[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 7/2/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

July 2, 2008

 

2. Supply –

 

 

Emergency water eases pressure on crops

The Fresno Bee- 7/1/08

 

Water transfer deals may help Central Valley farmers

Central Valley Business Times- 7/1/08

 

In Calif., a low water year is a boon to safflower

Associated Press- 7/1/08

 

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Emergency water eases pressure on crops

The Fresno Bee- 7/1/08

By Dennis Pollock

 

Pumping of groundwater into the California Aqueduct in the Westlands Water District has already begun, and the state’s Department of Water Resources today announced there will be additional sources of water for the State Water Project.

 

The additional water “will help alleviate pressure on permanent crops,” said Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District, where rationing is under way. “But it’s not going to change the situation in which crops were walked away from.”

 

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern Calfiornia has agreed to lend 25,000 acre-feet of water for use by Central Valley Project and State Water Project contractors, said Tracy Pettit, the department’s supply management section chief.

 

“MWD is deferring delivery of their water to later in the year,” Pettit said. That means that amount will be available for use by farmers facing rationing limits through the end of August.

 

In addition, Pettit said, DWR is lending 37,000 acre-feet of water to Central Valley Project contractors out of the San Luis Reservoir. DWR also announced that in response to an emergency declaration by Gov. Schwarzenegger, up to 50,000 acre-feet of groundwater will be pumped into the State Water Project this summer. The water comes from wells in Westlands and will be transferred to other parts of the district that do not have groundwater access.

 

The department also announced grants will be expedited to help urban agencies conserve water in the wake of declaration of a state drought emergency. #

http://www.fresnobee.com/updates/story/705707.html

 

 

 

Water transfer deals may help Central Valley farmers

Central Valley Business Times- 7/1/08

Some drought-stricken Central Valley farms are expected to get additional irrigation water through a series of agreements announced Tuesday by the California Department of Water Resources.

 

The agreements come after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s state of emergency proclamation of June 12 for nine counties affected by severe water shortages and his statewide drought proclamation on June 4.

 

Up to 50,000 acre feet of groundwater will be pumped into the State Water Project this summer from groundwater wells in the Westlands Water District. The water will be transferred to other parts of the district’s service area that do not have groundwater access.

 

DWR is lending 37,500 acre-feet of water from San Luis Reservoir to Central Valley Project contractors. An additional 25,000 acre-feet is being made available by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the benefit of both CVP and SWP contractors.

 

In addition to the water transfers and exchanges, DWR says it will expedite $12 million in grants to water agencies and non-profit organizations to be used for water conservation activities including rebate programs, public education and outreach, leak detection, and retrofit of systems for greater water efficiency.

 

Of the $12 million, $2 million is earmarked for disadvantaged communities and $10 million for other agencies and organizations.

 

To help communities finance new investments in water management funding DWR has awarded $6.4 million in grants to 31 public agencies. The money will help pay for development of groundwater management plans and programs, installation of groundwater monitoring wells, studies of groundwater basins, development of groundwater models and data storage systems, and other actions to enhance groundwater management and usage throughout California.

 

DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board will also award up to $58 million to four Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) efforts, including $6 million to the Kings River Conservation District in the Central Valley.

 

The funding will support water management activities including landscape water efficiency projects, recycled water and desalination projects, groundwater recharge facilities, water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, watershed management activities, and design work for new water management facilities.#

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=9180

 

 

 

In Calif., a low water year is a boon to safflower

Associated Press- 7/1/08

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

 

WOODLAND, Calif.—Having to make due with less water, California farmers are reassessing their planting of tomatoes, cotton, corn and other water-intensive crops.

 

A popular replacement this year—safflower. The thistlelike plant is perfectly suited for the state's Mediterranean climate and does not require much water.

 

It can send a tap root 8 to 10 feet into the soil, sucking up water and nutrients that are out of reach of other annual crops. The plants are blooming across California's Central Valley, pushing out bright, yellow and orange flowers packed with dozens of seeds that will be turned into salad and cooking oil.

 

Two events have conspired to bring less water to farmers this year—a light winter snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and court rulings that have ordered more water into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to help declining fish populations.

 

Many farmers have turned away from alfalfa, sugar beets and other crops that require a lot of water, planting safflower instead.

"It's a good choice in a dry year," said Steve Kaffka, an agronomist with the University of California, Davis. "Here, we have the ideal climate for it."

 

Acreage planted in safflower has doubled in California to about 100,000 acres this year, said Benny Nearn, general manager of Woodland-based SeedTec.

 

SeedTec, a division of California Oils Corp., is the main producer of safflower seeds and much of the processed oil. The company planted 25,000 acres this year, up from 10,000 last year.

 

Safflower is grown almost exclusively in the Central Valley because coastal areas are too moist, making the plants' roots susceptible to rot.

 

"If we were to irrigate this now, we'd kill almost all of it," said SeedTec research director Arthur Weisker, pointing to a field of safflower in full bloom near Woodland. "What safflower is able to do very well is go into the soil and get the water that's there."

 

About a third of the crop is grown in the Sacramento Valley, with the rest cultivated in the more arid San Joaquin Valley, Nearn said.

 

Safflower's salt tolerance makes it even more attractive in some San Joaquin soils that are difficult for other crops.

 

Newly planted safflower generally needs a single early watering from spring rains or irrigation. Then its tap roots dig deep to reach water and fertilizer left over from the previous year's planting season.

 

California produced 55 percent of the nation's safflower last year. The California crop was valued at nearly $23 million, more than four times as much as much as Montana, the next largest producer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

Safflower also is grown in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and North and South Dakota, although much of that crop is used as bird seed.

 

The safflower grown in California produces a vegetable oil that serves as an alternative to corn, sunflower, olive, canola or soybean oil.

 

"It's a great crop generally, because it's a very high quality oil, similar in almost every respect to olive oil," Kaffka said.

 

High demand for corn, used for animal feed and ethanol, has driven up prices for the crops that produce most oils.

Safflower that was selling for $250 a ton last year is now going for $450 a ton or more, a record.#

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9754937?nclick_check=1