Received via email from Congressman Jeff Denham’s office:

“Rep. Denham today issued the following statement in response to the allocation numbers released by the Bureau of Reclamation. The 30% allocation level for South-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors demonstrates severity of the water crisis in the Central Valley, and the need for H.R. 1837.

“A 30 percent allocation is unacceptable. We had one of the wettest years in 2011, and instead of storing the water for future use, we let thousands of acre-feet of water flow from the Delta into the Ocean every day. Without adequate storage, we will continue to see this problem year after year,\” said Congressman Denham. “We can solve this problem. My amendment to H.R.1837, which passed out of the Natural Resources Committee, will allow for more storage construction and allow families and farmers to plan ahead in order to promote economic growth and create jobs.

Background on H.R. 1837:

In 2009, federal regulations to protect a 3-inch fish – the Delta smelt – led to the deliberate diversion of over 300 billion gallons of water away from San Joaquin Valley farmers. This cost thousands of farm workers their jobs, inflicted up to 40 percent unemployment in certain communities, and fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.

For the past few years, no real action has been taken to reverse the plight of the San Joaquin Valley and Republican actions to reverse the situation have been obstructed. H.R. 1837, as amended, reflects Republican promises to avoid another man-made drought.

The bill:

 Allows for the construction of water storage projects throughout the state of California.

 Restores water deliveries to communities by codifying the historic, bipartisan State/Federal agreement known as the “Bay-Delta Accord.

 Reforms punitive federal laws, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, in order to provide fairness to ratepayers, promote transparency and accountability, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

 Allows water users to pay off federal debt early.

 Protects and secures private property and senior water rights.

 Allows for the construction of water storage projects throughout the state of California. ”