Kern County Times

WASHINGTON – On April 20, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) released the following statement in response to the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) updated 2023 water allocation announcement for Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors. Reclamation announced South-of-Delta agricultural repayment and water service contractors would be receiving 100% of their water supply allocations, up from their recently updated allocation of 80%. This follows Reclamation’s initial allocation announcement of 35% for South-of-Delta agricultural repayment and water service contractors in February of this year.

The last time CVP South-of-Delta contractors received 100% of their allocation was 2017, with 2006 being the most recent year before then in which contractors were given access to the entire amount of water they pay for. CVP contractors pay for their full allocation even in water years where they receive none of or below their full allocation amount, which has been the case for the last six years.

“Today’s long-awaited announcement is welcome news and a big relief to our family farms, local economies, and communities that have suffered from drought conditions, burdensome regulations, and below adequate water allocations for years,” said Congressman Valadao. “We must ensure these allocations are not reduced as the water year progresses. While many of us are thankful for this rainfall, we also know there is an immeasurable amount of water from these storms that we won’t be able to capture and store due to a lack of water storage infrastructure. We need to be proactive about fixing our water storage and infrastructure issues so that we are better prepared for these kinds of weather events, and resilient to periods of drought.” 

Original source can be found here.