A new report by the Department of Water Resources concludes that agricultural water use is “largely efficient.”
Irrigation districts and certain other ag water suppliers are required to implement efficient water management practices and submit their plans to DWR every five years. DWR then reports to the Legislature on those plans.
The 50 plans under the program represent about 37% of irrigated land in the state. The suppliers reported water use efficiencies of 75-104%, depending on their calculations. The administration has been warning that the state will lose about 10% of its water supply in the next 20 years due to climate change. According to DWR, the ag water plans have few requirements for assessing such impacts.
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The department is recommending that lawmakers fund more research to study how higher temperatures and changing hydrology will hurt crops and influence planting decisions. It is also urging the Legislature to set new requirements for ag water suppliers to incorporate robust supply and demand projections within their plans as well as infrastructure needs.
