Colusa County’s agriculture economy is about to take a big hit as the top two crops have been virtually wiped out this year by Mother Nature.
Up to 90 percent of almonds are expected to be lost as the result of a deep freeze in February, officials said, and much of the rice fields could be left fallow because of a lack of available surface water.
Despite last year’s late rains and December snow, January and February were the driest on record, as California enters its third straight year of drought with little relief in sight.
“This is 118 years of history, and we’re looking at the two driest years on record back-to-back,” said Lewis Bair, manager of Reclamation District 108.
Bair, along with Jeff Sutton, Tehama Colusa Canal Authority manager, and Thad Betner, Glenn Colusa Canal Authority manger, presented a somber update to the Board of Supervisors last week on current water condition.
More than 93 percent of the state is in severe or extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and rainfall is about 63 percent of the average.
Drought repercussions range from a 50 percent mortality of winter-run salmon to the lowest amount of water ever being released from Shasta Reservoir for food production.
“This will result in about 18 percent available water under the Sacramento River settlement contracts,” Bair said. “Historically, the lowest we have seen before is about 75 percent.”
Bair said the historical low water release from Shasta Reservoir, which is made available to agriculture, would not likely support irrigated crops all season, therefore what little water available will likely be shifted to help keep trees alive, particularly since the TCCA will receive zero allocation this year.
“For our farmers, they need to consider that even if they get a piece of this water, how reliable is that if they spend the money to plant because they may be interrupted during the season,” Bair said.
According to the most recent crop report, Colusa County’s gross agriculture value is about $930 million.
Of that, rice is valued at $286 million. Other local crops include tomatoes, beans, corn, alfalfa, safflower, and wheat.
Permanent tree crops, such as almonds ($308 million) and walnuts ($79 million), are ranked the county’s first and third gross producing crops, respectively.
While many farmers, particularly rice growers, will rely on crop insurance to cover their losses this year, the trickle down in the economy is expected to be vast when more than 300,000 acres of the 450,000 acres in the settlement contracts are left fallow.
“It doesn’t just affect our economies, but our amazing wildlife habitat that we have in the valley,” Bair said. “It’s going to have a huge impact.”
Metropolitan areas dependent upon the Sacramento River, such as Redding, will only be allowed sufficient water to meet health and safety standards (55 gallons per person per day).
Officials said the biggest impacts on the local community will be high degrees of unemployment and financial losses by third party ag-related companies like warehouses, fuel suppliers, and equipment providers, as well as higher prices to consumers at the grocery store for water-reliant food products.
Bair said Northern California water managers have asked the state for $250 million to support payroll protections, and additional funding specifically for improvements to community water supplies and for responding to the impacts from over pumping groundwater in the absence of surface water.
“That’s all going to affect our communities,” Bair said.
According to the California Department of Water Resources, who conducted the monthly snow survey on Friday, which is about one-third of where it should be, March’s dry weather and the added heat this week, the Sierra Nevada is suffering the driest period on record in over 100 years.
In addition to less water for irrigation, fish, and hydroelectric power plants, Northern California’s landscape will also dry out sooner, leading to a greater threat of wildfires engulfing abnormally parched forests and wildlands, officials said. Current outlooks predict an early fire season, which could ramp up in May and June, instead of September and October, state officials said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has not mandated conservation, but continues to urge all water users to save as much water as possible by reducing usage inside and outside their homes. ■