The Central Valley Project stretches about 400 miles from the Redding area to the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, with 20 dams and about 500 miles of main canals. "If it doesn't rain in March, it's possible it could get worse." "We're getting a certain amount of criticism from the agricultural community for these low allocations, but we have to be prudent and cautious with these very dry conditions," Conant said. But the hot, dry conditions last spring shrank inflows from rain and snowmelt much more than projected, Conant said, and the agency decided to reduce allocations to 0% for the irrigation districts and 25% for cities-the same reductions the agency is starting with this year. Last February, the Bureau of Reclamation started with a 5% allocation for many agricultural water users and a 55% allocation for cities. Without those critical months of snow and rain, the state has less to count on to boost major reservoirs, which were already low after two dry years. Conant pointed out that January and February are on pace to be the driest on record. And as a result, we have to be very cautious with these allocations," said Ernest Conant, the bureau's regional director.Īfter a wet start to the rainy season in October and December, the state has gone through an extremely dry stretch in January and much of February. Cities that receive water from the project in the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area were allocated 25% of their historical water use. The federal Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the project's dams and canals, announced a zero- water allocation for irrigation districts that supply many farmers across the Central Valley.
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