Delta Farmers Aid California Drought by Exceeding Water Saving Goal

A group of farmers from the Central and South Delta has thrilled California’s water regulators by voluntarily using more than 32 percent less water compared with 2013. Farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta had set a voluntary goal last year to reduce water diversions by 25 percent.

The Delta, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers converge, accounts for less than 10 percent of the 6.9 million acres of California’s irrigated farmland. As the hub of the state’s water system the Delta provides water to the immense California farmland and some 25 million residents as far south as San Diego.

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered Californians to use 25 percent less water at their homes and businesses as the state endured its fourth year of historic drought conditions. The farmers voluntarily approached the state with their proposed cuts at the same time.

According to the Associated Press, the 217 farms that made the deal hold riparian water rights, the state’s oldest water rights, giving them the most secured access to California’s rivers and streams. “We were good sports about it, but we didn’t do it for nothing,” said John Kisst, a Tracy dairyman and farmer, who works 1,100 acres. “It cost us money to help.”

Fallowing land, growing less water-intensive crops, reducing or changing irrigation were some of the methods farmers used to achieve the reduction. Kiist said that to save water he planted less thirsty feed for his dairy cows, as opposed to growing corn for them.

The deal helped reduce drought-induced stress on California’s water supply during a critical period while allowing farmers to plan for their growing seasons and avoid the risk of more drastic curtailments later.

Satellite images and inspections of the 217 Delta farms throughout the growing season by officials allowed them to confirm that the farmers were doing as they had agreed.

Whereas the Delta farmers had voluntarily participated in helping to save water, state regulators had ordered cuts for thousands of farmers and other water users with lesser rights. However, they stopped short of curtailing water rights holders who own land along rivers and streams. Officials say curtailments for riparian rights holders were “narrowly avoided,” possibly because of the voluntary cuts.