Late storms allow federal government to boost water deliveries to San Joaquin Valley farmers

Federal gov boosts Calif. water deliveries

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Late-season storms that provided a robust snowpack and improved pumping conditions have prompted the federal government to increase water supplies to farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Monday that the Bureau of Reclamation would boost water deliveries to its agricultural water contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Contractors will receive 45 percent of their requested allotment, up from the 40 percent they were scheduled to receive last month.

California’s water-delivery system is a complex web of state- and federally operated reservoirs and canals serving different users.