Water year 2016 follows the four-year drought period of 2012-2015. State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project allocations were reduced last year as result of the severely dry hydrology. What are the plans for this year?

Hydrologic conditions, precipitation patterns, water project operations, and groundwater conditions were discussed at a special free briefing held April 26, 2016. Sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources and the Water Education Foundation in cooperation with Center for Irrigation Technology, the event was held at the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) in the University Business Center at CSU Fresno.

Speakers from DWR and the Bureau of Reclamation addressed these points: 

• The drought picture has improved in Northern California, but reservoirs and groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley remain in a recovery mode and precipitation in Southern California is far below average.
• Compared to 5% snowpack in 2015, the March 30 survey established the statewide water content at 87 percent of average – but some regions have fared better than others
• Restrictions on Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water exports still mean tight supplies – 5 percent – for CVP farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley
• On the San Joaquin River, runoff is higher than in 2015 – with a 40 percent allocation to the Friant Division contractors
• Bulletin 120 forecasts – what’s the regional runoff picture for the rest of the year? 

Check out the agenda for speaker information.