News Release Archive

Reclamation Announces Initial Systemwide Central Valley Project Water Supply Allocation

Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken, 916-978-5100, 02/23/2007 21:47

For Release: February 23, 2007

The Bureau of Reclamation announces that the initial systemwide allocation to Central Valley Project (CVP) agricultural contractors, municipal and industrial contractors, and Federal refuges will be lower than anticipated due to dry weather conditions.

The California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) low February 1, 2007, forecast of 3.1 million acre-feet for Shasta Reservoir inflow led Reclamation on February 15, 2007, to notify Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors, and contractors receiving water from the Mendota Pool of allocation reductions of 25 percent. 

Reclamation prepared two forecasts.  Water supplies projected in the first forecast are associated with dry hydrological conditions that have a 90-percent chance of exceeding the projection.  Water supplies in the second forecast are for median hydrological conditions that have a 50-percent chance of exceeding the projection.  Current allocations are listed below:

Ag = Agriculture     M&I = Municipal and Industrial     R = Refuges    WR = Water Rights
*M&I supply is based on historical deliveries

January 2007 was the third-driest January since records on precipitation were begun in 1895.  As a result, all Statewide rainfall and runoff indicators are well-below average, and as of February 1, 2007, Statewide precipitation and runoff were at 55 percent of average.  However, the higher-than-average precipitation last year has allowed CVP reservoir storage to remain at near-normal for Water Year (WY) 2007, and recent and anticipated storms should continue to improve the hydrologic conditions (WY 2007 runs from October 1, 2006, through December 31, 2007).

The water supply available for the CVP Eastside Division contractors (Stanislaus River) for the Dry and Median Forecasts is project to be 25,000 acre-feet (16 percent) and 53,000 acre-feet (34 percent), respectively.

The Friant Division deliveries for WY 2007 are projected to be 400,000 acre-feet or 32 percent of 1.25 million acre-feet, which is the Recent 5-Year Average Allocation.  The preliminary allocation for the Friant Division Contractors will be 50 percent Class 1 water and 0 percent Class 2 water.  The projected Friant Division delivery of 400,000 acre-feet is based on DWR’s 90-percent probability of exceedence forecast dated February 1, 2007.  As of February 22, 2007, precipitation in the San Joaquin River Basin was 16.47 inches for the WY compared to 26.47 inches this time last year. 

Reclamation will continue to monitor hydrologic conditions and anticipates updating the CVP-wide allocation in mid-March 2007.

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