Epic California storms a drop in the bucket for drought-stricken state
California has received historic rain numbers this December. The rain year so far has been the wettest since 2017, the wettest year on record. Still, farmers are cautiously optimistic.
The Great Basin, from Shasta to Folsom Lake, is already at 169% of normal. It’s the same for the San Joaquin basin, from Calaveras to Huntington Lake. The Tulare Basin, from Huntington to Lake Isabella, is at 156% of normal for this time of year , according to Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition.
“After decent rain in October and nothing in November, we’re at 162% of average as of Dec. 28,” said Adam Claes, assistant general manager of Fresno Irrigation District (FID), Fresno, Calif. “We’re at 52% for the entire rain season, which ends April 1, 2022. It’s looking to be pretty good. Hopefully, we don’t get warm storms that melt the snow too early. It’s a great start.”
“We’re heartened and excited. It’s already rained four inches above all of 2021’s precipitation,” said Ian Lemay, president of the Fresno, Calif.-based California Fresh Fruit Association. “Any amount is a welcome sight. Even better is the heavy snowpack in the Sierras.”
In addition, the cold weather helps with dormancy hours and the heavier rains push water deeper into root zones, Lemay said. So, the trees, vines and plants in the San Joaquin Valley are going to produce well based on these factors, he said.
The building of groundwater recharge basins is conducted through a partnership between FID and the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Water Control District. The basins are being built in response to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, said Wade, which focuses on improving the groundwater supply sustainability. Through years of drought, groundwater has been depleted by pumping groundwater for irrigation, according to Wade.
“We’ve finished about 150 acres of groundwater recharge basins. They weren’t utilized last season because it was such a dry year. It looks like we will fill them up this year,” Claes said. “We’re targeting another 400 acres of recharge basins. We need to have a home for storm water like this year, to recharge the aquifer to prepare us for dry years.”
“We’re still early in the water year, though,” said Lemay. “I hope and pray these storms continue into March and April. But as Californians, we know those dynamics have changed in past years.”
Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, Sacramento, Calif., echoed the sentiment.
“We still have so far to go in terms of recovering from the drought,” he said. “We need more of this in January and February to see that reversed.”
Lemay added that he’s frustrated that Folsom Dam began releasing water on Dec. 29. The water could be stored if more dams were built, he said.
While there is cautious optimism when it comes to California precipitation year to year, Wade carries that caution further as California waits on a decision being made in courts regarding the future of California water management.
“How will things be managed in the future? There tends to be a trend toward a higher priority for cold water pools primarily for salmon. It’s a threat to agricultural water supplies,” Wade said. “Our reservoirs are so low that we’re not out of the woods yet. Groundwater and surface reservoirs have been depleted significantly through many drought years.”
