Senate Approves Boxer-Feinstein Measure to Allow Water Transfers in Central Valley

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate gave final approval to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which included an amendment by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) that will allow for water transfers to help agricultural communities in the Central Valley that have been hard hit by three years of drought. The legislation now goes to President Obama for his signature.

Senator Boxer said, “This measure is a critical first step toward improving water management to help ease the water crisis in the San Joaquin Valley. The legislation will enable water transfers between the east and west sides of the valley, offering some much-needed relief to agricultural communities that are suffering from drought conditions.”

“Three consecutive years of severe drought has left the Central Valley desperate for more water, and Congress is taking steps to try to bring some timely relief. This spending bill includes a provision that will make it possible to transfer up to 50,000 to 80,000 acre-feet of surplus water from communities with water to spare to communities in desperate need,” Senator Feinstein said. “Senator Boxer and I also recently introduced a bill that builds on this effort by granting new permanent authority to the Bureau of Reclamation to approve and expedite additional water transfers of up 250,000 to 300,000 acre-feet per year throughout the Valley.”

The amendment by Boxer and Feinstein will facilitate voluntary water transfers among Central Valley Project contractors, providing the flexibility to deliver water to agricultural communities when they need it most. The measure makes it easier to transfer water among South-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors within the San Joaquin Valley. Representatives Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced) and Jim Costa (D-Fresno) included a similar amendment in the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill.

Senators Feinstein and Boxer also introduced legislation last week to grant new authority to the Bureau of Reclamation to approve water transfers between sellers and buyers in the San Joaquin Valley. The measure would streamline environmental reviews for Central Valley water transfers by ensuring that they occur on a programmatic basis, instead of the current project-by-project basis. The measure will help reduce unnecessary delays in water transfers and could result in transfers of up to 250,000 to 300,000 acre-feet of water a year, depending on rainfall, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Energy and Water Appropriations conference report approved today also includes $41 million for the California Bay-Delta Restoration account. At least $10 million of this funding could be used to expedite water management projects such as the intertie between the Delta-Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct, and “Two Gates,” the construction of two temporary gates in Old River and Connection Slough in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The funding was secured in the Senate by Senator Feinstein, a member of the Appropriations Committee, with the support of Senator Boxer.

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