Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

The Bureau of Reclamation has released for public review the Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for an exchange of Central Valley Project Water involving the Westlands Water District, San Luis Water District, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The exchange program would deliver in 2010 a total of up to 150,000 acre-feet of Central Valley Project (CVP) water from the Westlands Water District and San Luis Water District to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).

In 2011, the MWD, a State Water Project (SWP) contractor, would return two-thirds of the total amount delivered from their exchange with Westlands Water District and the San Luis Water District. Under the proposed action, CVP water would be delivered outside of the CVP’s permitted place of use. For 2009-2010, a petition was successfully filed and an order was issued by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) consolidating the respective places of use of the SWP and CVP water. A similar order of consolidation has been filed for 2010-2011 with the SWRCB.

The Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI) were prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and are available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=6416. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please call 916-978-5100 or e-mail mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

Please send written comments to Chuck Siek, Bureau of Reclamation, 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721, by Sept. 30, 2010. Comments may also be faxed to Mr. Siek at 559-487-5194, or e-mailed to csiek@usbr.gov. For additional information or to request a copy of the Draft EA/FONSI, please contact Mr. Siek at 559-487-5138 (TTY 800-735-2929). Copies of the Draft EA/FONSI may also be viewed at Reclamation’s Fresno office at the above address.

The Westlands Water District, which may be more centrally at the heart of California’s current water wars than any other entity, has broken from the Association of California Water Agencies and may be pursuing its own path.

Westlands has been a substantial player in California water policy. Located in the south-central part of the Central Valley, it was (according to its website) “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.”

It was a key backer of the water plan legislation passed last year, and commented about it, “The legislation clearly articulates that this State has co-equal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and creating a reliable water supply for the State. The legislation represents a sensible balance between efforts to restore the Delta and efforts to supply the water necessary to sustain the economy of the State.”

It has also taken some strong criticism. In his article “Corporate Agribusiness Giant Goes Rogue,” writer Dan Bacher blasts the agency and the overall water policy. His article:

Westlands Water District, the largest water district in the nation, has “gone rogue,” quitting the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), according to the Planning and Conservation League’s “PCL Insider” published on March 5.

On February 28, Westlands terminated its membership in the state’s largest coalition of public water purveyors, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), “further isolating itself from mainstream negotiations over water rights in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” PCL said.

Westlands, the biggest federal water customer in California, is regarded as the “Darth Vader” of California water districts by environmentalists, California Indian Tribes, fishing groups and those seeking to restore collapsing Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and the thousands of jobs that they have historically supported. The district over the decades has filed lawsuit after lawsuit to block the restoration of the Trinity, Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and California Delta.

The District officially described their withdrawal from the association as a “financial decision,” saying the District needs to focus its resources on lawsuits against fish and wildlife protections in the Delta, and can no longer afford the $19,000 annual membership fee.

However, in a February 3rd letter to ACWA’s leadership, Westlands President Jean P. Sagouspe made it clear that ACWA’s politics are the problem, complaining that ACWA’s policies no longer represent Westlands or further its interests. Sagoupse criticized Tim Quinn, ACWA Executive Director, for advocating policies and making statements that conflict with Westlands’ interests. Continue Reading »