April 25,2018-
Storms add increased supply
Kings River Water Association is forecasting an 80 to 85% water supply based on the past three weeks of storms says general manager Steve Haugen.”The warm weather is speeding up inflow into Pine Flat “ notes Haugen and “we are seeing releases for irrigation.” The forecast is up from 65% just a few weeks ago.
“We think Pine Flat will fill or very close to it.” Pine Flat reservoir has a capacity of 1 million acre-feet. and it has some 853,000 af at this writing.Wet weather in the mountains is still expected into the end of the month, up to 10 inches in the upper terrain of the central Sierra. But for the season, looks like the Valley storms are over.
Meanwhile wet weather in northern California has prompted the State Water Project to increase supplies to 30 percent of customers’ requests, up from the previous 20 percent. The federal Central Valley Project earlier announced it would raise allocations to 40 percent for agricultural customers south of the delta, and provide full supplies for northern customers. Friant Water Users will get 100% of their Class 1 allocation.
Kings water group cheers low score, zero dollars for Tulare Lake Storage project
The Kings River Water Association representing opponents of the proposal by Kern County-based Semitropic Water Storage District to export floodwater from the Kings River basin for the benefit of private landholders outside the area, this week praised the California Water Commission for its further analysis of the purported benefits of Semitropic’s proposal. After a thorough review of Semitropic’s appeal of the commission staff’s initial evaluation, the proposal has been deemed eligible for no public funds through the state’s Water Storage Investment Program.
The project’s score is the lowest among all projects reviewed upon appeal, thet say. Last December, more than 40 local governments, elected officials, water districts and small business leaders stated their opposition before the water commission.
The commission is set to release their final decision in June also affecting the more popular storage project – Temperance Flat.
Farm Bureau to highlight tariff impacts
Farmers for Free Trade and the California Farm Bureau Federation will host a news conference featuring California farmers and the secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Karen Ross, to highlight the negative impact of new tariffs on California exports.
During the course of the past three months, escalating trade tensions have resulted in new or threatened tariffs from China on American agricultural exports. Of particular concern to California farmers are roughly $3 billion in new Chinese tariffs that were put into place on April 2. Those tariffs are retaliation for U.S. tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from China. The $3 billion in Chinese tariffs affect many products grown in California, including grapes, wine, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and oranges.
The event will be on Thursday April 26, at 11:30 a.m. at LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards,1525 East Johanna Road, Acampo.
CFB contributed to this item