California has been the nation’s
leading agricultural and dairy state for the past 50 years. The
state’s 80,500 farms and ranches produce more than 400 different
agricultural products. These products generated a record $44.7
billion in sales value in 2012, accounting for 11.3 percent of
the US total.
Breaking down the state’s agricultural role in the country,
California produces 21 percent of the nation’s milk supply, 23
percent of its cheese and 92 percent of all grapes. The state
also produces half of all domestically-grown fruits, nuts and
vegetables, including some products, such as almonds, walnuts,
artichokes, persimmons and pomegranates, of which 99 percent are
grown in California.
Overall, about 3 percent of employment in the state is directly
or indirectly related to agriculture.
For years, conversations about the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act – known commonly as SGMA – have largely taken a
tone of speculation and even apprehension. The 2014 law, which
aims to slow California’s unlimited tapping of underground
aquifers, gives locally organized groundwater sustainability
agencies until 2042 to overhaul pumping practices for the
spectrum of groundwater users — from cities and rural
communities to dairies, small farms and agricultural
conglomerates. Ultimately, the consequences could be dire: the
non-profit Public Policy Institute of California predicted even
in the best-case scenario, as much as 500,000 acres of farmland
may need to be fallowed in order to adequately reduce
groundwater pumping.
The state of California’s regulatory agencies, especially the
Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), boast that we have
the toughest network of environmental laws, designed to protect
public health, in the country. Yet over the decades, it has
been devilishly difficult for people with negative health
impacts resulting from pesticide exposures to prove it in
court. … [N]either DPR nor any county ag commissioners
consider the interactions and cumulative impacts of multiple
pesticides over time as required by the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A further CEQA requirement –
considering less toxic alternatives to specific pesticide
applications – is regularly and roundly ignored. -Written by Woody Rehanek, a farmworker for 18
years and a special ed teacher for 18 years for Pajaro Valley
USD. He is a member of SASS (Safe Ag Safe Schools) and CORA
(Campaign for Organic & Regenerative Agriculture).
Wildlife officers with the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s (CDFW) Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) spearheaded
several enforcement investigations in August and September.
From Sept. 4-8, MET officers targeted several illegal cannabis
operations on rural private lands in Shasta, Tehama and Sutter
counties. Officers received a tip from a hunter who stumbled on
one of the trespass grow sites and reported it. As a result,
MET officers eradicated more than 5,500 illegal plants,
arrested four suspects, seized several firearms including one
stolen handgun, dismantled several water diversions and removed
thousands of pounds of trash.
Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval acknowledged the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act’s (SGMA) importance to
the valley in his opening remarks. … As water supplies
decline, said Central Valley Community Foundation CEO Ashley
Swearengin, it is key to bring all the valley’s many players to
the table to hammer out coping strategies. The need for
coordination is paramount, given the magnitude of the
challenge. As PPIC research fellow Andrew Ayres explained,
reducing groundwater pumping ultimately will help the valley
maintain its robust agricultural industry and protect
communities. But even with new water supplies, our research
found that valley agriculture will need to occupy a smaller
footprint than it does now: at least 500,000 acres of farmland
will likely need to come out of intensively irrigated
production.
After a four-year decline in potato production nationwide, this
season’s crop appears poised to buck the trend, spurred by
strong demand and improved water supplies. While higher
processing contract prices are driving much of the increased
acreage, California’s mostly fresh-market growers may see
prices decline once harvest starts elsewhere, said Almuhanad
Melhim, a fruit and vegetable market analyst for Rabobank’s
RaboResearch division. … During the past few years,
processors have been short on russet potatoes that go into
french fries, so they snapped up fresh-market russet supplies,
driving up fresh prices. To encourage more processed potato
production this year, processors increased contract prices
substantially.
Some states in the arid West are looking to invest more money
in water conservation. Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico
have agreed to re-up a water conservation program designed to
reduce strain on the Colorado River. Those states, which
represent the river’s Upper Basin, will use money from the
Inflation Reduction Act to pay farmers and ranchers to use less
water. The four states are re-implementing the program amid
talks with California, Arizona, Nevada and the federal
government to come up with more permanent water reductions by
2026.
… a conference held this past week at Fresno State, “Managing
water and farmland transitions in the San Joaquin Valley,” drew
a large crowd of growers and water district managers. The
event was sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of
California [PPIC], a nonpartisan group that provides analysis
on key issues facing the state.The PPIC’s report on the
Valley’s water situation makes clear the stakes: Even if
growers do everything right, a half million acres could go out
of production because of water-supply shortages. … Using
water wisely while re-purposing land properly will be the key
issue facing San Joaquin Valley farmers for years to
come. -Written by Tad Weber, The Bee’s opinion
editor.
… Recent floods left more than a third of California’s table
grapes rotting on the vine. Too much sunlight is burning apple
crops. Pests that farmers never used to worry about are
marching through lettuce fields. Breeding new crops that can
thrive under these assaults is a long game. Solutions are
likely to come from an array of research fronts that stretch
from molecular gene-editing technology to mining the vast
global collections of seeds that have been conserved for
centuries. … Here’s a quick look at some of the most
promising.
Even though California enacted sweeping legislation nearly a
decade ago to curb excessive agricultural pumping of
groundwater, new research predicts that thousands of drinking
water wells could run dry in the Central Valley by the time the
law’s restrictions take full effect in 2040. The study,
published this month in the journal Scientific Reports, casts
critical light on how the state is implementing the 2014
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The research reveals
that plans prepared by local agencies would allow for heavy
pumping to continue largely unabated, potentially drawing down
aquifers to low levels that would leave many residents with dry
wells.
An irrigation district in the Klamath Project can no longer
divert water from the Klamath River under a state-issued water
right without approval from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a
federal judge has determined. Reclamation sued the Klamath
Drainage District in July 2022 for taking water from the river
despite curtailments intended to protect endangered fish. The
2022 irrigation season was severely hampered in the project
following several consecutive years of drought. Reclamation
allotted just 62,000 acre-feet of water from Upper Klamath Lake
for irrigators, about 14% of full demand, including zero water
for districts with junior rights.
When California lawmakers enacted the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act in 2014, it was an effort to tame the wild, wild
west of water. Nearly a decade later, there’s been some
progress creating local sustainability plans, but Big Ag
corporations are still hogging water and bullying smaller
groundwater users. Look no further than the fight heating up in
the Cuyama Valley, where small farmers and rural residents are
calling for a boycott of carrots produced by a pair of big
corporate growers who use a lot of water in an increasingly dry
place. … The problem is that more water is being pumped
from the ground than
is being replenished. Cuyama Valley is one
of California’s 21 over-pumped, or
“critically overdrafted” basins.
Successful implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (SGMA) is vital to the long-term health of the
San Joaquin Valley’s communities, agriculture, environment, and
economy. But the transition will be challenging. Even with
robust efforts to augment water supplies through activities
like groundwater recharge, significant land fallowing will be
necessary. How the valley manages that fallowing will be
paramount to protecting the region’s residents—including the
growers and rural, low-income communities who will be most
directly impacted by the changes. With coordinated planning and
robust incentives, the valley can navigate the difficult water
and land transitions coming its way and put itself on a path to
a productive and sustainable future.
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) General Manager
Thaddeus L. Bettner announced his plans to resign from his
position, effective September 22, 2023. The District is
extremely appreciative of Bettner’s leadership, dedication, and
outstanding service to the District and the Sacramento Valley,
and extends to him best wishes going forward. Bettner has
worked for the District since 2006 as its General Manager. He
is a registered civil engineer and recognized expert on issues
of water and the environment. He has guided the District
through critical water policy changes while improving the
District’s infrastructure and building and investing in
partnerships. Bettner has used his 33 years of experience
across California in the water resources field to bring
innovative solutions to historically challenging problems.
Change is coming to the heavily agricultural San Joaquin
Valley. We know that a combination of climate change, new
environmental regulations, and especially the implementation of
the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) are
leading to a decline in water available for irrigation. (By
2040, overall farm supplies in the valley could drop by as much
as 20%—and irrigated cropland by nearly 900,000 acres.) But
what we haven’t known is how these changes could impact farms
of different sizes in the valley—and there is understandable
concern about how the shift will play out, particularly for
smaller farms that have fewer resources and capacity to adapt.
A magistrate judge in Oregon sided with the Klamath Tribes on
Monday in finding that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation violated
the Endangered Species Act by misallocating limited water
supplies from the Upper Klamath Lake, harming endangered sucker
fish and other aquatic wildlife. In the 52-page findings and
recommendation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke found the
central question is whether the federal government broke the
law by allocating water for irrigation when it knew it could
not comply with its Endangered Species Act obligations to
endangered sucker fish in the Upper Klamath Lake, a freshwater
reservoir in the southern Oregon portion of the Klamath Basin.
Cattle producers who own and manage land in Butte, Colusa,
Glenn, and Tehama counties are gravely concerned with the
approach adopted by Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA’s)
in our respective basin/counties, reports the California Farm
Bureau. In each of those basins, the farm bureau claims
non-extractors, or de minimis users who only pump stock water,
are reportedly being assessed acreage fees by the respective
GSAs to generate the funding required to comply with the
state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Cattle
producers are predominantly rangeland operations that do not
use groundwater, except for watering livestock, and in fact,
serve as a net recharge zone for the basins.
Himanshu Gupta knows full well the heavy toll climate change is
taking on agriculture. Growing up in India and eventually
working in public policy, he saw how the unpredictably late
monsoon season was damaging crops and worsening farmers’ lives.
… That eventually led him to co-found ClimateAi, a Bay
Area-based startup that aims to help farms and other businesses
prepare for a hotter, more disruptive climate using the power
of artificial intelligence. By harnessing machine learning
models, the company says its customers can anticipate and
prepare for climate risks to their supply chains and operations
over periods ranging from weeks to seasons.
Dirt roads neatly bisect acres and acres of vibrant green
plants here: short, dense alfalfa plants fed by the waters of
the Colorado River, flowing by as a light brown stream through
miles of narrow concrete ditches. But on a nearby field, farmer
Ronnie Leimgruber is abandoning those ditches, part of a system
that has served farmers well for decades. Instead, he’s
overseeing the installation of new irrigation technology, at a
cost of more than $400,000, and with no guarantee it will be as
dependable as the open concrete channels and gravity-fed
systems that have long watered these lands. … What
Leimgruber is pursuing on his acreage is part business savvy
and part guarding against a drier future. Like many farmers in
this region, he’s figuring out how to keep growing his crops
with less water. Two decades of drought have shrunk the
Colorado River, which feeds farms in the Imperial Valley, an
agricultural oasis fed solely by the 82-mile All-American
Canal, which delivers river water to this arid Southern
California region.
If you’ve got a cotton hoodie or pair of leggings you’d
describe as “buttery soft,” chances are it’s made of pima
cotton. And according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture the
largest pima producer in the country is Kings County. “Not too
many places can grow it like we do,” said Roger Isom, president
and CEO of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers
Association. This year, however, most of the land that would
have been planted with pima cotton was underwater, among the
170 square miles submerged when Tulare Lake refilled. Too much
water this year, plus too little water before that, is having
ripple effects throughout the industry and community. Isom says
at least two cotton processors, known as gins, have had to
close their doors in the Valley this year, leaving fewer than
two dozen statewide.
The drought that gripped Minnesota in the summer of 2021 was
one of the worst on record. Day after day a blazing sun
shriveled leaves, dried up waterfalls and turned ponds to
puddles. In a state known for its 10,000 lakes, many people
could do little except hope for rain. But big farmers had
another option. They cranked up their powerful irrigation
wells, drenching their fields with so much water that they
collectively pumped at least 6.1 billion gallons more
groundwater than allowed under state permits. Nearly a third of
the overuse happened on land affiliated with one company, R.D.
Offutt Farms.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will not curtail water to the
Klamath Project in Southern Oregon and Northern California,
despite an earlier warning to irrigators that cutbacks might be
necessary to satisfy protections for endangered fish.
… The reversal is “due to improved hydrology in the
Klamath Basin over the last two weeks; opportunities for Upper
Klamath Lake water conservation this fall and winter; and
coordination with tribal partners and water users,” according
to officials.
Searching 150 Best Quotes About Agriculture for something
appropriate to discuss The Future of Agriculture and Food
Production in a Drying Climate, this comment stood out — “At
the very heart of agriculture is the drive to feed the world.
We all flourish…or decline…with the farmer.” That core concept,
“the heart of agriculture”, resonated with Bobby Robbins, a
cardiologist by trade whose day job is President of the
University of Arizona in Tucson. Living in the Northern
Sonora Desert, Robbins has watched a changing climate threaten
food and agriculture systems in the arid Southwest. “The
agriculture industry needs innovative research-based solutions
to continue producing food year-round,” he said in announcing a
high-IQ Commission to tackle the job.
Landowners in the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin have been
fighting major agriculture producers, Grimmway Farms and
Bolthouse Farms, for their water rights. Everyone in the basin
was on track to cut water usage until the carrot growers filed
an adjudication in court against every landowner in the basin,
including the school district, temporarily halting the cutback,
and essentially leaving the courts with the decision on who
gets water rights in the basin. The Cuyama Valley Groundwater
Basin was designated as one of 21 basins or subbasins in
California that are in a state of critical overdraft. Local
Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA), agencies under the
California Department of Water Resources, are responsible for
creating a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) to outline how
basins throughout the state will become sustainable by 2040.
Those plans then get updated every five years.
For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado
River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona
border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam —
and draining the giant Lake Powell reservoir — would improve
the shrinking river’s health. Now, as climate change increases
the strains on the river, this controversial proposal is
receiving support from some surprising new allies: influential
farmers in California’s Imperial Valley. In a letter to the
federal Bureau of Reclamation, growers Mike and James Abatti,
who run some of the biggest farming operations in the Imperial
Valley, urged the government to consider sacrificing the
Colorado’s second-largest reservoir and storing the water
farther downstream in Lake Mead — the river’s largest
reservoir.
California experienced triple the amount of average rainfall
within the first few months of 2023, leading to heavy plant
growth across the Central Coast. It even caused a super bloom
of wildflowers off of Highway 1 and 58, creating excitement for
locals and visitors alike. Months later, one of the Central
Coast’s biggest industries is grappling with the storms’
after-effects, as harvest season for vineyards is looking a lot
different this year. Walking through Paso Robles on a hot
August afternoon, it’s almost like the storms never happened.
The rolling hills at Tablas Creek Vineyard are lined with
healthy grapevines and olive trees.
The North San Joaquin Water Conservation District recently
received some help from the federal government to ensure its
ratepayers continue to receive water. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture announced Tuesday that the district has been
awarded a $1 million grant to make repairs and upgrades to its
irrigation system. The investment will help make critical
improvements to upstream level control, gates, and flow meters
to meet delivery needs and support effective, safe groundwater
management, the agency said. Jennifer Spaletta, the district’s
attorney, said the grant money will be used to build a lateral
off the south distribution system located near Handel Road.
Earlier this month the Coastside County Water District Board of
Directors workshopped ideas for bringing recycled water to Half
Moon Bay. The district is in the early stages of a feasibility
study that will examine whether water from various sources,
including wastewater, could be used for agriculture or drinking
supplies. Throughout the process, CCWD must weigh the benefits
of diversifying local water sources with the costs of building
expensive infrastructure. Two months ago, the board agreed to
pay Water Works Engineers $299,977 to evaluate the region’s
hydrogeology, implementation options and permitting
feasibility. The district has applied for grants from the
Division of Financial Assistance that could pay for planning
and construction.
As implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (SGMA) proceeds, it’s no secret that the San
Joaquin Valley will have to adapt to a future with less water
for irrigation. Our research shows that overall irrigation
supplies may decline by as much as 20% by 2040. Land uses will
have to change, and some have raised concerns that SGMA’s
implementation could put smaller farms at a disadvantage, given
their more limited resources and capacity. To gain insight on
these issues, we conducted a detailed geographical analysis of
cropping patterns and water conditions by farm size on the San
Joaquin Valley floor, using county real estate records on
ownership of agricultural parcels (individual properties of
varying sizes) to identify farms.
With three-quarters of Arizona’s fresh water supply going to
farmlands, the recent reductions imposed on Colorado River
supply are having a huge impact on agriculture in the state.
“It’s all about stretching that water dollar or that gallon of
water a little bit further.” Paul “Paco” Ollerton is a
third-generation farmer in Casa Grande, who says he’d already
been squeezing every last drop for his fields. “Our yields have
improved dramatically. Irrigation efficiencies have helped
quite a bit.” But it’s still not enough to keep his family
business afloat. The longtime cotton farmer has had to make
adjustments as well, turning to more drought-resistant crops
used for animal feed.
Cattle producers who own and manage land in Butte, Colusa,
Glenn, and Tehama counties are gravely concerned with the
approach adopted by the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
(GSAs) in our respective basin/counties. In every basin,
non-extractors (or de minimis users who only pump stock water)
are being assessed acreage fees by the GSA to generate the
funding required to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (SGMA). Cattle producers are predominantly
rangeland operations that do not use groundwater, and in fact,
serve as a net recharge zone for the basins.
For most of the state, the drought is over. The Central Valley
is receiving their full state water supply allocation and
farmers don’t need to pull water from the ground to keep their
crops from dying of thirst. But that doesn’t mean the
signs along Interstate 5 and Highway 99 grumbling about the
“Politicians Created Water Crisis” and the Valley’s man-made
dust bowl, and asking if “Growing Food Is Wasting Water?”
should be taken down. The abundance won’t last forever, and the
farmers eventually will be back where they were before record
rain and snow provided them with a bounty of life-giving water.
That could be avoided, though, if policymakers got busy
building needed water infrastructure. -Written by Kerry Jackson, a fellow with the
Center for California Reform at the Pacific Research
Institute.
Darcy and Darcy welcome Steve Chedester, the Director of Policy
and Programs for the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors
Water Authority into the We Grow California Studios. Steve has
been with the Exchange Contractors for 28 years and provides a
great background and status report on the San Joaquin River
Restoration Project. After litigation, settlements, and decades
of planning, this project is not even at the starting
line. Tune in and learn why.
Water users in the Klamath Project may lose their remaining
water allocations following a warning from the Bureau of
Reclamation sent out last Friday. The letter tells irrigators
“… there is projected to be a shortfall in the Sept. 30 Upper
Klamath Lake elevation of 4139.2 feet that was identified in
the May 18, 2023, update to the 2023 Annual Operation Plan.
This situation is likely to require a reduction in project
water supply in order to minimize or eliminate the shortfall.”
The letter from Reclamation said the department will continue
to explore actions to mitigate any reductions, but encourages
contract holders to conserve their supplies.
On a cloudy day on a crop farm north of Reno, Nev., Zach
Cannady tilts his head toward the sky and smiles. That’s
because it’s starting to rain, which wasn’t in the forecast.
… Cannady owns Prema Farms, a stone’s throw into California,
tucked in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. It grows a
colorful mix of crops – carrots, kale, peppers, onions, melons
and more. And harvests have been strong recently thanks to wet
winters and more frequent rain. But Cannady, who has a wife and
two kids, knows that can change fast in farming.
Ahead of an annual US Department of Agriculture estimate for
California walnut production, the outlook is far more positive
in 2023, according to the California Walnut Board. In an update
published Aug. 9, the CWB credited heavy rains over a long
period last winter for restoring subsoil moisture and providing
“for healthy root zones, enabling trees to better tolerate late
season high temperatures,” the CWB said. Extensive snowpack
also helped sustain the trees during the growing season.
Rainfall, caused by atmospheric rivers in California, was
intense from the first of the year through late March,
affecting large areas of Southern California, the Central Coast
of California and northern parts of the state.
California farmers are putting a big target on Glen Canyon Dam,
telling the federal government it’s time to take a serious look
at suggestions to stop using the dam to produce electricity.
Talk of decommissioning the dam has been on the fringe of
criticism of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation management of the
Colorado River, but it could gain momentum as public comment is
released in the coming days. Reclamation asked for input as it
works on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for managing
the river as the Colorado River Compact — the “Law of the
River” — nears expiration in 2026. More than 21,000 comments
were submitted, and they are expected to be publicly available
in the coming days. Conservation groups, government agencies,
businesses and private citizens all weighed in. Public comment
ended on Aug. 15.
Some places in the U.S. are already struggling
with groundwater depletion, such as
California, Arizona, Nebraska and other parts of the
central Plains. … [Jonathan Winter, an associate professor of
geography at Dartmouth College and an author on a new
study on future U.S. irrigation costs and benefits] used a
computer model to look at how heat and drought might affect
crop production by the middle and end of this century, given
multiple scenarios for the emissions of warming greenhouse
gases. In places like California and Texas where “everyone is
dropping their straw into the glass” of groundwater, as Winter
put it, current levels of irrigation won’t be viable in the
long term because there isn’t enough water. But use of
irrigation may grow where groundwater supply isn’t presently an
issue.
Some people view Napa County’s recent rejection of the proposed
Le Colline vineyard in the Napa Valley watershed as a breath of
fresh air. Others see it as an ill wind. Le Colline was
the first controversial land use decision facing the new-look
Board of Supervisors that took office at the beginning of the
year. On Tuesday, the board, by a 3-2 margin, sided with
environmentalists who objected to clearing forest and shrubland
for a 20.6-acre vineyard. Mike Hackett of Save Napa Valley has
over the years often been disappointed with county land use
decisions. This time, he liked the outcome and sees good things
to come. “I think a majority of the board finally understands
we are in a climate crisis,” said Hackett. “We can no longer be
removing forests in inappropriate locations for
vineyards.”
When Perry Cabot looks at his 12-acre cornfield northeast of
Fruita, he sees much more than a flat field among many other
flat fields baking under a cloudless sky. He sees a
bountiful reserve of data and a way to fine-tune crop
production in the drought-challenged Colorado River Basin using
a new tool: artificial intelligence. … Cabot and his
research partners think AI has a place in agriculture, where
the field of precision agriculture is already harnessing new
technologies to boost ag practices. … The basin provides
water to millions of people. But its supply is dwindling, and
water users are struggling to curb overuse in face of prolonged
drought and climate change. More efficient water
technology would change how farmers operate their
businesses…
How much does it cost to grow an acre of romaine hearts in the
nation’s salad bowl? A new study from the University of
California at Davis Cooperative Extension gives us a
comprehensive breakdown for costs in the state’s Central Coast
region: Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. The
short answer: for a 1,500-acre operation, growing costs,
$7,400, harvest costs $9,383, for a total of $16,793 per acre.
… Water costs (always a fascinating subject): low, at
$282 per acre-foot, reflecting the fact that Salinas Valley
crops rely more or less exclusively on groundwater. Total
irrigation costs are $582 per acre. Incidentally, although the
grower is responsible for pumping costs, any underground costs
(such as wells running dry) are borne by the landowner.
Sacramento Valley leaders are seeking input on a document
providing a macro-view of the approach underway to benefit
Chinook salmon in the region. A Holistic Approach for Healthy
Rivers and Landscapes in the Sacramento River Basin is an
overview of the amazing efforts underway from ridgetop to river
mouth in every part of the Sacramento Valley to “give salmon a
chance” by improving freshwater conditions for each life-stage
of all four runs of Chinook salmon.
Agricultural irrigation induces greenhouse gas emissions
directly from soils or indirectly through the use of energy or
construction of dams and irrigation infrastructure, while
climate change affects irrigation demand, water availability
and the greenhouse gas intensity of irrigation energy. Here, we
present a scoping review to elaborate on these
irrigation–climate linkages by synthesizing knowledge across
different fields, emphasizing the growing role climate change
may have in driving future irrigation expansion and reinforcing
some of the positive feedbacks. This Review underscores the
urgent need to promote and adopt sustainable irrigation,
especially in regions dominated by strong, positive feedbacks.
This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.
Explore the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues
associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour traveled along the San Joaquin River to learn firsthand
about one of the nation’s largest and most expensive river
restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno
327 E Fir Ave
Fresno, CA 93720
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
This tour ventured through California’s Central Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. Covering about 20,000 square miles through the heart of the state, the valley provides 25 percent of the nation’s food, including 40 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables consumed throughout the country.
The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
This tour guided participants on a virtual exploration of the Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
This tour guided participants on a virtual journey deep into California’s most crucial water and ecological resource – the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and canals support the state’s two major water systems – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The Delta and the connecting San Francisco Bay form the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the West coast.
This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
This 2-day, 1-night tour offered participants the opportunity to
learn about water issues affecting California’s scenic Central
Coast and efforts to solve some of the challenges of a region
struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies that
have potential applications statewide.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop
of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad
sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and
climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs was the focus of this tour.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River
where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand
is growing from myriad sources — increasing population,
declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs is the focus of this tour.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of repair efforts on the
Oroville Dam spillway.
Participants of this tour snaked along the San Joaquin River to
learn firsthand about one of the nation’s largest and most
expensive river restoration projects.
The San Joaquin River was the focus of one of the most
contentious legal battles in California water history,
ending in a 2006 settlement between the federal government,
Friant Water Users Authority and a coalition of environmental
groups.
Groundwater replenishment happens
through direct recharge and in-lieu recharge. Water used for
direct recharge most often comes from flood flows, water
conservation, recycled water, desalination and water
transfers.
Water is expensive – and securing enough money to ensure
reliability and efficiency of the state’s water systems and
ecosystems is a constant challenge.
In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1, authorizing a
$7.5 billion bond to fund water projects throughout the state.
This included investments in water storage, watershed protection
and restoration, groundwater sustainability and drinking water
protection.
California agriculture is going to have to learn to live with the
impacts of climate change and work toward reducing its
contributions of greenhouse gas emissions, a Yolo County walnut
grower said at the Jan. 26 California Climate Change Symposium in
Sacramento.
“I don’t believe we are going to be able to adapt our way out of
climate change,” said Russ Lester, co-owner of Dixon Ridge Farms
in Winters. “We need to mitigate for it. It won’t solve the
problem but it can slow it down.”
From the Greek “xeros” and Middle Dutch “scap,”
xeriscape was coined
in 1978 and literally translates to “dry scene.”
Xeriscaping, by extension, is making an environment which can
tolerate dryness. This involves installing drought-resistant and
slow-growing plants to reduce water use.
Irrigation is the artificial supply
of water to grow crops or plants. Obtained from either surface or groundwater, it optimizes
agricultural production when the amount of rain and where it
falls is insufficient. Different irrigation
systems are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but in
practical use are often combined. Much of the agriculture in
California and the West relies on irrigation.
Excess salinity poses a growing
threat to food production, drinking water quality and public
health. Salts increase the cost of urban drinking water and
wastewater treatment, which are paid for by residents and
businesses. Increasing salinity is likely the largest long-term
chronic water quality impairment to surface and groundwater in California’s Central
Valley.
California’s severe drought has put its water rights system under
scrutiny, raising the question whether a complete overhaul is
necessary to better allocate water use.
(Read the excerpt below from the July/August 2015 issue along
with the editor’s note. Click here
to subscribe to Western Water and get full access.)
Introduction
California’s severe drought has put its water rights system under
scrutiny, raising the question whether a complete overhaul is
necessary to better allocate water use.
This issue looks at remote sensing applications and how satellite
information enables analysts to get a better understanding of
snowpack, how much water a plant actually uses, groundwater
levels, levee stability and more.
This 3-day, 2-night tour, which we do every spring,
travels the length of the San Joaquin Valley, giving participants
a clear understanding of the State Water Project and Central
Valley Project.
Located just north of Fresno, the
Friant Dam helps deliver water as it runs towards the Merced River, though its
environmental impacts have caused controversy.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
agricultural water use – its successes, the planned state
regulation to quantify its efficiency and the potential for
greater savings.
This Western Water looks at proposed new measures to deal with
the century-old problem of salinity with a special focus on San
Joaquin Valley farms and cities.
The Reclamation Act of 1902, which could arguably be described as
a progression of the credo, Manifest Destiny, transformed the
West. This issue of Western Water provides a glimpse of the past
100 years of the Reclamation Act, from the early visionaries who
sought to turn the arid West into productive farmland, to the
modern day task of providing a limited amount of water to homes,
farms and the environment. Included are discussions of various
Bureau projects and what the next century may bring in terms of
challenges and success.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features
a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San
Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows
and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam
to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the
history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with
implementation.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The
map text explains the many issues facing this vast,
15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration;
agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are
descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement,
and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development
of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the
water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the
environment. It features natural and manmade water resources
throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers,
Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River
that forms the state’s eastern boundary.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
With irrigation projects that import water, farmers have
transformed millions of acres of land into highly productive
fields and orchards. But the dry climate that provides an almost
year-round farming season can hasten salt build up in soils. The
build-up of salts in poorly drained soils can decrease crop
productivity, and there are links between drainage water from
irrigated fields and harmful impacts on fish and wildlife.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
explores the history and development of the federal Central
Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery
system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes
the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP
brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth,
easy-to-understand publication that provides background and
perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater
is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the
history of its use in California.
The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as
the most thorough explanation of California water rights law
available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing
in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation
ditch through the complex web of California water rights.
The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing provides
background information on water rights, types of transfers and
critical policy issues surrounding this topic. First published in
1996, the 2005 version offers expanded information on
groundwater banking and conjunctive use, Colorado River
transfers and the role of private companies in California’s
developing water market.
Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced
fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.
There are two constants regarding agricultural water use –
growers will continue to come up with ever more efficient and
innovative ways to use water and they will always be pressed to
do more.
It’s safe to say the matter will not be settled anytime soon,
given all the complexities that are a part of the water use
picture today. While officials and stakeholders grapple to find a
lasting solution to California’s water problems that balances
environmental and economic needs, those who grow food and fiber
for a living do so amid a host of challenges.
Land retirement is a practice that takes agricultural lands out
of production due to poor drainage and soils containing high
levels of salt and selenium (a mineral found in soil).
Typically, landowners are paid to retire land. The purchaser,
often a local water district, then places a deed restriction on
the land to prevent growing crops with irrigation water (a source
of salt). Growers in some cases may continue to farm using rain
water, a method known as dry farming.
Evaporation ponds contain agricultural drainage water and are
used when agricultural growers do not have access to rivers for
drainage disposal.
Drainage water is the only source of water in many of these
ponds, resulting in extremely high concentrations of salts.
Concentrations of other trace elements such as selenium are also
elevated in evaporation basins, with a wide degree of variability
among basins.
Such ponds resemble wetland areas that birds use for nesting and
feeding grounds and may pose risks to waterfowl and shorebirds.
The Coachella Valley in Southern California’s Inland Empire is
one of several valleys throughout the state with a water district
established to support agriculture.
Like the others, the Coachella Valley Water District in Riverside
County delivers water to arid agricultural lands and constructs,
operates and maintains a regional agricultural drainage system.
These systems collect drainage water from individual farm drain
outlets and convey the water to a point of reuse, disposal or
dilution.
