FRESNO, CA — Today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced an updated allocation increasing from 15 to 20 percent for Westlands Water District (District) and other south-of-Delta Central Valley Project irrigation water service contractors.
In response, Allison Febbo, general manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement: “While we appreciate the modest increase in allocation and acknowledge the constraints of California’s current hydrology—particularly as snowpack declines rapidly—this additional 5 percent is simply inadequate.
“Continued low allocations lead to increased reliance on groundwater pumping, a direct result of our broken water system that has suffered from decades of underinvestment and unreliable water supplies.
“This approach is not sustainable, and continued low allocations only underscore the urgent need to modernize how California manages, stores and allocates water.
We must do a better job of aligning water operations with real-time conditions to reduce unnecessary groundwater use and to maximize available surface water supplies.”
Westlands is working actively with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.
