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It is the mission of Westlands Water District to provide a timely,
reliable and affordable water supply to its landowners and water users,
and to provide drainage service to those lands that need it. To this end,
Westlands is committed to the preservation of its federal contract, which
includes water and drainage service, and to the acquisition of additional
water necessary to meet the needs of its landowners and water users.
Formed in 1952, Westlands encompasses more than 600,000 acres of farmland
in western Fresno and Kings counties. The District serves approximately
600 family-owned farms that average 900 acres in size.
Water is delivered to Westlands through the Central Valley Project, a
federal water project that stores water in large reservoirs in Northern
California for use by cities and farms throughout California.
After it is released from CVP reservoirs, the water is pumped from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and delivered 70 miles through the Delta-Mendota
Canal to San Luis Reservoir. During the spring and summer, the water is
released from San Luis Reservoir and delivered to Westlands farmers through
the San Luis Canal and the Coalinga Canal. Once it leaves the federal project
canals, water is delivered to farmers through 1,034 miles of underground pipe
and more than 3,300 water meters.
| Westlands farmers produce more than 60
high quality commercial food and fiber crops sold for the fresh, dry,
canned and frozen food markets, both domestic and export. More than
50,000 people live and work in the communities dependent on the District's
agricultural economy. The communities in and near the District's boundaries
include Mendota, Huron, Tranquillity, Firebaugh, Three Rocks, Cantua
Creek, Helm, San Joaquin, Kerman, Lemoore and Coalinga.
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