Feb. 1, the State Water Resources Control Board approved a temporary order exempting the California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from some water quality standards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to help retain water stored in upstream reservoirs. The exemption was approved on the condition that the agencies jointly divert no more than 1,500 cubic feet per second, and only for public health and safety purposes, which generally means urban uses.

California to ease water restrictions in move to help farmers

From: Sharon Bernstein, Reuters

Drought-plagued California will ease some protection for fish in the fragile San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, officials said Tuesday, a move expected to make more water available for farming and ease political tensions in an election year.

The move marks a retreat from restrictions imposed earlier in the year which had widely been expected to be tightened further, rather than eased, and was welcomed in the agricultural community.

February rains ease drought restrictions slightly

From: Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times

Thanks to February storms, state officials are slightly easing drought restrictions on water deliveries, but the changes won't make a difference to most of the state. The prime beneficiaries will be Central Valley irrigation districts with the most senior water rights.

Although last month's above average rainfall in Northern California improved the water supply picture somewhat, officials Tuesday continued to predict that the big state and federal water projects that help supply a majority of Californians will deliver little or no water to most agricultural and urban agencies this year.

Drought Watch: Water situation improves

From: Andrew Creasey, Marysville Appeal-Democrat

There now will be enough water for some agricultural deliveries, after human health and safety needs are met, state and federal officials said Tuesday, although some contractors without senior water rights could see no surface deliveries in 2014.

In a media conference call, department heads from the Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Reclamation and the State Water Resources Control Board gave updates on the drought and detailed the latest decision to decrease Delta outflows, but did not provide any information about how much water would be available for water contractors.

The modification of the temporary urgency change petition originally signed on Jan. 31 will decrease Delta outflows - used to protect aquatic habitat - from 11,000 cubic feet per second to 7,100 cubic feet per second.

EDITORIAL: Valley clings to hint of good news on water

From: Staff, Modesto Bee

When it comes to water, we're so desperate for good news that even not-so-bad news sounds good.

That's how we characterize Tuesday's announcement by three key water officials that they would modify the state's emergency drought order to allow them more flexibility in delivering what little water we have to those who need it most.

They didn't promise more water. They didn't say that our wanderings through the desert of drought have ended. All they said was that February's slightly above-average rainfall in the Sacramento watershed means there might be enough to share at least a little with deserving farmers."

Some Farmers With Water Rights to Receive Water

From: Raquel Cervantes, Yourcentralvalley.com

Some farmers with senior water rights may be receiving water from state and federal contracts, according to an announcement made Tuesday during a conference call Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board.

California Water Officials Express Meager Hope

From: Staff, AP

Officials say February's rain storms pleasantly boosted the state's water supply, but California remains in the throes of a drought.

Tom Howard, executive officer of the State Water Resources Control Board, said Tuesday he will sign an order allowing water to be pumped from the San Joaquin Delta. But how any extra water gets allocated is up to state and federal authorities that oversee a pair of vast waterways.

Valley farms may get some drought relief

From: Alex Breitler, Stockton Record

With February's storms a distant memory, officials on Tuesday announced steps to bypass water quality standards in the Delta while perhaps making water available to San Joaquin Valley farmers.

Last month's storms boosted the amount of water flowing through the Delta, as well as the amount that could be pumped south from the estuary.

Merced farmers to receive smallest water allocation in decades

From: Rob Parsons, Merced Sun-Star

Most drought-plagued Merced Irrigation District farmers will receive just 6 inches of water per acre during this year's truncated irrigation season. "People are used to having 3-plus acre-feet per acre over a seven-month season, so this is quite a cutback," MID General Manager John Sweigard said Tuesday.

Irrigation water is measured per acre-foot, which is the amount of water required to cover an acre of land 1 foot deep, or about 325,900 gallons.

Meetings 

Wednesday's Water Rally in Fresno Expected to Draw Large Crowd

From: Staff, KSEE 24

Another push toward water reform is on it's way to the Valley.  Republican lawmakers are holding a water rally and hearing Wednesday morning at Fresno's City Hall, where they hope to spur solutions to what's being called a 'broken system.' The hope is for a very large crowd, because the bigger the crowd, the stronger the message.  Lawmakers say the main message is the need for immediate and long term solutions.

The hopes are high for Wednesday's water rally and hearing at Fresno's city hall.  Congressmen Devin Nunes and David Valadao are expecting a big turn out. Congressman David Valadao, (R-Hanford) says, "Continue to shine a light on this issue and hopefully deliver a win for us and get the senate to deliver a bill."

Firebaugh rally rails against cutbacks in agricultural water (video)

From: Mark Grossi, Fresno Bee

About 1,000 people jammed into the rodeo grounds Tuesday near the San Joaquin River, roaring approval for politicians and farm leaders who criticized Sacramento's handling of California's water crisis.

A few hours later in Sacramento, state water leaders made a change in the drought emergency orders issued earlier this year to assure farmers they would be able to get whatever water becomes available.

Water Rally in Firebaugh drew at least 1,000 people

From: Gene Haagenson, KFSN 30

A rally was called to protest a state plan to divert more water from farms to cities. But Governor Jerry Brown killed that plan just before the rally started. A crowd of at least 1,000 gathered at the rodeo grounds in Firebaugh to hear farm interests, and politicians rally the crowd to fight the government, and big cities for Valley water.

Cannon Michael with Bowles Farming warned the crowd, "They've got their foot on our neck and they are going to keep on going. Its groundwater next surface water is gone today right, groundwater is next they are already talking about it."

Groundwater

Valley must join in solution to water decline in California

From: Ian James, Desert Sun

Hydrologist Brian Thomas has pored over decades of groundwater data from water agencies in the Coachella Valley, and he says the declines in much of the aquifer highlight a need for the area to find ways to cut back on water use.

Thomas, a postdoctoral scholar at the UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling at UC Irvine, is one in a list of water scientists and experts who will attend a symposium in Palm Springs on Thursday focusing on drought and water scarcity in the West. His research on groundwater in the Coachella Valley has helped document how the area's aquifer has been depleted over the years despite deliveries of imported water from the Colorado River.

OPINION: Ruling could have big implications for Tejon 'village'

From: Lois Henry, Bakersfield Californian

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats wondering what the heck that recent legal ruling on the Kern Water Bank really means.

Here's the short answer: No one knows yet. But it could be big. Very big. Like, big enough to possibly jeopardize a major housing development planned by Tejon Ranch and/or put a serious hurt on mega corporate farming operations in Kern County.