Dry weather has CVP reservoirs holding just 5.1 million acre feet of water. The 15 year average for this time of year is 7 million acre feet.
Gayle Holman with the Westlands Water District says it’s telling farmers to be prepared for zero-percent allocations in 2014.
“We are looking at over 200,000 to 250,000 acres probably going unplanted," says Holman.
"Which means a huge loss of economic value, revenue that would come into not only the region but the state,” she says.
But it won’t be the only problem.
“We’re also probably talking about a further exacerbation of groundwater problems," says Chris Scheuring with the California Farm Bureau Federation.
"Folks in a pinch have to turn to groundwater and turn on their pumps when the ditches are dry. And we’re already in a bad situation in that regard with respect to over-drafted aquifers in certain spots,” he says.
The CVP provides water for three million acres of farmland in the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley and central coast, as well as millions of urban users.
The US Bureau of Reclamation will announce preliminary allocations in late January
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