From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Back to business as usual

Coalition response…For water users that are facing shortages this year it’s nice to read the words that “Maximum pumping is once again allowed from the south Delta.” But it doesn’t make up for losing more than 800,000 acre-feet of water to federal regulations. Massive cuts in December and January mean that San Luis Reservoir, a major off-stream storage facility for State and federal project water, will likely not fill this year. That affects almost 4,000 farms on 3 million acres and 25 million Californians who depend on water flowing through the Delta to meet their needs.

The impact of crippling regulations that prevented the water deliveries is seen in a graphic prepared by the Department of Water Resources, farmwater.org/DWRStateFedCuts.pdf. Not only does it show the enormous volume of water that went to the ocean, it also depicts how small exports are compared to the amount of water in the system.

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