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  • Environment
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California Central Valley Farmers Won't Get Full Water Supply

  •  Amy Quinton 
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 | Sacramento, CA
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Photo / Curtis Jerome Haynes

San Luis Reservoir is one of the main reservoirs of the Central Valley Project. Photo taken May 2014.

Photo / Curtis Jerome Haynes

Farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley won’t be receiving a full supply of water from the federal Central Valley Project despite the wet winter.  

The US Bureau of Reclamation says those growers in the sprawling agricultural district will only receive 65 percent of their requested water.

It could increase based on snow melt later this spring. But the low amount is not what farmers were hoping for. 

“That is far better than what we’ve seen in recent years but it still really speaks to how far out of whack our water infrastructure is and how it has not kept up with current times,” says Danny Merkley with the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Merkley says the Central Valley Project wasn’t designed to capture water from the flashier storms that California is experiencing.

He also blames what he calls inflexible rules to protect endangered fish.

The bureau says water from previous years is being stored in one of the project’s major reservoirs, which is affecting this year’s allocation. Last year, westide growers received just 5 percent of their requested water. 

Cities and farms that are north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will receive all of their water supply. Cities south of the Delta that depend on the Central Valley Project will receive a 90 percent allocation.


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    More about drought

  • State Of Drought

    Reservoir levels are at historic lows, municipalities are ordering mandatory conservation and farmers are bracing for water shortages. Capital Public Radio has continuous coverage on how Californians are being impacted by the drought.

 droughtfarmingCentral Valley ProjectfarmersCalifornia waterUS Bureau of Reclamation

Amy Quinton

Former Environment Reporter

Amy came to Sacramento from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) where she was Environment Reporter. Amy has also reported for NPR member stations WFAE in Charlotte, WAMU in Washington D.C. and American Public Media's "Marketplace."  Read Full Bio 

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