Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
With Rain and Snow 'Well Below Normal', Some Farms Get Just 5% Water Allocation
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 4 years ago on
February 23, 2021

Share

The Bureau of Reclamation announced its initial 2021 water supply allocation for Central Valley Project contractors on Tuesday.

Agricultural water service contractors south of the Delta are allocated 5% of their contract supply.

“Although we had a couple of precipitation-packed storms in January and early February, we are still well below normal for precipitation and snowfall this year,” said Regional Director Ernest Conant in a press release. “We will monitor the hydrology as the water year progresses and continue to look for opportunities for operational flexibility.”

The California Department of Water Resources reports that as of Feb. 21, statewide average snow water content in the Sierra Nevada was 54% of the Apr. 1 average. Current Northern Sierra precipitation is 52% of the seasonal average to date.

“Although we had a couple of precipitation-packed storms in January and early February, we are still well below normal for precipitation and snowfall this year.”Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Ernest Conant

Shasta Reservoir

Shasta Reservoir’s 4.5 million acre-feet capacity represents the majority of CVP water storage. Water from Shasta Reservoir is used for many purposes, including contractor supply for north and south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, as well as maintaining temperatures downstream of the dam throughout the summer and fall for threatened and endangered fish species to the extent practicable.

Currently, reservoir storage is below the historic average for this time of the year and runoff forecasts predict that overall storage might be limited if typical spring precipitation does not materialize.

South-of-Delta Contractors

Given the low snowpack and low projected runoff this spring and summer, Reclamation is announcing the following initial allocations:

  • Agricultural water service contractors south-of-Delta are allocated 5% of their contract supply.
  • M&I water service contractors south-of-Delta are allocated the greater of 55% of their historic use or public health and safety needs, whichever is greater.
  • The San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and San Joaquin Settlement Contractors are allocated 75% of their contract supply.

Friant Division

  • Friant Division contractors’ water supply develops in the Upper San Joaquin River Basin Watershed and is delivered from Millerton Lake through Friant Dam to the Madera Canal and Friant-Kern Canal. The first 800,000 acre-feet of available water supply is considered Class 1; Class 2 is considered the next amount of available water supply up to 1.4 million acre-feet. Given the current hydrologic conditions, Friant Class 1 initial allocation will be 20% and Class 2 will be 0%.
  • For the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, Reclamation is currently forecasting a “Dry” water year type, providing for 170,732 acre-feet to be used for Restoration Program purposes.

Unused Water From 2020 Supplies

In addition to the initial 2021 CVP water allocation, several south-of-Delta and Friant Division contractors are rescheduling unused water from 2020 supplies into 2021.

That water is being stored in San Luis Reservoir and Millerton Lake. The option to carry over water in San Luis Reservoir and Millerton Lake from one contract year to the next has been available to the water service contractors since the early 1990’s. That carry over option was instituted after a series of dry years in the early 1990’s to encourage conservation and best water management practices.

[activecampaign form=25]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

DON'T MISS

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

DON'T MISS

What Happens After a Homeless Person Is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much

DON'T MISS

Thousands of Pilgrims Trek Through New Mexico Desert to Historic Adobe Church for Good Friday

UP NEXT

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

UP NEXT

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

UP NEXT

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

UP NEXT

What Happens After a Homeless Person Is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Tien Hoang Nguyen

UP NEXT

Free Skateboard Event Brings Pro Legends, Family Fun to Fresno on Saturday

UP NEXT

Jane Fonda Packs the Saroyan Theatre, Delivers an Empowering Message

UP NEXT

2 Killed and 5 Hurt in Florida State University Shooting; Gunman in Custody

UP NEXT

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump Plan to End Birthright Citizenship

UP NEXT

Popular AIs Head-to-Head: OpenAI Beats DeepSeek on Sentence-Level Reasoning

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

2 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

2 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

2 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

2 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

2 hours ago

What Happens After a Homeless Person Is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much

3 hours ago

Thousands of Pilgrims Trek Through New Mexico Desert to Historic Adobe Church for Good Friday

3 hours ago

Rams’ Draft Headquarters to Be at LAFD Air Base to Honor First Responders to Wildfires

3 hours ago

The US Has a Single Rare Earths Mine. Chinese Export Limits Are Energizing a Push for More

3 hours ago

A Startling Admission From a GOP Senator: ‘We Are All Afraid’

3 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House launched a COVID-19 website on Friday in which it bl...

22 minutes ago

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
22 minutes ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

59 minutes ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

1 hour ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

2 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

Firefighters work at the site of a garment production factory hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine April 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Stringer)
2 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS)
2 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

2 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

Habit Burger & Grill has discontinued its Impossible Burger offerings but continues to offer vegetarian options like veggie patties, salads, and sides. (Shutterstock)
2 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend