TID could affirm higher water allotment

A vote Tuesday could affirm plans to provide 36 inches of water in the Turlock Irrigation District this year – twice what farmers got in 2015 but still not back to normal.

The district board will consider setting the allotment and having the irrigation season run from April 7 to Oct. 19. Wet weather could delay the start.

The district staff proposed the 36 inches at a Feb. 16 meeting. Farmers typically get 48 inches when rain and snow in the Tuolumne River watershed are ample, but TID aims to rebuild storage in Don Pedro Reservoir after four years of drought.

The allotment was 37 inches in 2012, 34 in 2013, 20 in 2014 and 18 last year. The water is measured vertically over several deliveries during the season.

The staff of the Modesto Irrigation District, partner with TID at Don Pedro, has proposed 30 inches this year.

Precipitation in the Tuolumne watershed was 121 percent of average as of Thursday, said Tou Her, assistant general manager for water resources at TID, in a memo to his board. The strong storm over the weekend added to the rain and snow.

Her cautioned that “Don Pedro Reservoir is still recovering from the driest four consecutive water years on record. Furthermore, hydrological conditions for the second half of the water year remain unknown.”

TID and MID are about in the middle range for impacts from the drought. Some suppliers, such as the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts, have had close to their accustomed amounts most years. Some had zero surface water last year, including the Merced Irrigation District and some of the federal water users on the West Side.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 7:17 PM with the headline "TID could affirm higher water allotment."