Meetings are continuing to discuss what to do about fallowing in the Imperial Valley.
Members of the Water Conservation Advisory Board updated the rest of the board about progress made at a subcommittee meeting set up to go through ideas that could be incorporated into a future fallowing solution.
Farmers voluntarily fallow fields to conserve water and help the Imperial Irrigation District meet goals of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which sells conserved water to San Diego and Coachella water districts. This year the district is paying $100 per acre-foot of water that is anticipated to be conserved through the fallowing program.
However, concerns have been brought up about whether the one-year-long program is the best solution for conserving water. At the water conservation board’s January meeting it created a subcommittee, consisting of IID staff and water conservation board members, to come up with new project ideas.
A few of the solutions that came up during the subcommittee meeting last month include grouping farms together and fallowing a portion of every farm unit, as well as extending the number of years between fallowing to spread it out among the fields and field owners, said WCAB Chairman Stephen Benson. IID water officials will bring back a document spelling out the possible plans at a future WCAB meeting.
None of the options are set to take effect until at least next year, he added.
For this year, the IID has passed its deadline for fallowing applications, though some more may be coming in, said David Bradshaw, assistant water manager for agricultural water management.
The district has already received applications for 190,000 acre-feet of water in the next cycle, Bradshaw said. Contracts will go out in mid-March, and once they’re returned the district will get final numbers as to how much water it will fallow in the 2012-2013 cycle.
IID needs to fallow up to 170,000 acre-feet of water to make up water that is to be transferred to the coastal areas. The district needs more water this year because during the last fallowing cycle, 2011-2012, it only contracted water for six months as there were concerns that ongoing litigation would leave IID without money to pay the property owners who fallow.
IID officials have said that about half the fallowing contracts that go out to the property owners who sign up don’t end up happening.
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
Members of the Water Conservation Advisory Board updated the rest of the board about progress made at a subcommittee meeting set up to go through ideas that could be incorporated into a future fallowing solution.
Farmers voluntarily fallow fields to conserve water and help the Imperial Irrigation District meet goals of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which sells conserved water to San Diego and Coachella water districts. This year the district is paying $100 per acre-foot of water that is anticipated to be conserved through the fallowing program.
However, concerns have been brought up about whether the one-year-long program is the best solution for conserving water. At the water conservation board’s January meeting it created a subcommittee, consisting of IID staff and water conservation board members, to come up with new project ideas.
A few of the solutions that came up during the subcommittee meeting last month include grouping farms together and fallowing a portion of every farm unit, as well as extending the number of years between fallowing to spread it out among the fields and field owners, said WCAB Chairman Stephen Benson. IID water officials will bring back a document spelling out the possible plans at a future WCAB meeting.
None of the options are set to take effect until at least next year, he added.
For this year, the IID has passed its deadline for fallowing applications, though some more may be coming in, said David Bradshaw, assistant water manager for agricultural water management.
The district has already received applications for 190,000 acre-feet of water in the next cycle, Bradshaw said. Contracts will go out in mid-March, and once they’re returned the district will get final numbers as to how much water it will fallow in the 2012-2013 cycle.
IID needs to fallow up to 170,000 acre-feet of water to make up water that is to be transferred to the coastal areas. The district needs more water this year because during the last fallowing cycle, 2011-2012, it only contracted water for six months as there were concerns that ongoing litigation would leave IID without money to pay the property owners who fallow.
IID officials have said that about half the fallowing contracts that go out to the property owners who sign up don’t end up happening.
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
