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How bad is the water situation? Reports differ

By COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
e-mail: cedelhart@bakersfield.com | Tuesday, Jun 24 2008 4:47 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 7:57 AM

The Kern County Board of Supervisors heard another downbeat report Tuesday on how two years of drought are affecting agriculture, but this week’s update from the Kern County Department of Agriculture/Measurement Standards wasn’t as gloomy as a similar report presented last week by the Kern County Water Agency.

Agriculture Commissioner/Sealer Ruben Arroyo told the board that insufficient water had cost the local agriculture industry $69,493,726.

The water agency last week said about 45,000 acres out of 850,000 normally irrigated will be idle this year at a cost of $46 million. In addition, 100,000 acres will be “underirrigated,” causing a $59 million loss, for a total blow of $104 million.

Arroyo explained the discrepancy by noting that his report assumed an average 35 percent water allocation, whereas the water agency had based its estimates on a more conservative 25 percent allocation. The Kern County Water Agency, later on Tuesday, confirmed it did use those figures.

The federal and state governments dole out water to farmers each year based on availability and water rights established in contracts. The allocation refers to what percentage growers will actually receive of water they are entitled to under their contracts.

Of the bleaker 25 percent assumption, Arroyo said, “I doubt we’ll get there this year,” but it was something to keep an eye on. The federal government recently reduced its deliveries to 40 percent and the state is delivering 35 percent. Acres not planted due to water issues this season included 12,000 that would have been cotton, 59,900 that would have been vegetables and 1,600 that would have been barley, Arroyo said.

About 1,821,000 acres in rangeland have been damaged at a loss of $9,815,190, he said.

Last week the board passed a largely symbolic resolution urging the state to come up with a long-term solution to chronic water problems in the region. After the vote, board members agreed to study a moratorium on any new agreements to provide water for users outside Kern.

Bakersfield has had 2.38 inches of rain this season, well below the normal level of about 6.49 inches, and that contributes to local conditions, according to the National Weather Service. As important as rainfall, though, is how much snowmelt runoff results from snow in the mountains, and how much water comes in via canals from other regions of the state. Canal pumping has been diminished, however, due to a federal court order aimed at protecting the Delta smelt, an endangered fish.