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CVP Contract Supplies

Transfers

SUPPLEMENTAL WATER SUPPLY

Background:

Westlands Water District has a contract for water supply from the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) for 1.15 million acre-feet per year. Additionally, the annual safe yield of the District’s confined underground aquifer is estimated between 135,000 to 200,000 acre-feet. Analysis of crop demand, however, indicates a required water supply of 1.4 million acre-feet per year.  This analysis, therefore, suggests that Westlands will need to acquire an average of at least 100,000 acre-feet of supplemental water supply each year.

Since the late 1980’s, the District has not received a full contract supply due to physical drought conditions, the implementation of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, and numerous environmental regulations. The regulatory measures reduced the available water supply to the CVP and limited its ability to export water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The specific impacts to Westlands’ CVP contract water supply are summarized in the following chart:

Authorization for Supplemental Water Supplies:

The District's Board of Directors first authorized the acquisition of supplemental water supplies in 1990 with the adoption of Resolution No. 978-90, re-authorizing this activity with Resolution No. 105-98, in 1998. This approval was prompted by the prospect of an unreliable water supply resulting from an evolving regulatory environment. The 1990 Water Year was critically dry and the District, as well as all of California, was in the midst of a physical drought. In addition, State Water Resources Control Board Decision 1485 tightened Delta water quality standards and restricted export pumping from the Delta. Finally, the looming implementation of the Endangered Species Act posed further operational constraints and water supply uncertainty. It was clear the District needed to purchase additional water each year to augment contract supplies.

The Supplemental Water Program:

The goal of the Supplemental Water Program is to acquire additional water supplies in order to meet the needs of landowners and water users within the District and minimize existing and projected water supply deficits. In addition, these supplies help to prevent an undue reliance on groundwater supplies and reduce the potential overdraft of the groundwater aquifer. The District negotiates for and acquires these supplies on behalf of the landowners and water users. In the past ten years, Westlands has purchased over one million acre-feet of supplemental water supplies from various federal, state, local, and private supplies.

In the winter months and early spring, District staff review supply forecasts and utilize direct input from landowners and water users within the District to determine the demand for additional water supplies in the upcoming Water Year. Using this anticipated demand requirement, the District then identifies, negotiates, and acquires needed supplies. Once a supply of water is obtained, the District then works with the appropriate agencies to obtain all necessary approvals, schedule delivery, and transfer the water into the District.

Over the years, the District has purchased and transferred a variety of water supplies, including federal Central Valley Project, State Water Project, local water or irrigation district, and private supplies. These supplies have come from both north-of-the-Delta and south-of-the-Delta purveyors. Westlands is always looking for new and innovative ways to obtain economic, reliable supplies to meet the annual supplemental water needs of our landowners and water users.

The implementation of this program has not been without its challenges - large annual demands for supplemental water, a variety of supply options, costs to the landowners and water users, regulatory approval constraints beyond the control of the District, and ensuring water is transferred into the District when landowners and water users need it.

Additional water supplies will always be required for landowners and water users within Westlands Water District under the current and foreseeable operational and regulatory environments. To this end, the District is committed to seeking the additional water supplies necessary to meet the needs of its landowners and water users.