Oakdale Irrigation fires back at ‘water-wasting’ critics

Farmers criticizing the Oakdale Irrigation District’s relationship with a recently annexed almond company are water wasters upset at having to make do with less than an unlimited supply, General Manager Steve Knell recently told a regional growth-guiding panel in a stinging rebuke of “a small group of disgruntled landowners.”

Despite prolonged drought, OID this year intends to deliver 200,000 acre-feet of water to its 2,900 farm accounts – more than a previous seven-year average of 187,000 acre-feet, Knell said. Farmers wise enough to have upgraded water equipment will get by just fine, he said, while those stuck with old-fashioned irrigation systems will chafe at this year’s first-ever water cap of 40 inches per parcel.

“I’m here to tell you none of our constituents is impacted by the Trinitas annexation,” Knell told Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission members.

The panel two years ago allowed OID to absorb Trinitas Partners’ 7,234 acres after OID promised that doing so would not harm existing customers. Some who have circulated petitions say they and commissioners were deceived, noting they are forced to pump groundwater because OID agreed to give Trinitas and another recently annexed landowner 10 inches, or a third the normal amount, for a total of 7,000 acre-feet; otherwise, senior customers would get an additional 11/4 inches.

Knell, when questioned by county Supervisor Terry Withrow, said OID is not violating 2013 annexation terms approved by LAFCO, but Knell otherwise focused blame on petitioners.

“If their definition of ‘full entitlement’ of water includes the ability to waste water as they have in the past and without accountability, those days are gone,” Knell said in a June 23 letter to LAFCO. “Frankly, if that’s the promise OID is accused of breaking then it needed to be broken.”

The OID board was forced by a 2009 state law to improve efficiency, responding with a plan in early 2013 and caps on water deliveries, or allotments, in April. Initially, the board set the cap at 30 inches, later bumping it to 36 and then 40 inches, while keeping amounts going to recently annexed land at 10 inches. By comparison, the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts plan to deliver 16 inches and 18-20 inches, respectively, while the Merced Irrigation District will give zero.

Trinitas and the other recently annexed company pay more than established OID customers – $55 per acre, compared with $27.

When senior customers complained to LAFCO in May that OID had employed bait-and-switch deception, some commissioners agreed that they might have a gripe and asked for more information. OID intends to approach the panel this fall with a request to annex 1,069 more acres.

Last week, commission vice chairman Brad Hawn asked Knell to return with information on “how irrigation districts work,” including water distribution and waste. “It could be helpful, when we look at annexations, to understand the science of how it works,” Hawn said.

Sara Lytle-Pinhey, the agency’s assistant executive officer, said the presentation likely will be scheduled for Aug. 26 or Sept. 23.

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Oakdale Irrigation fires back at ‘water-wasting’ critics."