Water Rights and Drought

Mark Twain may not have said, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over,” but this quote certainly captures the essence of water policy in the West.  Late last week, the State Water Resources Control Board sent a letter to appropriative water rights holders in northern and central California “notifying all holders of post-1914 appropriative water rights within the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds of the need to immediately stop diverting under their post-1914 water rights,….”  In other words, if your water right was filed after 1914, you're out of water for now.  An appropriative water right allows for storing water or for the use of water on land that is not directly abutting a waterway.

What does this mean for those of us who farm and ranch in Placer and Nevada Counties?  Clearly, if we have a post-1914 appropriative water right, we're out of luck for this year.  Fortunately, most of us irrigate with water from the Nevada Irrigation District or Placer County Water Agency.  In these cases, the agencies are the water rights holders (and in both cases, these agencies hold at least some “senior,” or pre-1914 rights).  However, at least several ranchers in our community did receive the letter.

If you did receive a letter, pay special attention to this provision:

“Compliance Certification Required:

Curtailed post-1914 diverters are required to document receipt of this notice by completing an online Curtailment Certification Form (Form) within seven days. The Form confirms cessation of diversion under the specific post-1914 water right, and, if applicable, identifies the alternate water supply to be used in lieu of the curtailed water right. Completion of the Form and identification of alternate rights can avoid unnecessary enforcement proceedings.”

The State of California has only issued such an order one other time – during the 1976-77 drought.  And while our current drought may not be quite as severe as 1976-77 (in terms of rainfall and snowpack), we have millions more people – and much greater demand on our water system – than we did 38 years ago.  It's shaping up to be a long summer.  Let's hope for an early – and wet! – autumn!

Click here to see a media advisory from the State Board: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2014/pr053014_sjcurtailment.pdf.

For more information, you can call the Curtailment Hotline at (916) 341-5342, contact the State Board by email at: SWRCB-Curtailment-Certification@waterboards.ca.gov, or review their drought year webpage at:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/index.shtml

Keep up with the latest drought information at https://www.facebook.com/groups/farmerrancherdroughtforum/.  This group is open to commercial farmers and ranchers, and folks who work with us.

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