Changing crop patterns, conservation efforts, delays in state
deliveries and economic factors such as homes left vacant by
foreclosure led to a decline in local water demand in 2011,
according to the annual groundwater report by the San Benito County
Water District.
Changing crop patterns, conservation efforts, delays in state deliveries and economic factors such as homes left vacant by foreclosure led to a decline in local water demand in 2010, according to the annual groundwater report by the San Benito County Water District.
“We have an adequate amount of groundwater to get through any foreseeable drought,” said Jeff Cattaneo, the district’s executive director. “We will have to be drawing upon the groundwater we have stored, but we expect that if we are able to secure a reasonable amount of San Felipe water (through the Central Valley Project) into the future, we’ll be able to maintain the levels as they are over a long period of time.”
During the drought that ran from 2007-2009, allocations of state water were lower than normal and unpredictable, a situation made worse by lawsuits that limited the amount of water pumped from the Delta to water districts to the south.
In 2010, when the local rainfall of 12.11 inches was close to the yearly average of 13 inches, CVP allocations were finalized in June, when most agricultural water customers had already made decisions for planting based on an earlier, lower allocation.
The result was nearly 5,000 acre-feet of unsold water, which the district will store in a Wasco aquifer for use during the next water shortage.
“During the drought, we didn’t have as much water do deliver to our customers, so we ended up with fallowed fields and not as much water to deliver to our (municipal and industrial) customers,” Cattaneo said.
Market demand as well as the decreased amount of higher-quality state water pumped to the county has led to the planting of more acres of tomatoes, which are more resistant to saltier groundwater than baby lettuce and greens.
Lower demand from residential users because of houses left vacant by foreclosures and a wetter-than-average spring also contributed to the greater water supply in San Benito County.
Look for the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
