Friant Water Authority Welcomes Back Fresno Irrigation District and Chowchilla Water District as General Members

TULARE, CA – The Friant Water Authority (FWA) Board of Directors yesterday voted to approve an agreement for Fresno Irrigation District (FID) to join the organization as a general member and an operations and maintenance (O&M) project member. During its January 25 meeting, the FWA Board also approved an agreement for Chowchilla Water District (CWD) to rejoin as a general member.

FID and CWD were among the original members of FWA when it was formed as a joint-powers authority in 2004. In 2015, both districts left FWA to form Friant North Authority, along with Madera Irrigation District and Gravelly Ford Water District. In 2017 FID and CWD joined FWA as a “trial member” and an “associate member,” respectively. CWD is approximately 85,000 acres and holds a Class 1 contract for 55,000 acre-feet and a Class 2 contract for 160,000 acre-feet – some of the largest contracts in the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project. At 250,000 acres, FID has one of the biggest footprints in the Friant Division; the district holds a Class 2 contract for 75,000 acre-feet.

“A year ago we agreed to join Friant Water Authority in a trial capacity because we knew the organization had undertaken some welcome changes,” said FID Assistant General Manager Bill Stretch. “Over the past year, we’ve had the chance observe those improvements firsthand, which led us to this decision to rejoin fully.”

“Chowchilla Water District voted last year to rejoin Friant Water Authority because we saw a tremendous improvement in its staff and operations, and we’re confident that the organization will continue to represent its members and work tirelessly to protect the water interests of the valley’s eastside,” said Kole Upton, CWD President.

“As two of the largest Friant Division contractors – both in acreage and water contracts – CWD and FID are critical voices for growers in the valley. We’re pleased to welcome them both back to Friant Water Authority, an organization they helped found nearly 15 years ago,” said FWA Board Chair Kent Stephens.

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FWA is a joint-powers authority formed in 2004 by a majority of the water agencies receiving water from the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project. Its primary purposes are to operate and maintain the Friant-Kern Canal and to serve the information and representation needs of its member agencies.

Contact: abiering@friantwater.org, 916-628-0431

Statement from FWA CEO on Announcement of 2018 CVP Water Allocations

The following statement is from Jason Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Friant Water Authority, on the 2018 Central Valley Project water allocations announced by the Bureau of Reclamation on February 20, 2018:

Today the Bureau of Reclamation announced that Friant Division contractors would only be receiving a 30 percent allocation of Class 1 water supplies for 2018 – a decision which was not unexpected. In the announcement, the Bureau cited the need to be conservative given that the 2018 Water Year has already been far drier than normal. We understand their hesitation to allocate more water given this year’s hydrology, and we appreciate that this is a preliminary allocation that we hope might be updated if conditions change. More than 1.3 million acres on the San Joaquin Valley’s Eastside are sustained by some portion of Class 1 supplies, and 2018 looks to be very difficult for its farms and communities.

Despite our anticipation that Friant contractors would receive a low allocation this year, we are still glad to see that the Agricultural Contractors South of the Delta are receiving an early allocation, meaning that Friant supplies will not be called upon by the Bureau for meeting obligations under the San Joaquin River Exchange Contract, as occurred in 2014 and 2015.

However, what most concerns us about 2018 is the likelihood that water users throughout the Valley facing unavailable surface supplies will once again be forced to ramp up groundwater pumping, which will exacerbate the already-severe subsidence in the Valley including along the Friant-Kern Canal. Portions of the canal have already lost about 60 percent of their designed conveyance capacity due to subsidence largely caused by water users outside of the Friant Division. Conveyance capacity problems in the San Joaquin Valley were a major problem in 2017, one of the wettest years on record, when 300,000 acre-feet of water went undelivered because of the Friant-Kern Canal restrictions. Also last year, contractors that rely on water through the Cross Valley Canal near Bakersfield didn’t receive any of their water at all because canal subsidence problems made it physically impossible to deliver their water. This is a dire problem likely made worse this year with the low allocations we heard about today.

The contrast between 2018 and 2017 also underscores the need for additional storage throughout California. Had storage projects that were recommended almost 20 years ago been constructed by now, almost all CVP contractors would be much closer to a full supply this year. In the future, if weather conditions continue to vacillate between ever-increasing extremes on a year-to-year basis, the flexibility to store additional water will allow our communities in the San Joaquin Valley to continue to thrive and prosper.

Finally, it might seem sensible that the low allocations are merely a result of drought conditions.  What is not being made clear in today’s announcement is that the need to comply with dysfunctional state and federal water regulations is also a contributing factor to the low allocations, and ensures that surplus water stored during 2017 cannot be used to offset the pain we’re experiencing in 2018. As long as regulators focus solely on the failed strategy of holding back water from water users and then releasing more water into the ocean to support species who likely need more comprehensive recovery measures, we will continue to squander opportunities to operate our water projects for the benefit of the vast majority of California.

Contact: Alex Biering, abiering@friantwater.org, 916-628-0431

Friant Water Authority CEO Testifies Before U.S. Senate on Benefits of Transferring Title of Federal Facilities

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Friant Water Authority (FWA) Chief Executive Officer Jason Phillips provided expert testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power. Phillips testified during a hearing to examine the Bureau of Reclamation’s title transfer process.

Phillip’s testimony focused on how transferring title ownership of Federal facilities to non-federal agencies such as FWA could benefit both water users and taxpayers alike. Title transfer of the Friant-Kern Canal – paid for by Friant Division contractors – would provide a critical asset water users could use to secure financial resources for major investments, such as addressing the severe subsidence problem plaguing southern portions of the canal.

“In other words, transferring title of the Friant Kern Canal to the Authority would not and likely could not, change the current operation of the facility, or saddle the Federal taxpayer with the cost of building the Canal – already repaid by Friant water users – or deprive the government of the revenues that the Canal will generate into the future. Instead, with a title transfer, Federal costs would decrease while the Authority’s ability to protect the original Federal investment in the project would increase,” said Phillips.

Phillips urged Congress to introduce legislation that facilitates title transfers in a way that would both safeguard the public and simplify the process, which many non-federal entities consider too burdensome to undertake.

“The problem is that the current title transfer process remains lengthy, overly complex, and costly for the non-federal parties. Time, cost, and uncertainty are powerful disincentives to undertaking a title transfer effort. Congress should act to appropriately focus the scope and implementation of permitting as they are applied to Reclamation title transfers,” said Phillips.

Phillips' written testimony is available here.

An archived video of Phillips' testimony is available at https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/1/subcommittee-on-water-and-power-hearing-to-examine-the-bureau-of-reclamation-s-title-transfer-process

FWA is a joint-powers authority formed in 2004 by a majority of the water agencies receiving water from the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project. Its primary purposes are to operate and maintain the Friant-Kern Canal and to serve the information and representation needs of its member agencies.

Contact: Alex Biering, abiering@friantwater.org, 916-628-0431