Rep. Costa Announces New Water Increase for Valley

WASHINGTON,D.C. – Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) today announced that the InteriorDepartment will be increasing water allocations from the federal CentralValleyProject to 40 percent for agricultural service contractors south of the Delta.Interior's latest announcement is another increase from the Department'sinitial announcement of 5 percent on February 26.

"Our efforts to press the Administration for more water are producing results," said Costa. "More water is flowing to our Valley this year. Jobs will return and the increased water allocation will help get our economy back on track. Our fight is far from over, but we are turning the corner and making real progress."

Water district managers in the Valley have stated that our farmers need a minimum allocation of 40 percent to make it through the year. Due to drought conditions and misguided regulations, last year the Westside received a mere 10 percent water allocation.

In addition to his efforts to increase the Valley's water allocations, Costa recently took on the flawed regulations that are restricting the movement of water to the Valley (for more information, click here). In a letter to Commerce Secretary Locke, Congressmen Costa and Cardoza, along with Senator Feinstein, called on the Department to exercise greater flexibility in implementing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biological opinion so more water can flow to the Valley now.

The Interior Department's full release can be viewed below.

# # #

SecretarySalazar Announces Increased Central Valley Project 2010 Water Allocation

AgriculturalWater Service Contractors South-of-Delta Receive 40 Percent Allocation

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that theBureau of Reclamation's 2010 Central Valley Project (CVP) Water Supplyallocations have increased for agricultural water service contractors inCalifornia's San Joaquin Valley.

"I am pleased to announce that the water allocation for the hard hit,South-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors has increased to 40percent, up from the initial 5 percent allocation in February," said Salazar. "It is because of the determination and cooperation of our partneragencies, water users, and stakeholders, and because of the support of SenatorsFeinstein and Boxer, and Congressional Representatives Miller, Cardoza, Costa,Thompson, and Grace Napolitano that we are able to make this announcementtoday."

The improved allocation is based in large part on the efforts announced bySecretary Salazar in February to secure additional sources of water to boostallocations for South-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors on thewest side of the San Joaquin Valley and improved storage and runoff into theCVP reservoirs, in particular the American River watershed. TheCalifornia Department of Water Resources has been a key partner in the effortto shore up supplies. Since the February announcement, Reclamation hascontinued to firm up supplemental water supplies through the following actions:

- Improved operations through more precise compliance with Old and Middle Riverflows by the Bureau of Reclamation and the State Water Project;
- Additional water transfers to be made available from senior east side waterusers to the west side, through groundwater substitution and other actions;
- Adjusting the timing of water use (sometimes referred to as source shifting)to address low point issues in San Luis Reservoir;
- Capturing and temporarily using excess San Joaquin River Restoration Programflows in the Mendota Pool;
- Applying Joint Point Diversion operations to allow for more flexibilitybetween the state and Federal projects.

"While this improvement is welcome news, California's Central Valley is stillstruggling to overcome the effects of three years of drought and water systemoperational constraints needed to address water quality and fish species ofconcern in the Delta," added Secretary Salazar. "The department continuesto work with the state and other water interests to improve the reliability ofwater delivery throughout California."

Compared to the previous allocation and using a conservative forecast(generally referred to as the 90-percent exceedance forecast):

- The allocation for Municipal and Industrial (M&I) water servicecontractors north of the Delta, including American River and Contra CostaM&I contractors, remains at 100 percent.
- M&I water service contractors south of the Delta remains at 75 percentallocation.
- Agricultural water service contractors north of the Delta remains at 100percent allocation.
- Agricultural water service contractors south of the Delta are allocated 40percent—up from the 30 percent allocation made on April 15, 2010.
- Friant Division agricultural water service contractors' allocation of Class 2water supply increases to 30 percent—up from 15 percent; Class 1 allocationremains at 100 percent.
- Eastside Division agricultural contractors' (Stanislaus River) allocationremains at 100 percent of their contract quantities.
- The allocation for settlement contractors with claims to senior water rightsalong the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers remains at 100 percent of theircontract quantities.
- Wildlife refuges' allocation north and south of the Delta remains at 100percent of their "Level 2" water.

For additional information on today's announcement, please see the Mid-PacificRegion's website at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/pa/water. For questions or additional information, please contact the Region'sPublic Affairs Office at 916-978-5100 (TTY 916-978-5608) or e-mail \n mppublicaffairs@usbr.govThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .