Watching water, rice growers get annual review, worry list

RICHVALE – A drought, followed by a flood, damage at Oroville Dam – it’s been a topsy-turvy few years for farmers in the Sacramento Valley. Water leaders told growers to stay tuned for more twists and turns, particularly from statewide plans for surface water flows.

About 100 landowners who receive water from Richvale Irrigation District and Western Canal Water District gathered in Richvale on Thursday to hear what to expect in the near future.

At the top of the watch list is plans to increase river flows to help the Bay-Delta ecosystem.

Farm and water management groups continue to oppose plans by the State Water Resources Control Board.

This week, the Association of California Water Agencies urged individual water districts to send letters offering other alternatives for improving fish habitat.

Dustin Cooper didn’t detail the proposal, but he outlined how much water could be lost to growers in the district if river flow requirements are put into place.

The plans that would impact the Sacramento Valley are still in their early phases, Cooper said, but right now the call is for 35-75 percent of flows that “would have existed in nature,” before water diversion. Right now, the state Water Board is leaning toward a 50 percent flow, Cooper explained, which is the minimum believed to have a benefit for fish.

For comparison, Cooper explained that the average annual flow in the Feather river is now at 38 percent of unimpaired flow. An increase to 50 percent would mean decreases in water supply, even to those who have the highest priority water rights in the valley.

He estimated that in August, a flow of 50 percent could mean zero water supply to those most senior water rights holders, and a decrease of 93 percent in July. The amount of water lost is estimated at 620,000 acre feet, Cooper said, which is more water than is used by Richvale and Western Canal water districts combined.

Providing flow at this level would also draw down Lake Oroville to the point where it would be difficult to pull water out of the reservoir, he said.

In February, boards of supervisors from nine counties, including Butte, co-signed a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown stating that increasing flows would decrease water storage and water supplies and undermine efforts for groundwater sustainability.