Water for 2017 irrigation system now available to deliver and order

Water for the 2017 irrigation system is now available and being delivered by the Merced Irrigation District, according to a statement.

The MID Board of Directors decided the district’s surface water supply meets all of the District's Class I and Class II growers’ needs for the season, according to the statement. Surface water is priced at $33 per acre foot.

Surface water also is available for growers who usually rely on groundwater as the primary source of water and who are in the MID and Merced Water Basin’s sphere. Their surface water is priced at $75 per acre foot.

It is advised by MID officials, the statement said, to turn off their groundwater wells and use surface water from Lake McClure.

“It is important that we take every possible step to protect our local groundwater, including turning off on-farm wells,” MID General Manager John Sweigard said in a statement. “We have surface water available from Lake McClure this year and we want growers to use it.

The State of California is carrying out the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and, in coming years, individual groundwater pumping is expected to decrease to help “ensure groundwater sustainability and prevent overdraft,” according to the statement.

Steps taken between now and when the act is implemented, the statement said, will benefit groundwater in future dry years when growers must depend on it.

“Leaving water in the ground will make it available for future dry years when it’s most needed,” Sweigard said.

To order water online go to http://mercedid.org/index.cfm/water/order-water/. To order water by phone call MID Water Customers Service at 209 722-2720 or 866-825-2475 for automated ordering anytime.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Water for 2017 irrigation system now available to deliver and order."