Fast Water Facts
  • Every almond farmer can account for the water on their farm – where every single drop of water goes and what it does for the community, the environment, and the economy.
  • Farmers have done a tremendous job conserving and finding ways to do more with less. In a drought, farmers double down on on-farm water rationing & conservation.
  • Almond farmers have installed precision irrigation systems on 85% of all their acreage, investing in technology for long-term maximum water use efficiency and conservation.
  • The last time our state government invested and built a large-scale water infrastructure was 50 years ago for half our current population. That is 20 million more people who shower, flush toilets, drink water, wash their clothes, dishes, cars, gardens, plants, etc.
  • California grows over 400 varieties of crops because our state is blessed with unique soil and weather patterns that make large-scale farming possible.
  • When the federal government provides farmers with just 5% water allocation, and the state offers zero, farmers are forced to pay a water bill as though we were receiving 100% of the promised water. How would you feel if you got a water bill for a sum of money that is 95% more than what you used?
  • Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Department of Food and Agriculture reported that our farms, ranches, and plant nurseries generated $49.1 billion in tax receipts for California in 2020 and provided 1.2 million jobs.
  • What happens when it rains again? What happens when we enter the wet years? What is the drought recovery plan for the water systems we depend on?

It’s 2022…It’s still dry. Reservoirs and a water system designed to last three years of drought went dry in two years. Voluntary water conservation requirements were issued too late and did too little, highlighting further the outdated physical infrastructure and management policies stressed by changing environmental and urban demand.

The vast majority of State and Federal water agricultural water users North and South of the Delta entered the 2022 water year with a ZERO percent surface water allocation. Directly affecting crop decisions, our North State community saw the worst water year in its history.

This is a movie that’s become all too familiar for Californians, especially farmers. We need to know what happens when it rains so that we can get out of this current drought, and we need to know the rules and tools by which we will operate the system long-term so we can plan ahead.

This is a turning point. We can continue down the path of managing from crisis to crisis, wearing out the same old rhetoric, the profiteers perpetuating the problem while praying on hopelessness and misery. Or we can position, lead, and demand we get it right. The Almond Alliance chooses the latter.

The Almond Alliance, in partnership with Western United Dairies, secured from the California Department of Water Resources $510 million. $250 million specifically for farmers to lead in a voluntary, temporary, and compensated fallowing program to protect shallow drinking water wells and groundwater basins in our rural and disadvantaged communities. This program also serves as a critical new tool to assist farmers in achieving SGMA compliance, providing land management flexibility beyond permanent land retirement or loss of property value, giving our farmers the credit they deserve for their investment in solutions, and a path forward for a 2040 post-SGMA world.

Uncertainty has come to define our Western Water Systems, once designed to create drought safety and water supply certainty. The Federal Central Valley Project and California State Water Project operations remain relatively ad hoc and are now engaged in the statewide Voluntary Settlement Agreements, while the Colorado River system is coming to terms with a 20-year drought spanning seven states, including California.

There’s no making it rain. However, there is a vital need for operational clarity; to know what the plan is to operate the system for drought recovery, not merely drought response.

The Alliance spent the year meeting regularly with our state and federal water authorities – California’s Department of Water Resources and the US Bureau of Reclamation, water district General Managers and Directors, and Groundwater Sustainability Managers – developing critical relationships to assist in their greater understanding of the real-life conditions on the ground, decision-making processes of our farmers and land managers, and the needs of our farmers and industry as it relates to the operational and regulatory requirements of our water managers.

Western water infrastructure was not left out of the billions of federal dollars flowing out of Washington this year.

  • The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided $8.3 billion in funding under Title IX (Western Water Infrastructure) to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The resources directed to Reclamation under the BIL are more than five times Reclamation’s FY2021 discretionary budget, and include Surface Water Storage & Conveyance, Groundwater Storage, Aging Infrastructure, and Water Recycling and Reuse.
  • The Inflation Reduction Act included $4 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation in drought resilience and $550 million for domestic water programs in disadvantaged communities, and $12.5 million for emergency drought funding for Tribes.

The Alliance looks forward to assisting the federal government in ensuring these dollars are distributed across the landscape as quickly and as efficiently as possible for maximum return on the taxpayer’s investment in updating our critical infrastructure and drought solutions.

Hot off of two Drought Emergency Orders, Governor Newsom announced his California’s Water Supply Strategy. Anticipating extreme weather could diminish California’s water supply by up to 10% by 2040.

The Strategy Prioritizes:

  • Creating storage space for up to 4 million acre-feet of water will allow us to capitalize on big storms when they do occur and store water for dry periods.
  • Recycling and reusing at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030, enabling better and safer use of wastewater currently discharged to the ocean.
  • Freeing up 500,000 acre-feet of water through more efficient water use and conservation, helping make up for water lost due to climate change.
  • Making new water available for use by capturing stormwater and desalinating ocean water and salty water in groundwater basins, diversifying supplies, and making the most of high flows during storm events.
  • An expedited permitting path for water projects that help regions achieve those targets.

In a statement, the Alliance supported the strategy, stating, “there is no silver bullet to California’s water problems. It takes different solutions, and this plan recognizes that. The Almond Alliance stands behind Governor Gavin Newsom in his work on relieving supply pressures on underrepresented communities and providing water supply certainty. This landmark effort supports our rural communities and ensures a secure food supply for California and the nation.”

Considering the politics at the state and federal levels and the truly traumatic hydraulic conditions, 2022 wasn’t the year to ask for big policy change. But it was the year to lean in with solutions, especially the little things that make a big difference (i.e., Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, etc.)

Uniquely equipped with federal and state water expertise on staff, the Almond Alliance looks forward to assembling a Water Tiger Team for 2023 to span the expertise and experience of our industry and allies statewide to lead with industry-driven solutions in water policy, programs, and regulation.

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