Turlock Irrigation District plans to double water deliveries

The Turlock Irrigation District plans to at least double its deliveries to farmers over last year, thanks to abundant rain and snow since November.

Other major districts in and near Stanislaus County are waiting to see if they, too, can ease drought restrictions.

TID on Tuesday night announced a tentative plan to provide up to 36 vertical inches of water during the 2016 irrigation season, compared with 18 inches in 2015. That assumes below-average rain and snow during the next month or so. The allotment could rise if winter brings more storms

“It’s a lot better than last year,” said Miguel Perez, who grows almonds along West Service Road. “It’s almost double.”

Perez was part of an overflow crowd of about 175 at a meeting of the district board. The board plans a March 15 vote on the allotment and to have the season run from early April to mid-October.

TID provides water from the Tuolumne River and wells to about 149,000 acres from south Modesto to north Merced and from the lower Sierra Nevada foothills to the San Joaquin River.

Farmers typically get 48 inches of water when the supply is strong, including the Sierra Nevada snowpack and storage in Don Pedro Reservoir. The drought reduced the allotment to 37 inches in 2012, 34 in 2013, 20 in 2014 and 18 last year.

Customers could go a little over the cap to complete their final irrigation in early fall, but overall, they have had to make do with much less water. They still produced plenty of nuts, fruit, dairy feed and other crops, thanks to careful watering, increased groundwater use and fallowing of lower-value fields.

The tentative 36 inches is generally welcome to farmers, but one of them told the board that some soil types require 48 inches. “There’s a lot of irrigators here on sandy ground who can’t make it on 36 inches,” said Duane Marson, who grows dairy feed near Hilmar.

Rain and snow stood at 120 percent of average in the Tuolumne watershed as of Tuesday, the TID staff reported. February has been mostly dry, but a storm expected Wednesday could add to the supply.

“Mother Nature has really dealt us a pretty good card so far,” said Tou Her, the district’s assistant general manager for water resources.

He added that the district plans to switch back to normal-year water rates, after two years under a dry-year schedule with higher charges to encourage conservation.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Turlock Irrigation District plans to double water deliveries."