A Farmer in California

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Tag: drought

Well Drilling In The San Joaquin Valley

September 27, 2016 / / 0 Comments
A well drilling rig in the San Joaquin Valley.

A well drilling rig in the San Joaquin Valley.

A recent article in the Sacramento Bee titled “Farmers say, ‘No apologies,’ as well drilling hits record levels in San Joaquin Valley” highlighted the rapid increase in groundwater wells drilled in the Central Valley of California. Over the past few years and continuing through current day, agricultural well drilling has occurred at a rapid rate with 905 agricultural wells reported dug in 2015 in Tulare County alone.

The reporters blame the recent passing of the Sustainable Groundwater Water Management Act as the cause of the uptick in well drilling. I couldn’t disagree more. Continue reading

Drought: A Small Farm Killer

April 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It is not news that California is in its 4th year of a very serious drought. Lack of snow pack within the Sierra Nevada Mountains (lowest on record) indicates that minimal water will be flowing into the reservoirs. In response, severe water cut backs have been occurring in the State, Federal, and locally managed irrigation districts.2015-01-06 13.52.38

So what does it mean when a farmer received a reduced water allocation? Although pretty straight forward – it means that the farmer receives less surface water than what is normally provided from these projects. It is usually a percent reduction or fixed allocation (e.g. Turlock Irrigation District is delivering 18 inches this year). This doesn’t mean, however, that they aren’t able to utilize water from exchanges, open market, or from groundwater. Water from these routes can be bought or pumped if possible. Not all ground, however, has the ability to access water through these channels. For example, if the farm is located upstream, it is not possible – without a feat of engineering – to pump water against the flow of gravity. In this case, water can only be delivered if the farm is downstream from the source.  Continue reading

Water Rights in CA, Solutions – Not Easy

April 6, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Reservoir within an almond orchard that is filled by a well.

Reservoir within an almond orchard that is filled by a well.

There are always a lot of questions regarding California’s water Policy. These usually stem from the way water rights were established and the complication of Federal, State, Municipal, and Local water projects. Furthermore, there is no “one size fits all” policy.

There are a lot of good resources covering the subject of CA’s water rights. The Public Policy Institute of California has a lot of good resources that explain water policy. Most of these have contributions from University researchers. A good, more “reader-friendly” resource is “Cadillac Desert” a book written in 1986 by author Marc Reisner, and more recently and briefly,  a recent article published by the Fresno Bee.

An important question that stems from all of this discussion is: “Why do we have water rights?” The short answer is that it is all about consistency. When in irrigated agriculture, if the source of irrigation is always in flux, decisions on when and what to plant would be harder to make. By securing these rights, it ensures that the water that was delivered in the previous year will also be delivered in future years, allowing for crop plans to be created. Farm sustainability within California would not be possible without a system of “water rights.” Continue reading

Water and Agriculture

April 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Lake McClure, formed by damming the Merced RIver, September, 2014

Lake McClure, September, 2014

California is in a drought – a very serious one. Over the past seven years, only one year has had above normal rain and snowfall totals. The past two years have seen extremely low snow pack, with this past year being considered the smallest snow pack on record.

With the continuation of this natural disaster, curtailments have continued. Last year, federal and state water projects received a “zero” allocation, while this year the state project upped its allocation to 20%. The federal project is still zero. Meanwhile, East-side districts – which are considered “water-right rich” are facing cuts as well. Fresno irrigation district is running for 4-6 weeks, Merced Irrigation District is delivering zero inches, Turlock Irrigation district is delivering 18″, while Modesto Irrigation District is delivering 22.” This is the first time in the history of Merced Irrigation District that zero inches of water were delivered –  canals will not be filled for 2015. Continue reading

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