Agricultural water use debate heats up with pending report

  • In a report that will be presented next week to the State Water Resources Control Board, Delta Watermaster Craig Wilson wades into a potentially explosive area of water law: the "reasonable use" doctrine in the state Constitution.

From the Los Angeles Times:

California should more aggressively enforce the state's ban on wasteful water use and crack down on inefficient irrigation practices, a state watermaster recommends.

In a report that will be presented next week to the State Water Resources Control Board, Delta Watermaster Craig Wilson wades into a potentially explosive area of water law: the "reasonable use" doctrine in the state Constitution.

The principle, reinforced in statute and court decisions, holds that a water right does not include the right to waste water and mandates that "the water resources of the state be put to beneficial use."

State expert says small changes in irrigation practices could yield significant water savings

Discuss this Article 2

Mike Wade (not verified)
on Jan 11, 2011

The report by the Delta Watermaster takes California in a new and potentially dangerous direction with respect to agricultural water use efficiency. The relationship between on-farm irrigation efficiency and true basin-level water conservation can be very confusing. Basin-wide efficiency can be quite high relative to on-farm efficiency due to re-use of water from farm to farm. You simply cannot apply an estimate of on-farm water savings to an entire basin to estimate net transferable water conservation. Irrigation experts at California State University, Fresno, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and UC Davis have identified this same mistake in other reports that claim millions of acre-feet of potential savings using this erroneous method.

Mike Wade
California Farm Water Coalition

Mike Wade (not verified)
on Jan 11, 2011

The report by the Delta Watermaster takes California in a new and potentially dangerous direction with respect to agricultural water use efficiency. The relationship between on-farm irrigation efficiency and true basin-level water conservation can be very confusing. Basin-wide efficiency can be quite high relative to on-farm efficiency due to re-use of water from farm to farm. You simply cannot apply an estimate of on-farm water savings to an entire basin to estimate net transferable water conservation. Irrigation experts at California State University, Fresno, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and UC Davis have identified this same mistake in other reports that claim millions of acre-feet of potential savings using this erroneous method.

Mike Wade
California Farm Water Coalition

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