OID to tackle water cap, transfers and drought surcharge

Irrigation leaders are expected Tuesday to put a historic cap on farmers’ water, cancel previous plans to sell water to out-of-county buyers, endorse water transfers among local growers, initiate a drought surcharge and welcome a new member to their board.

The Oakdale Irrigation District board also is scheduled to go behind closed doors to discuss prices and terms of undisclosed water negotiations involving Fresno-area water users, San Francisco, the Stockton East Water District and the Del Puerto Irrigation District.

OID customers never have labored under a water limit until this year, the fourth of a drought. District management will recommend an initial cap of 30 inches; whether that’s measured by the acre, as the Modesto Irrigation District does, or by parcel, as is done by the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, is yet to be seen.

OID’s partner on the Stanislaus River, SSJID, in March set a preliminary cap of 36 inches. That was a first, though other utilities for years have established maximum deliveries. MID customers this year are bracing for a mere 16 inches, or 38 percent of normal, and the Turlock Irrigation District, 18 inches. The Merced Irrigation District and parts of the West Side expect zero river water because of the drought.

OID and SSJID two weeks ago negotiated a deal with state and federal water officials restricting the districts’ water to 75 percent of their normal allotment, ending a standoff tinged with legal threats and heightened uncertainty. OID farmers began irrigating five weeks ago without knowing how much river water they’ll get this year, anticipating an answer Tuesday.

To make crops, most will augment OID deliveries with other sources, including pumped groundwater. Some will buy OID allotments from neighbors who have extra or who will fallow land. Those open-market transfers, similar to a program adopted by the Modesto district last year and extended to this season, also will be discussed and voted on at Tuesday’s OID meeting. General Manager Steve Knell has said he expects upward of 1,000 transfer requests.

The OID board is poised to formally cancel a previous plan to sell water to Fresno-area buyers. The district hoped to use proceeds to upgrade water systems on farms whose owners would volunteer to fallow land; owners also would get 20 percent of profits in cash from selling that freed-up water at $400 an acre-foot.

But the drought and a legal challenge from former board member Louis Brichetto will postpone the On-Farm Conservation Funding Program at least until next year. If it resurfaces, the district would spend a few months preparing documents predicting environmental effects of selling water.

OID stands out among other districts in the county for its practice of shipping water elsewhere for big bucks. Over the past decade, the district has reaped more than $35 million selling 382,000 acre-feet of water outside its borders.

Tuesday’s busy agenda also shows the board considering a drought surcharge. The dollar amount is not specified; last year, farmers paid a $6.10-per-acre surcharge.

Additionally, the board will discuss a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation request that OID farmers “take extraordinary conservation measures this irrigation season so more water can be left in storage at New Melones (Reservoir) into the fall,” to help salmon. The bureau doesn’t have the money to buy any water saved, an official said in a recent letter, but hopes to next year, or the district could store the extra in New Melones to use next year.

The OID board has functioned shorthanded for nine months, but that should change Tuesday, as well.

Former board member Jack Alpers had not attended a meeting since July when he finally resigned in February, citing serious health issues. His successor, pending a formal vote, will be Gary Osmundson, a 40-year-old dairyman and assistant football coach at Oakdale High School. The seat, representing areas southwest of Oakdale, will be up for election in November, with the winner finishing the remaining two years of Alpers’ term.

Tuesday’s OID board meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the chamber at 1205 E. F St.

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "OID to tackle water cap, transfers and drought surcharge."