Another year of drought conditions in California's Central Valley are apparent in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 2022 water allocation numbers for Central Valley Project contractors.
The bureau announced initial water supply allocations Feb. 23. According to the release, CVP reservoir storage currently lies "below the historic average for this time of year."
“We began the 2022 water year with low CVP reservoir storage and some weather whiplash, starting with a record day of Sacramento rainfall in October and snow-packed December storms to a very dry January and February, which are on pace to be the driest on record," Regional Director Ernest Conant said. "Further, the December storms disproportionately played out this year in the headwaters — heavy in the American River Basin and unfortunately light in the upper Sacramento River Basin, which feeds into Shasta Reservoir, the cornerstone of the CVP.”
Based on current hydrology and forecasting, the Bureau of Reclamation is announcing a number of CVP water supply allocations.
North-of-Delta contractors Sacramento River Irrigation water service and repayment contractors north-of-Delta are allocated zero percent of its contract total. Municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors north-of-Delta will be provided water for public health and safety needs consistent with the CVP M&I Water Shortage Policy.
Sacramento River Settlement Contractors’ water supply is based upon settlement of claimed senior water rights and the 2022 water year is currently designated as a critical year, as defined in the settlement contracts. American River municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors north-of-Delta who are serviced by Folsom Reservoir on the American River are allocated 25 percent of their historical use.
In-Delta contractors municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors who are serviced directly from the Delta are allocated 25 percent of their historical use.
South-of-Delta contractors irrigation water service and repayment contractors south-of-Delta are allocated zero percent of their contract total. Municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors south-of-Delta are allocated 25 percent of their historical use. For San Joaquin river exchange contractors and San Joaquin settlement contractors, the 2022 water year is currently designated as a critical year, as defined in their contracts.
Friant Division contractors water supply is delivered from Millerton Reservoir on the upper San Joaquin River via the Madera and Friant-Kern canals. The first 800,000 acre-feet of available water supply is considered class 1. Class 2 is considered the next amount of available water supply up to 1.4 million acre-feet. Given the current hydrologic conditions, the Friant Division water supply allocation is 15 percent of class 1.
The California Department of Water Resources updates its water supply forecast summary monthly. Of note, the averages listed in this data is compiled from 1991 to 2020. Water supply updates are posted at the Central Valley Project water supply page, where information on reservoir conditions and the daily Central Valley Project updates is also available.
