The Bureau forecasted that it was 90 percent certain that no Central Valley Project water would be allotted to agricultural contracts on Feb. 20, 2009. Following a new forecast made on March 20, 2009, the bureau has raised its forecasted allotment to 5 percent.
The rise from zero percent amounts to an extra 657 acre-feet of water for agriculture served by the Clear Creek Community Services District, according to CCCSD CEO Char Workman-Flowers. Forecasts for municipal and industrial allotments were also raised by five percent.
The increased forecasted allotment comes after a wet February, according to Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Pete Lucero, who added that Lake Shasta inflow was at 74 percent of its 15-year average on March 1.
To put the 657 acre-feet allotment in perspective, in 2007 the district used 3,700 acre-feet of water for its agricultural customers, Workman-Flowers said.
"That (657 acre-feet) isn't much, but it will help," she said.
The CCCSD board was scheduled to vote on March 25 on the purchasing of 800 acre-feet of water from the McConnell Foundation at $200 per acre-foot. The cost to a farmer purchasing water at that rate comes to $0.57 per 100 cubic feet, Workman-Flowers said.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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