[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Items for 2/5/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

February 5, 2008

 

1.  Top Items

 

DWR increases State Water Project allocation - Central Valley Business Times

 

Water deliveries to be below normal - Stockton Record

 

 

DWR increases State Water Project allocation

Central Valley Business Times – 2/4/08

 

The California Department of Water Resources has increased its allocation of 2008 State Water Project water for long-term contractors from 25 percent to 35 percent of requests.

 

“We can credit a wetter-than-average January for an impressive increase in our water supplies and snowpack,” says DWR Director Lester Snow. “However, tighter pumping restrictions in the Delta will limit how much of this water we can actually provide to many parts of Southern California, the Central Valley and the Bay Area.”

 

Last year, a federal court curtailed Delta pumping by state and federal water projects to protect the threatened Delta smelt. DWR estimates that the 35 percent allocation would be 50 percent without the court decision actions in place.

 

The allocation increase will boost State Water Project water for long-term contractors from 1,038,861 acre-feet to 1,457,283 acre-feet.

 

The 29 long-term SWP contractors distribute water to more than 25 million Californians and approximately 750,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land.  #

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=7758

 

 

Water deliveries to be below normal

Stockton Record – 2/5/08

 

SACRAMENTO - Water deliveries to cities and farms still are expected to be well below normal this year, despite a wet January, state water officials said Monday.

 

Recent storms allowed the Department of Water Resources to increase its water allocations from 25 percent to 35 percent of what cities and farms have requested, officials said.

 

However, a federal judge has reduced the amount of water that can be exported from the Delta this year in an attempt to protect fish. Without that order, expected water deliveries would be about 50 percent, officials said.

 

The state supplies 29 water contractors from the Bay Area to San Diego; 25 million Californians get at least some of their water from the Delta. #

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/A_NEWS/80205002

####