2017-2018 CVP Water Supply Update
The Bureau of Reclamation’s allocation to Central Valley Project (CVP) south-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors is 100 percent for the 2017-2018 water contract year. Reclamation also established a Rescheduled Water cap of 150,000 acre-feet (AF). The cap will limit the District’s share of Rescheduled Water into the 2018-2019 water contract year to about 100,000 AF.
The CVP currently has approximately 10.5 million AF of water stored in northern CVP reservoirs. This represents 122 percent of the 15-year average. Storage in Shasta Reservoir is approximately 4.3 million AF; 119 percent of the 15-year average. Federal storage in San Luis Reservoir is approximately 908,000 AF; 185 percent of the 15-year average. Jones Pumping Plant is currently operating at 100 percent of capacity and pumped approximately 165,000 AF thus far in June. The current Agricultural Water Rate for 2017-18 CVP water is $160.18 per AF.
2016-2017 Rescheduled Water
The District rescheduled 213,850 AF of water from the 2016 water year to the 2017 water year. The District has delivered all the rescheduled water prior to the end of the rescheduling period. Accordingly, no rescheduled water has been lost.
2017-2018 Supplemental Water Supply Update
The District is planning to acquire supplemental water from multiple sources for the 2017-2018 water contract year. It is estimated that the delivered cost to water users will be in the range of $300 – $325 per acre-foot.
Advance payment for acquisition costs of the water is required at the time of allocation and applicable O&M related costs will be billed when the water is delivered. The District will notify water users regarding the allocation advance payment when acquisition costs are more certain. The allocation advance payment will apply toward the delivered Supplemental Water rate. If an advance payment is delinquent for 30 days or more, the District may withdraw the water made available for allocation to a water user and reduce the water user’s outstanding request by the same amount. The water will be allocated to water user accounts as Project water or non-Project water (if available), allowing Full-Cost rates to be applied as required by Reclamation law.
Though the initial application period has closed, the District continues to have supplemental water available. The District will continue to accept applications to purchase water and will fill requests on a first come first served basis. If you would like to subscribe to the Supplemental Water program, please complete the application available in Notice No. 497, and return it to the Fresno Office. The application may be mailed to Westlands Water District, P.O. Box 6056, Fresno, CA 93703. Requests will be filled as received (regardless of the postmark). You may also hand deliver the application to the District’s Fresno Office at 3130 N. Fresno Street. Please direct questions to your Customer Accounting Technician at (559) 241-6250.
Kings River Water Supply Available
Westlands is pumping Kings River water from the Mendota Pool through Lateral 7 and conveying it to the San Luis Canal. We anticipate that up to 25,000 acre-feet of water supply may be conveyed under this program. The Westlands Board elected to ratably allocate the Kings River water to water users at an estimated rate of $121.59 per acre-foot. Westlands may continue pumping Kings River water after June to replace allocated CVP water to reduce water user costs.
Water Allocation Benefit Charge Reminder
Water users and landowners who are making decisions about the purchase, sale or transfer of allocated CVP water to farm lands should be aware of the Water Allocation Benefit charge, which is $1.09 per acrefoot. This charge is billed to the water user of record as of June 30, 2017, on the land/field that received a CVP Interim Contract water allocation. If you became the water user after water was allocated to the land/field in question, you will be obligated to pay the charge even if you did not receive any water. Questions about the charge should be directed to Customer Accounting at (559) 241-6250.
Westlands Water Quality Coalition
Westlands Water Quality Coalition (WWQC) members were required to complete the 2016 Farm Evaluation Survey and the 2016 Nitrogen Summary Report by March 1, 2017; both reports must be submitted using the WWQC web based system at 4Creeks website. Members who have not submitted the reports are considered non-compliant and could be subject to fines assessed by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Notices will be mailed to all non-compliant members. If you have questions or comments, please contact Debra Dunn at (559) 241-6242, ddunn@westlandswater.org or Charlotte Gallock at (559) 241-6244, cgallock@westlandswater.org.
Proposed New Assessment Methodology
In conjunction with the proposed special benefit assessment methodology approved by the Board of Directors, the District will be mailing a notice of a protest hearing along with a ballot to landowners of record on or about July 14, 2017. The District plans to schedule a workshop to review the proposed assessment methodology and to discuss the voting process for this special assessment. The protest hearing will be held on August 29, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. at the District’s Fresno office.
Board of Directors Elections
The terms of four members of the Board of Directors expire in 2017, and an election to fill these positions will be held October 24, 2017. The positions have four-year terms through December 3, 2021. The election will be conducted as an all-mail ballot election and there will be no polling places.
To qualify for the position of Director, the person shall be over the age of 18 years and be either 1) a holder of title to land in the District, 2) the legal representative of the holder of title to land in the District in accordance with California Water Code Section 34030, or 3) a representative designated by a holder of title to land in the District if the holder has filed with the District written evidence of that designation.
Forms for declarations of candidacy for eligible candidates desiring to file for the office will be available from the District’s Secretary at 3130 N. Fresno Street, Fresno, California 93703 on or after July 3, 2017. The forms must be filed with the Secretary either in person or by certified mail no later than 5 p.m. on July 28, 2017.
In the event there are no candidates or an insufficient number of candidates for these positions, and a petition calling for an election is not filed within the time period prescribed in Section 10515 of the Elections Code, appointment to the Director positions will be made as prescribed by law.
For further information, call the District’s Fresno office at (559) 224-1523.
Promoting Paperless Products
The District is pleased to offer the benefit and convenience of several paperless products for customers to manage their accounts electronically such as: water ordering, water order status, water exhaustion projection, month-end allocation, account water history, satellite imagery, interactive forms, accounts receivable history, crop report data entry and penalty history. All of this information can be found at our website. Water users may contact their Accounting Technician at (559) 241-6250 to set up a secure login or for assistance in using the various features of the customer section.
Reminder: Process for Scheduled and Emergency Shutdowns
The District reminds all water users to follow procedures for water service during scheduled and emergency shutdowns. Once a lateral is repaired and is operational, water users will receive approval to restart their meters from District staff. Water users are encouraged NOT to turn their Ag water meters on prior to receiving approval from District staff. This will help prevent additional down time for the entire lateral and further inconvenience to other water users on the line. In addition, please keep the area around District meters, tanks and facilities free of equipment and debris so that District staff can easily access all areas for routine meter reading(s) and related maintenance activities. Hazards include bee boxes, hoses and fertilizer tanks.
Lands Available for Lease
The District has approximately 18,000 acres for lease in Fresno and Kings Counties. For a list of available land, please contact Cork McIsaac of Agriculture Industries, Inc. at (916) 372-5595 or (800) 822-1415.
Summer Hours of Operation
Effective June 12 through September 15, the Five Points Office and Corporate Yard will hold summer hours of operation from 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM, Monday through Friday. All other District offices and operations will remain unchanged which is 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The emergency telephone number for after hours and holidays is (559) 224-1523.
Holiday Office Closure & Water Ordering Procedures
District offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, in observance of Independence Day. The affected water ordering deadlines are as follows:
| For Water Use On | Place Water Order By |
| Tuesday, July 4 | Monday, July 3, 9:30 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 5 | Monday, July 3, noon |
The emergency telephone number for after hours and holidays is (559) 224-1523.