Central Valley water allocations for growers slashed to zero, drought conditions worsen
REDDING, Calif. — There are new dire warnings about the lack of water this summer. The Central Valley Water Project has cut agricultural water allocations to zero. Federal regulators with the Bureau of Reclamation issued the new numbers Wednesday and said since February, the water conditions have degraded.
In February, regulators estimated water allocations would be five percent for agricultural water service contractors in California's Central Valley Project which includes Shasta Dam.
But as of May 26, the agricultural allocation has been slashed all the way to zero.
The water year in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin is the driest since 1977. During April, there was a reduction of 685,000 acre-feet in the projected natural flow to the Sacramento, Feather, Yuba, and American Rivers.
Allocations for municipal and industrial contractors have been reduced from 55 percent in February, to 25 percent of historic use.
The Central Valley Project encompasses 35 counties in an area about 500 miles long and 60 to 100 miles wide, making it the largest Reclamation project. The CVP contains some of the country’s largest dams, Shasta and San Luis among them.
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