San Luis Reservoir Refill Projection
The San Luis Reservoir is expected to fill on or about March 7th. The District and its water users may experience loss of Rescheduled Water under Reclamation’s Rescheduling Guidelines. Water users are encouraged to manage their water supply to minimize the risk of loss as described below. San Luis Reservoir storage levels and potential for loss are illustrated on the District’s website.
2016-2017 Rescheduled Water
The District is rescheduling about 216,000 acre-feet of water stored in San Luis Reservoir. As discussed above, the San Luis Reservoir will fill, thereby increasing the chance that water may be lost. The District recommends water users manage water use to minimize risk of loss.
Water users are reminded that the District’s Rescheduled Water Policy provides that any loss of Rescheduled Water will be prorated based on acre-feet, in the following order and manner:
- Any remaining Rescheduled Water in excess of the Acreage Based Cap.
- Water rescheduled by the District.
- Remaining Rescheduled Water.
- Delivered Rescheduled Water in excess of the Acreage Based Cap.
- Delivered Rescheduled Water within the Acreage Based Cap.
In response to some questions received about these loss provisions, water users should note that the Acreage Based Cap of 0.5 acre-feet per irrigable acre is not secure from loss. Also of note, the policy states water users shall pay all water costs that the District incurs, the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority O&M rate and any applicable District rates. Further, the rescheduling fee is not refundable if water is rescheduled and lost.
Allocation of District Cushion Water
Approximately 6,000 acre-feet of District Cushion water from 2016-2017 will be allocated and will appear on water users’ February 2017 allocation statements. The water will be allocated to water users with outstanding 2016-2017 Agricultural Water Allocation Application requests. Please direct questions to your Customer Accounting Technician at (559) 241-6250.
Allocation of System Gain Water
Approximately 10,000 acre-feet of System Gain water from 2016-2017 that was rescheduled by the District will be allocated and will appear on water users’ March 2017 allocation statements. The water will be ratably allocated to water users in direct proportion to their water used during the 2016-2017 water year, excluding groundwater. Please direct questions to your Customer Accounting Technician at (559) 241-6250.
Pre-Allocation of 2017-2018 CVP Contract Allocation
Upon water users’ request, the District will pre-allocate to water users up to 5 percent of the District’s Central Valley Project (CVP) Contract allocation attributable to the acreage in the water user account. The amount of water that is pre-allocated will be deducted from the initial allocation of CVP Contract Allocation made by the District. Please direct questions to your Customer Accounting Technician at (559) 241-6250.
Kings River Available Water
Westlands will pump Kings River water from the Mendota Pool through Lateral 7 and discharge into the San Luis Canal. We anticipate that up to 20,000 to 30,000 acre-feet of water supply will be conveyed under this program. The Westlands Board elected to ratably allocate the Kings River water to all water users, and the anticipated allocation rate is 0.04 AF/acre to 0.06 AF/acre.
2017-2018 CVP Contract Allocation
The Bureau of Reclamation has not yet announced an initial 2017-2018 allocation for CVP water service contractors. The District expects that Reclamation will make an initial allocation on or about March 20, and that anticipates it may be in the 40 to 50 percent range. The final allocation, typically made in April or May, could increase to 60 to 70 percent, if the hydrology continues to be above normal, especially in the watersheds that produce runoff on the San Joaquin River.
The CVP currently has approximately 8.5 million acre-feet of water stored in northern CVP reservoirs; this represents 115 percent of the 15-year average. Storage in Shasta Reservoir is approximately 3.7 million acre-feet; 116 percent of normal for this time of year. Federal storage in San Luis Reservoir is approximately 933,000 acre-feet; 131 percent of the 15-year average. Jones Pumping Plant is currently operating at about 80 percent of capacity and pumped approximately 221,000 acre-feet in February. Additionally, the Banks Pumping Plant pumped approximately 15,000 acre-feet on behalf of the CVP.