State Water Project provides ‘modest’ increase in imported water allocation
As Californians braced for record-breaking rain and snowstorms on Feb. 22, the Department of Water Resources announced what it called a modest increase in forecast State Water Project deliveries this year. The SWP now expects to deliver 35 percent of requested water supplies, up from 30 percent forecast in January, to the 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians including residents of Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District. The district’s general manager, Tom Neisler, stopped short of calling the increase stingy, but noted that many water-watchers believe the allocation could be much higher — particularly since Gov. Gavin Newsom just a week earlier issued an executive order to suspend environmental laws to allow state officials to hold more water in reservoirs.