Concerns linger in Merced County over state decision to cut river water to local farmers
The impacts of a recent decision by the California State Water Resources Control Board could ripple into serious consequences felt by Merced County water users next year, Merced Irrigation District (MID) officials say.
The state board on Aug. 3 unanimously voted to to issue “emergency curtailment” orders for the rivers of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed — severing Central Valley farmers from their main irrigation supply as the drought worsens.
Thousands of Valley farmers would be among the first to feel the impacts of being cut off from California’s main rivers and streams, including the more than 2,000 local growers within Merced Irrigation District.
The irrigation district oversees Lake McClure, a 1-million-acre-foot reservoir northeast of Snelling that serves as the primary water supply for Merced County growers and provides water to about 100,000 acres in the eastern part of the county.
“That reservoir is essentially the only water source for our growers,” said MID spokesperson Mike Jensen.
Water allocation for MID growers for 2021 is already set, but MID officials are wary about how the state board’s decision will play out locally in 2022 following an already challenging drought year — especially if dry conditions persist or the drought intensifies.
If emergency curtailment orders are in place during the storm season next year, it will prevent the reservoir from storing runoff as it flows downriver, Jensen said. This is cause for concern not only for growers, but for residents of east Merced County as well, as drinking water supply could be potentially impacted.
It could also worsen concerns over the county’s groundwater basins. MID’s water operations provide more than 100,000 acre-feet of groundwater replenishment each year to a groundwater basin that is identified by the state as critically overdrafted.
Basins labeled as critically overdrafted see their annual average of groundwater extraction exceed supply. Most San Joaquin Valley basins are critically overdrafted.
Agricultural and urban groundwater users are directed to limit consumption under the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
But Merced County growers feeling the direct effects of water being cut off may turn to sourcing their supply from wells, exacerbating concerns over the county’s critically over-drafted basins.
“If we don’t have adequate surface water supply for Lake McClure . . . our growers are going to be looking at pumping groundwater,” Jensen said, noting that increased groundwater pumping would put more demand on overdrafted basins.
MID officials have expressed apprehension to the state board about the emergency curtailment orders impeding the opportunity to capture valuable runoff for storage or water management activities if a storm event occurs next fall or winter.
As a result, local irrigation district officials have asked the state board to provide a point person to coordinate with to lift the orders if a storm does occur, thus allowing water to be put to use locally.
Frustrations expressed to the state
Last week’s move by the California State Water Resources Control Board marked the most drastic step since the drought was officially declared throughout a majority of California’s counties and surpasses any steps taken by the state during the previous drought.
The order affects those with direct legal rights to divert water from the rivers. The board pointed to the need to preserve river flows for drinking water as well as endangered fish species as reason to curtail farmers’ water use.
Maintaining river flow prevents saltwater from the Pacific from rushing into the Delta. If that water gets too salty, pumping operations from the estuary through which much of California’s water is pumped may stop.
Assemblymember Adam Gray, D-Merced, condemned curtailment proposal prior to the unanimous vote. He criticized the state board for halting water flows to farmers who grow food while no mandatory statewide conservation requirements are in effect for urban water users.
“The Board’s history of failing to balance the necessary sacrifices required during times of severe drought against the real-life impacts of those sacrifices is well documented,” Gray said in a letter to the board.
“What’s more important, making sure farmers can grow food for your tables or making sure someone’s lawn in Bel Air never turns brown around the edges?”
The state board’s decision means residents living in rural areas like Merced County will bear the overwhelming economic and social burdens created by the drought, Gray said in a news release. Irrigation restrictions will result in the loss of thousands of acres of fruit, nut, dairy and vegetable production that will cost thousands of jobs, he said.
According to the state board, curtailment orders may be lifted when river flows increase or are projected to increase, with the intent of regaining reservoir storage. California reservoirs are near record low storage, including the ones that maintain salinity in the delta and supply drinking water to most of the state.
The board will assess by Oct. 1 whether to continue with the curtailment orders. Storms or increased river flows in the fall would allow a dam operator to begin storing water for next year.
The Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto Bees contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
