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As you are well aware, due to two years of below-average rainfall, very low snowmelt runoff and court-ordered restrictions on water transfers, on June 4th, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought - the first such proclamation since 1991. The Governor's drought designation came after the driest spring on record and an announcement by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation that they would be further reducing Central Valley Project water deliveries to agricultural users south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A federal court decision earlier in the year had already reduced Central Valley Project (CVP) supplies by approximately 30% by limiting the amount of water that could be pumped from the Delta and then stored in the San Luis Reservoir.
While the Governor did not declare a water emergency, the impact is being felt throughout the Valley, including a decision by the Westlands Water District to ration water through the summer. These cutbacks in irrigation water could result in $1 billion losses for Fresno County agriculture.
On June 2nd, I held a Congressional briefing regarding the water crisis, including potential water rationing or other impacts, Delta pumping restrictions and San Luis Reservoir low point concerns. Following this briefing, I was joined by my Valley colleagues Congressmen Cardoza and Radanovich in sending a letter to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne asking the Department of the Interior to supply resources and staffing to maximize all available water supplies and strategies to California water users during this time. Also, I joined my Valley colleagues in a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger thanking him for his quick response in declaring the statewide drought, and asking that he and state agencies move quickly to expedite strategies that will provide relief to California farmers.
All of California must work together as we endure drought conditions through a hot summer. I will continue to work with federal, state, and local agencies and officials on strategies and other ways to combat the drought and ensure our agriculture economy does not see catastrophic financial losses this fall.
The following are links that will be helpful in following the current drought situation and learning about government actions and programs to respond to the situation and its consequences.
Please check back to this site for regular updates on the water crisis and Congressman Costa's efforts on short-term and long-term strategies to address the situation.
**UPDATE**
6/12/08- The Governor has declared a state of emergency in nine Central Valley counties. Last week, Congressman Costa and other Valley congressmen urged the Governor to take this action. The Governor's proclamation directs the Department of Water Resources to work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to deliver more water to the affected areas and to expedite the processing of water transfer requests. The proclamation also orders the Department of Water Resources to transfer groundwater through the California Aqueduct to benefit Central Valley farmers. To read the Governor's press release and proclamation, please go here.
**UPDATE**
6-26-2008 - Congressman Costa and other Valley representatives have urged the Natural Resources Committee's Water and Power Subcommittee to hold a hearing in the San Joaquin Valley on the drought emergency. To read the letter, please go here.
**UPDATE**
7-8-2008 - The Water & Power Subcommittee has announced that it will hold a hearing on the federal response to the drought emergency on Monday, July 21, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in the Fresno City Council Chambers, Fresno, California. To see the Subcommittee's announcement, please go here.
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