The Friant-Kern Canal seen here north of Fresno. Photo via Water Education Foundation

After a deluge of rain this winter, the first water allocations of the year were announced by the federal government this week.

The Bureau of Reclamation announced that water users located south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — which includes Westlands Water District — would receive 35% of their contracted allocation. The San Joaquin Exchange Contractors north of Madera would receive 100% of their contract supply. Westlands growers often turn to Exchange Contractors along the San Joaquin River for water deliveries later in the year. Friant Division Contractors received 100% of Class 1 allocation.

This would be the highest allocation since 2019.

A press release from Reclamation stated that the amount of water in Millerton Lake is in better shape than other storage in Northern California such as  Shasta and Trinity.

As of Feb. 19, Millerton is 51% full with 266,000 acre feet of water, which is 101% of the 15-year average.

The federal share for the San Luis Reservoir is sitting at 64% of storage capacity which translates to 618,000 acre-feet. That total is 95% of the 15-year average.

Westlands leadership was grateful for the allocation. Over the past two years of a 0% allocation, 36% of farmland in the country’s largest water district was fallowed, said Jose Gutierrez, interim general manager for Westlands Water District. That represents 223,000 acres.

At the same time, growers are calling for more storage. At the beginning of February, SJV Sun reported that 91.4% of incoming water went out to the ocean, or 3.06 million cubic feet per second of the 3.35 million cubic feet per second that went into the delta.

Rep. David Valadao said that “Central Valley users deserve the water they contract and pay for, and we must ensure these allocations are not reduced as the water year progresses.”