State water legislation tied to spending bill

Mccarthy hopeful effort will mean more water for Valley

A battle is brewing in Washington D.C. on a spending bill moving through Congress which includes a package of provisions that wades into a complex, long-standing battle over allocating California’s water resources.

House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy, R-calif., and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein brokered the accord, which, among other steps, aims to offer relief to farmers and farm communities suffering from the state’s longstanding drought. But California’s other Democratic senator, Barbara Boxer, ripped the accord, charging that it would harm drinking water quality and severely weaken the Endangered Species Act, threatening salmon and other species. Boxer is retiring and vowed to filibuster the legislation as her last major act in office. On Wednesday, the Fresno Bee reported President Obama has stated he does not support the water language.

The water language is included in a temporary budget bill which would keep federal agencies functioning into next spring, giving the new Congress and incoming president Donald Trump time to approve more than $1 trillion to fund federal agencies through the current government budget year, which ends Sept. 30. The legislation:

Directs Federal

“Getting to this point has not been easy, but the collective commitment to provide relief to our state and local communities has proved resilient.”

(Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service) to pump water at the high end of the Delta smelt and salmonid biological opinions. Only under certain conditions, and if listed species are adversely impacted, can pumping be reduced.

Authorizes the Federal agencies to increase pumping to rates under certain conditions to capture water from storm events provided listed species are not adversely impacted.

Eliminates the water “payback” provision, which typically results in significant pumping reductions after storm events.

Requires that the Delta Cross Channel Gates remain open as much as possible, consistent with Federal and state law, to allow more fresh water to flow into the central Delta to be pumped south or to reduce salinity.

Expands the window for water transfers through the Delta to April 1 through Nov. 30, which enables more water to flow from willing sellers in the north of California to willing buyers south-of-the-delta. This will help reduce capacity limitation issues during certain times of the year.

Requires the Federal government to consult with local and state public water agencies on the re-consultation of the Delta smelt and salmonid biological opinions, which the Bureau of Reclamation initiated earlier this year.

Directs the Interior and Commerce Departments, using new science, real-time monitoring, and other information, to maximize water supplies through operational or management measures.

Authorizes $335 million to support development surface water storage projects, such as the five CALFED projects (i.e. Shasta, Sites, Los Vaqueros, Temperance Flat and San Luis)

Updates the Federal Water Desalination Act ($30 million), authorizes a new Title XVI water recycling and reuse grant program ($50 million), and increases the WATERSMART authorization ($100 million), which focuses on water conservation, reclamation, efficiency and recycling projects.

“This operations language is estimated to bring an additional 200,000 acre-feet of water on average to the Central Valley and Southern California annually. This water could supply the annual needs of about 446,000 households,” noted Mccarthy, who added the additional storage facility could provide 1–1.5 million acre-feet of additional storage.

The effort was quickly praised by farm groups, including the California Farm Bureau and California Citrus Mutual.

Mccarthy and Rep. David Valadao, R-calif., have been working for two years to get some more water out of the San Joaquin Delta to cities and farms in the Central Valley which have seen drastic reductions in surface water over the past nine years.

“Getting to this point has not been easy, but the collective commitment to provide relief to our state and local communities has proved resilient. This is an important moment for California, and the timing of this deal is critical — we cannot afford to miss capturing water from storms during this wet season,” said Mccarthy. He also thanked Feinstein for her efforts.

“Our work on California water is by no means complete, but this deal signals that there is a path to getting more done to restore California’s greatness,” he said.

Valadao is also hopeful there will finally be some movement on an updated water policy in the state.

“As we head into the winter rainy season, including these temporary provisions in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to strengthen California water infrastructure and increase water deliveries is both dire and extremely judicious,” he said.

While farm groups are not overly pleased, they see the latest attempt a good first step toward restoring water deliveries to the Valley.

“The litany of positives is significant and contains both short-term and long-term solutions to California needs. The crescendo of concern expressed by those opposing would have us living in an undeveloped California, foregoing ingenuity and the forward thinking that once helped turn California into a leading producer of food and fiber,” noted Joel Nelsen, president of Citrus Mutual.

California Farm Bureau Federation announced Tuesday it supports the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act slated for a vote this week.

“As California faces a potential sixth consecutive drought year, it’s critical for Congress to do what it can to assure we can capture as much water as possible from winter storms, while maintaining protections for the environment,” CFBF President Paul Wenger said. “The WIIN bill offers a balanced solution to help pay for long-overdue water supply, conservation and recycling projects.

“Senator Feinstein, Representative Mccarthy and other California members of Congress have worked hard, in good faith, to produce legislation that will benefit our entire state,” Wenger said.