| California Needs a Few Arks |
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| Monday, 02 March 2009 14:24 |
I can remember growing up on the farm and knowing that if it rained I might not have to irrigate. My hopes would be shattered as my dad would drag his boot across the wet ground to reveal the dry, sandy ground that supported our almond trees.
While the rains may have gotten my hopes up, I still knew that the trees would need the precious irrigation water to continue their growth cycle.
This scenario is still being played out today across California as recent rains have brightened hopes that a third straight year of drought may suddenly come to an end. But those rains have simply not been enough and weather forecasters, much like my dad, have brought us all back to reality that we are still look at a very dry year in front of us.
The rains have been good, make no mistake about it. There are some farmers in some areas of the state who may be able to curtail some early season irrigations. Cattlemen are seeing some improvement in rangeland conditions in the mountains but more rains are needed to sustain that improvement.
Rain totals throughout the state have done little to put water back into a groundwater supply that is expected to be drawn upon later this year.
If this is beginning to read like a saga of discouragement it is because, well, that is what California water users are looking at this year. Recent announcements by the State and federal suppliers of water have underscored the serious nature of this year's water outlook.
California's Department of Water Resources held its ground in an announcement that said farmers receiving water from the State Water Project will only receive 15 percent of their contracted allotment. This delivery total was first made in December and DWR officials are probably keeping their fingers crossed that they will not have to revisit their projection for a lower percentage.
The Bureau of Reclamation told the majority of farmers receiving federal water from the Central Valley Project to not count on any water being delivered this year. That means zero, zip, nada, none. Other federal water contractors will receive anywhere from 75 percent to only 25 percent to their contracted supply.
Both the State and federal officials, in making their announcements, indicated they retained the option to revise their delivery projections. Such a revisit would only happen if the heavens opened and rain began to fall in our state in almost Biblical proportions. Along with the needed rain would be an increasing snow pack in our mountains that would help this coming spring in refilling our reservoirs.
I have not seen many arks being built as I travel through our state. But if that is what it takes to open the big water valve in the sky, then all I can say is "hand me a hammer."
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