FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – Federal officials say farmers in a vast agricultural region of California will receive a greater share of irrigation this summer compared to recent years of drought.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Wednesday announced that farmers in the San Joaquin Valley will receive 65 percent of their contracted supplies.
This comes in one of California’s wettest winters in years ending five years of punishing drought.
William Bourdeau of Harris Farms says this is a big improvement over years of drought when the 10,000-acre farm based in Coalinga, California received little if any surface water. The farm left thousands of acres fallow.
Bourdeau says, however, that the announcement comes late, leaving farmers scrambling to decide what to plant this summer.
In response to the announcement, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) released the following statement:
| “Today’s announcement is no surprise. Over the last several years, naturally occurring dry conditions in the State of California have been exacerbated by government bureaucracy and environmental regulations that prevent water deliveries through the Delta. But it is incredibly disappointing that even when we have high amounts of precipitation, water deliveries are still not at one hundred percent.
Approximately half of California’s water is consumed by environmental regulations. In addition to flushing precious water out to sea, these regulations prevent the construction and repair of water infrastructure projects throughout the State. With sufficient water infrastructure, water from storms, such as those we experienced this winter, could be captured to satisfy all contractual obligations, and stored for dry years. Families, farmers, and entire communities throughout California have suffered for too long under this man-made drought. Today’s announcement from the Bureau of Reclamation emphasizes the need for legislative action at the federal level. H.R. 23 must be passed to eliminate burdensome federal regulations and provide desperately needed investments in our water infrastructure. Congress must come together to provide Californians with the relief they so gravely need.” |
The complete allocation announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation can be found here
