Episode 26: Water Planning in the Sacramento Valley

Episode 34: A Year Like No Other

California farmers are no strangers to drought, although the magnitude of this, a third straight dry year , has widespread and significant impacts in Sacramento Valley rice country and nearby communities.

A lack of adequate rain above Shasta Dam has brought historic water cutbacks to growers on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, with a major reduction in rice plantings. This contrasts the east side of the valley, where rice acreage is expected to be normal to potentially above normal. Full rice acreage won’t be known until later this spring.

“We’re down to 25 percent of normal rice acreage,” said grower Kurt Richter, who farms in Colusa County. “For a westside operation, that figure is actually very high this year. I’m the only person I know who is on the west side who is even planting rice at all.”

The sharp reduction in rice planting will have a ripple effect along the west side of the valley, including not only rice mills, dryers, ag pilots, supply companies and truckers, but virtually all people and businesses.

“We have never seen a year like this,” remarked Rick Richter of Richter Aviation. Rick has aerially seeded rice fields since the 1970s. “We’re basically one-seventh of what we normally do.”

Other area businesses echo Richter’s comments and concerns.

“You talk to some of the guys that went through drought in the 1980s and this seems to be even worse,” said Jason Bowen, Pest Control Advisor at Colusa County Farm Supply. “This affects everyone. Every person you talk to. It doesn’t matter where you work at, you’re completely affected.”

Bowen is among those who hope state and federal aid is forthcoming, to help during a time of significant economic hardship.

“Any aid would benefit everyone,” he said. “Whoever the aid does go to, it’s going to trickle down all the way through the local economies in any way, shape or form.”

While faced with cutbacks not seen in decades, there remains a persevering nature that is a hallmark characteristic of this region.

“People here are tough. They are strong and have a way of working together to make this successful ,” said Jim Cook, Director of Research and Technology at Colusa County Farm Supply. “We know we’re in for a tough go. The bottom line is we have no other place to go. This is like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we’re going to make a stand and we are going to survive.”

Jennifer Abel is General Manager of Luis Cairo’s in Williams, a restaurant with a rich history in the valley. She said they, like so many restaurants, have had big challenges in recent years, from COVID-19 restrictions, the economic downturn and large fires in nearby areas. Drought impacts to nearby farms and ranches will likely impact their business, but she remained positive about their future.

“We’re really strong and united,” she said. “We have a solid foundation of families and people that have been here for a long time that have been farming and working in this community. They’re going to come together, make a difference and make something happen.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: This is normally a time of activity far and wide in the Sacramento Valley, rice planting season, including here in Glenn County. There’s a disconcerting lack of tractors and airplanes working on the west side of the valley right now, as a third year of drought is impacting our region in an unprecedented way. With so much farmland idle, impacts will be strongly felt. This year will be a test like no other.

Kurt Richter: There's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to find work this year.

Rick Richter: Every person you talk to around the local community has been affected.

Jim Cook: This is really like the Alamo for us. This is our place where we're going to make a stand and we are going to survive.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained: The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. Simply put, there is no year in memory compared to what's happening this year, especially for those who live and work along the Sacramento River. Pain will be real and widespread. We won't know the total acreage of rice planted in the state until later this spring. For now, it's clear that planting will be dramatically lower on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, and it appears to be normal to perhaps a bit greater on the east side. Kurt Richter, what's happening in your rice fields right now?

Kurt Richter: We are currently wrapping up getting the 2022 crop into the ground. It has been kind of a short season for us because acres are scaled back so significantly. Our workforce is scaled back significantly too, but we're probably a week away from getting the final fields planted and in the ground.

Jim Morris: One of the words that comes up a lot this year is unprecedented. Is that a good adjective to describe what you're seeing? What type of cutbacks are you having?

Kurt Richter: Notable cutbacks, the worst that we've ever seen in our operation, and I'm sure that goes out industry-wide as well. We're down to 25 percent of normal, and for a west side operation like us, that's actually very high. I'm the only person I know on the west side who's even planting rice at all. But we're very fortunate, with some of the leases that we hold, where well water is available, very good river water rights are available. We're able to maximize that. However, 25 percent is still the lowest we've ever been by a large margin.

Jim Morris: The impacts from that reduction extend well beyond your farm I imagine, so let's start with your farm. How does it impact you, your workforce, and then how does it impact the communities around you?

Kurt Richter: Well, we're running a much leaner crew than we typically run. We just don't need the people that we normally need because we don't have the acres to necessitate it. So, a lot of the seasonal people that we typically hire this time of the year are not coming on board with us. We just don't have anything for them to do. We're getting by with our full-time guys for the most part. That's how we're scaled back.

Kurt Richter: I've heard many similar stories from other growers, too. There's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to find work this year. And then when you extend that out to the rice dryers, the rice mills, I mean they're all going through budget cuts right now too, layoffs, paring down and trying to figure out how to survive a year where, in some areas, there is no rice at all.

Jim Morris: That sound is Nick Richter seeding a rice field in Colusa County, an all too uncommon sight on the west side of the Sacramento valley this year. Rick Richter is Nick's dad, and he owns Richter Aviation in Maxwell. You've been seeding rice field since the late '70s. Rick, how different is this year compared to all of the past time you worked in rice?

Rick Richter:

Episode 33: Unprecedented

Many travelers heading north on Interstate 5 or Highway 99 only get a fleeting glimpse of the Sacramento Valley. However, those who know this region understand and appreciate how unique and valuable it is.

The Sacramento Valley is an impressive patchwork of farms and communities, living and working in harmony with the environment.

A worsening drought has led to major water cutbacks. Farmers will grow less and the communities with agriculture as their foundation will be impacted.

Local officials are concerned about how lost farm production will impact their communities.

“Those impacts are actually huge,” remarked Colusa County Supervisor Denise Carter, who farms with her husband, Ben. “You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire.”

Colusa County has an annual value of all crops produced of more than $900 million and is America’s top rice growing county. Cutbacks from the Sacramento River this year are unlike anything experienced before.

Concern for drought impacts is pervasive throughout the region.

“Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture,” said county supervisor and farmer, Tod Kimmelshue. “The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.”

As this season plays out, the Sacramento Valley will be tested. Even with a difficult year ahead, optimism remains for the long haul.

“We care deeply,” remarked Yuba City City Councilmember Grace Espindola. “The diversity of community is in our blood.”

Espindola said building Sites Reservoir would be an excellent step to help California weather future droughts.

Jim Morris: It's late April in the Sacramento Valley and, at least here along Highway 99 in Butte County, things appear somewhat normal. The recent rain is unusual, but unfortunately the lack of rain in the winter months is an all too familiar occurrence. What we're left with is unprecedented drought, which has extended for three years and it's causing uncertainty and concern like never before.

Denise Carter: Quite honestly, no one has ever seen it this bad.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with farmers and ranchers throughout the state for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. During that time, there have been all too many dry years, but what's happening this time has never been experienced in the Sacramento Valley. Concerns are real and rising. Butte County is one of the state leaders in agriculture, with a crop value of well over $600 million a year. Farming is the foundation of this county and of our valley. Tod Kimmelshue is a family farmer and a retired ag finance banking advisor. He's now serving on the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Tod, for someone who isn't familiar with your area, how do you convey to them what farming and ranching mean here?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County has always been a very strong farming community and we're very lucky also, to have an agricultural university here, Chico State, which trains farmers and agricultural people. We grow several different crops here, mostly almonds, walnuts and rice, and agriculture has a great deal of impact in this area.

Jim Morris: I think many from afar think California weather is absolutely perfect. And we certainly have some perfect times, but we're in a bit of a rough stretch right now to be sure, not only the winter freeze for almonds, but also the awful drought entering year three now. Prime examples of how this has already been an agonizing year for many. What are your concerns about drought impacts?

Tod Kimmelshue: The drought has had a huge impact on our water supply in this area. Much of Butte County rice is grown with surface water. And, when we have a drought, the reservoirs don't fill up, and so there's not enough water for the rice crops in this area. The other water source we have in Butte County are aquifers. And most of the orchardists in this area use the aquifers. However, those aquifers have been declining as well during the drought.

Jim Morris: When land is idle and crops aren't abundant, what is the effect on non-farmers in your area?

Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture. The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.

Jim Morris: I've lived in Butte County, and I know Butte Strong is more than a slogan, it's a way of life. Looking back to the Camp Fire in Paradise, several years back, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. This region struggled mightily, but came through and rebounded. How much will your area need to rely on its resiliency to whether this latest setback?

Tod Kimmelshue: Well, this is just another setback in many that has affected Butte County, and we consider ourselves very resilient. We've made it through some of these really terrible disasters. Drought is just another disaster that may impact us here in Butte County and probably will impact us economically. So we believe that we will weather this storm, just like farmers weather many different storms and weather conditions, and we will come out of this in the next couple years when we get more rain.

Jim Morris: Colusa County is America's top rice growing county. Its crop values usually exceed $900 million a year. There are legitimate concerns about how this year will play out due to water cut backs. The biggest drought impacts are along the Sacramento River. Denise Carter and her husband, Ben, farm in this county. She's also a county supervisor, a role she served for nearly 15 years. Her background includes an engineering degree from UCLA. Denise, can you convey your concerns about the drought from the perspective as a grower and someone who's working on behalf of your county?

Denise Carter: As a grower, I would say the cutback is significant. For us in our situation, since we are a settlement contractor along the river, with our 18 percent of Sacramento River water that we are going to receive, we are dedicating that to our rice crop. So we will grow basically half of what we normally grow. It's a small quantity and we grow organic rice, and obviously there's a real need in that market. So we're doing our little part with the water we have, to grow a little bit of rice.

Jim Morris: How about your community that you represent and your concerns about those impacts?

Denise Carter: Those impacts are actually huge. You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire. So quite frankly, that's my biggest concern is having jobs for people. And if we don't have jobs for people, what are they going to do? Are they going to leave their area? So, eventually maybe we will have more water, hopefully next year, will those people come back? Many of these employees have been in this county for years and have lived here and farmed here for years. And in Colusa County, agriculture is the number one industry. We are an agricultural-based county. So consequently, it's going to have a big hit on our county.

Jim Morris: You mentioned economics, but I caught a bit of emotion, too. People know each other here, they're concerned for each other. So how emotional is this year going to be?

Denise Carter: I think everybody knows each other in this community and there's going to be significant job loss in the county. People in this county do really take care of others in this county. I truly, truly believe that, and I've seen that so many times, but the magnitude of this job loss is going to be significant. And we have farmers who aren't going to be able to afford to hire as many people. And they're also not going to get the hours that they're used to getting. I was actually talking to someone about, at a tomato processing facility and they say, "People aren't going to be working 12 hour days. They'll be working 8 hour days."

Denise Carter: Because again, you can hire more people at 8 hour days or maybe you don't even have enough product, but you can hire more people if they have less hours, and maybe that's enough to keep people, at least, going. I had a conversation a couple days ago at our local paint store. And I asked him how things are going. And he said, "They're g

Episode 32: Momentum Grows for Sites Reservoir

A third straight drought year poses major challenges for California’s environment, cities and farms. While cooperation, collaboration and innovation are needed in the short term, many feel a major part of the long-term water solution is additional storage.

A remote area on the west side of the Sacramento Valley could be a big part of the solution. Sites Reservoir has been debated for decades, and getting this critical addition to water infrastructure appears more likely than ever.

One major development in getting this project completed is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month formally invited the Sites Project Authority to apply for a $2.2 billion low-interest loan through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which would bring the project significantly closer to construction and completion.

“This really is a game changer,” said Sites Project Authority General Manager Jerry Brown. “Additive to the other sources of funds that we have, a prior loan from USDA and Proposition 1 funds from the state and federal sources, really rounds out our financing picture to a great extent. This puts us on a to track where we are now in a position to fund construction of the project, which is really exciting!”

Brown said there are several steps needed, including applying for a new water right to the State Water Resources Control Board. There are other permits needed from the state and federal government. If all goes as hoped, ground will be broken in 2024 and the new reservoir will be in place in 2030.

He said if Sites were in place prior to the wet years of 2017 and 2019, it would have been completely full at 1.5 million acre feet to start 2020, and would have been able to provide about 400,000 acre feet of water for the state’s cities, farm and environment.

Brown said while Sites will provide significant benefits for urban and agricultural customers, it’s commitment for environmental water will set it apart from all other projects.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a project like Sites that will provide the kind of assets and benefits for environmental purposes.”

As the drought will provide significant impacts to the Sacramento Valley and state in the months ahead, hopefully getting Sites Reservoir built will provide major help in the future; especially vital considering our volatile climate.

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: After a promising start to the rainy season, California has gone extremely dry. The lack of water provides serious widespread challenges. As our climate volatility grows, the need for a more reliable water supply is even more vital. For a growing number of people, that's where Sites Reservoir comes into play.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. A lack of rain and snow has extended the drought for a third year, creating the likelihood of widespread pain. One hopeful sign for the future would be carrying out a project that's been discussed and debated for decades, Sites Reservoir. Jerry Brown is general manager of the Sites Project Authority. Jerry, let's start with key updates on the project. First, can you relay the big news from the US Environmental Protection Agency, what happened, and how important is this news?

Jerry Brown: This really is a game changer. What happened was the Environmental Protection Agency is making an invitation to the Sites Reservoir Project to apply for what's called a WIFIA loan, Water Infrastructure And Finance Investment Act. And what that is, is a mechanism by which the federal government makes a loan available to a project like Sites. In this case, it's in an amount of about 49 percent of the project cost, which for Sites is roughly $2.2 billion. So it's a $2.2 billion loan that has been offered to the Sites Reservoir Project, and, additive to the other sources of funds that we have, a prior loan from USDA, the Proposition One money from the state, and the federal sources really rounds out our financing picture to a great extent and puts us on a track to where we are now in a position to fund the construction of the project, so that's pretty exciting.

Jim Morris: Let's talk about that construction. Realistically, and perhaps optimistically, what is your timeframe that you're looking at?

Jerry Brown: The loan doesn't really necessarily accelerate the project. There's still several steps that we have to take to get to the point where we can start construction. Probably most notable is the upcoming application that we're making for our water right. We are going to be seeking a new water right for the Sites Project, and that will be submitted within the next month. And, with that, it will kick off about an 18 to 24 month period that the State Water Resources Control Board takes to evaluate our application and make a final determination as to the water right that will be established for the project.

Beyond that, there are some very critical permits that we need to secure through the Fish and Wildlife Service of both the state and the federal government. Those are under way. We've made an application recently for one of those, and there's a couple more to do, and we expect those to occur within the next 18 to 24 months, as well. So those critical activities will lead up to the point in time when we will be able to have the assets in place to then secure the loan with the federal government through WIFIA. Once that occurs, we'll be able to initiate construction fairly shortly after that. So, hopefully, by mid to late 2024, we'll start construction. And it's about a six-year period, which would put us at operational completion in about 2030.

Jim Morris: If Sites were in place now, how much of a difference would it make?

Jerry Brown: Because largely of the 2017, 2019 wet years, if we would've had Sites in place then, Sites would've started the 2020 year completely full at a million and a half acre feet. We estimated last year, had we had Sites in place, we would've had about a million acre feet of water in the reservoir for the farms and cities and environment. With the use that was projected last year, we would probably have about 400,000 acre feet available this year, which is still a very substantial amount, especially considering the very low conditions at our upstream reservoirs, Shasta, Oroville, Folsom.

Jim Morris: We have three distinct segments in California, and they sometimes intertwine, the environment, cities, and farms. How would each of these benefit if Sites is built?

Jerry Brown: The one piece of this, while I believe the benefits for the cities and farms are very important and necessary to make the project work, is the environmental element. I don't think there's ever been a project like Sites that will provide the kind of assets and benefits for environmental purposes. We're still figuring the final participation by the federal government, but, on a high end, there could be up to around 40 percent of the project, the Sites Project, that would be dedicated for environmental purposes. And that is huge, because never before has the state or the federal government owned and operated an asset like Sites, that will have both storage and water supply for the environment in the driest of years.

And with that, we recently entered into some collaboration with some environmental groups to evaluate how we can optimize the use of this environmental storage to provide the optimum benefit for all the different environmental objectives that are out there. So we're super excited about that. And the board is very committed to this as a component of the project.

I think one other thing to note, one of the criticisms about the Proposition One

Episode 31: How Rice Fields may help Salmon Runs

Since fundamental changes were made to the way rice straw is managed following harvest in the early 1990s, Sacramento Valley rice country has steadily grown as a vital rest and refuel stop for millions of birds. Local rice fields not only provide habitat for nearly 230 wildlife species, the value of rice fields for the environment is proving to be even greater during drought years, because there is less water on the landscape and fewer habitat options.

What's next for the environmental crop? If promising research by the Rice Commission and UC Davis pays off, Sacramento Valley rice fields may one day help dwindling salmon runs.

The third year of field work for the salmon project has just completed, and the last of the baby salmon raised on Steve Neader’s Sutter County rice farm have been released and are heading out to the ocean. Through sophisticated tagging, their journey will be studied. The ultimate hope is that rice fields specifically managed for this purpose will provide an even greater role in preserving and enhancing the California environment.

“I’m extremely optimistic about it,” remarked Andrew Rypel, one of the study leaders and professors in the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology at UC Davis. “All of the data we have collected points to the fact these fields are going to be helpful for, not just salmon, but lots of native fishes.”

There were new elements in the latest year of the project that will ultimately help researchers adapt the habitat management strategy and understand prospects for future success.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done the project on full size rice fields, with about 125 acres devoted to testing the practice at scale, “ said Paul Buttner, Environmental Affairs Manager of the California Rice Commission. “One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of the checks in the field and out of the field when they want to, which is called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches to allow the fish to move through the system entirely.”

Buttner stressed the importance of partnerships to make this multi-million dollar project successful, including the scientific research from UC Davis and other technical partners.

“It would not be possible without funding, that comes first and foremost from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service,” he said. “They provided over half of the funding for the project. All of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in-kind. Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well. The full sponsorship list can be seen at http://salmon.calrice.org/#Sponsors.”

As the salmon left the rice fields to start their journey to the ocean, it was a somewhat emotional time for researcher Alexandra Wampler of UC Davis.

“I’m very excited,” Wampler said. “I can’t wait to track their migration to the ocean. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take, and it’s going to be very exciting.”

It will take a while longer to determine the viability of the project, but those involved remain optimistic that, perhaps one day, Sacramento Valley rice fields will add a significant new area to their environmental benefits.

“I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for waterfowl,” said Carson Jeffres, research ecologist at UC Davis. “It’s a little bit different. It takes different opportunities because fish can’t fly, so you have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There’s those same possibilities that we have, and I think that we’ve really turned a big corner in doing that, and we’re starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape right now.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: The environment holds special importance in California, and salmon represent one of the most beleaguered species in what now is year three of a major drought. There is a ray of hope in the form of a partnership being lived out in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with the state's farmers and ranchers for more than three decades to help tell their stories. Environmental stewardship among the rice industry is unparalleled. Not only do Sacramento Valley rice fields serve as a vital part of the Pacific flyway migration of millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, and other species, those same fields offer great promise to help salmon.

Jim Morris: I'm at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, where researchers play a pivotal role in exploring how local rice fields might help salmon. I'm speaking with research ecologist, Carson Jeffres. First of all, Carson, salmon in California have been struggling. What are some of the factors that have led to that decline in their population?

Carson Jeffres: They face multiple threats, both in the freshwater environment where we've experienced drought for multiple years. We're on our second major drought in the last 10 years, which is probably much more of a long term drought. Water and fresh water environments is limited, but also there's other factors from thymine deficiency coming back from the ocean. It's just one thing after another that they've experienced over the last, probably, a hundred years. Now, we're starting to see the culmination of climate change and management really affect the populations.

Jim Morris: Rice fields may help in two different areas. Can you comment on those? Also, your degree of optimism that these two areas may significantly help.

Carson Jeffres: There's two ways that those, what we think of as historic floodplains, which are not rice fields, can benefit the salmon. One of them is that, unlike birds, fish can't get to the dry side of the levee, but we can take the food that grows on the dry side of the levee and the rice fields and pump it into the river for the fish that are out migrating to the ocean. The other way that rice fields are used for salmon during their out migration, is that in the flood bypasses. In particular, is that when we have flood events, many of those habitats are rice fields now, and fish can use them during their out migration. If we manage those habitats well, we can benefit salmon during their out migration on those habitats, and the food that we grow that they consume, and they get big, and then they head out to the ocean.

Jim Morris: In a larger picture, reactivating the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley, do you see multiple benefits from that, not only just for salmon?

Carson Jeffres: Many species rely on these habitats, from waterbirds, the waterfowl, there's the waiting birds, there's fish, there's groundwater recharge. There's lots of benefits from having floodplains activated in the Central Valley. For human uses, for wildlife, it's really a win-win to see those habitats inundated.

Jim Morris: Fish food, and rice fields, how nutrient rich is that, and how optimistic are you that can make a difference?

Carson Jeffres: Fish food is really interesting in that what happens is as the rice double breaks down, when it's flooded, is it's basically carbon that's being released in the water. Carbon is the currency of energy in the floodplain. When carbon is released, microbes eat it, and zooplankton can eat it, and that's creating food for the salmon. It's really that ability to create that carbon out and make it usable for the animals in the system. That's what happens when you flood during the non-growing season.

Jim Morris: How important is it to consider the long term in this process? I imagine the salmon population probably won't rebound immediately, but steps need to be taken to help this important part of our environment.

Carson Jeffres: This is a problem that's been constructed over the last 150 years, since the Gold Rush. We shouldn't expect that we're going to fix it in one, or two, or five years. This is a long term idea that we need to change. The decisions that we're making now are something that will affect the future. Understanding that we have climate changing, being able to be plastic with our decision making, and our management, is really important.

Jim Morris: Rice fields have helped a lot with the Pacific Flyway and are essentially surrogate wetlands in California. Do you feel that they might be able to play a similar role down the road for salmon?

Carson Jeffres: I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for the waterfowll. It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities, because fish can't fly. You have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have. I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that. We're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape now.

Jim Morris: Andrew Rype

Episode 30: How California can secure a more stable Water Future

For all of the high-tech advancements California is famous for, one part of the state’s infrastructure – providing enough water for its environment, cities and farms – is lacking. It has been more than four decades since the last major water storage facility was built in the Golden State, and our total population has nearly doubled since that time.

Proposed for the west side of the Sacramento Valley, Sites Reservoir provides an opportunity to dramatically boost water storage capability, which would help safeguard the state during drought, like what we are currently enduring.

Sites would provide up to 1.5 million acre-feet of additional water storage, with a dedicated supply of water for environmental uses, including a significant amount of water for our state’s wildlife refuges, particularly in dry years, to support the ducks, geese and other wildlife who greatly rely on our system of refuges to survive and thrive.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is not taking a position on Sites. They do have an interesting concept to help the environment, should the project be completed – an environmental water budget.

“This approach to water for the environment would have really big advantages,” said PPIC Senior Fellow Jeff Mount. “Right now, the way we manage everything, it’s all set on minimum in-stream flow and water quality standards. It’s kind of like a hydrologic flatline- it doesn’t change enough. We’re suggesting that the most efficient and effective use of water has to have some flexibility in that use – especially if you want to mete it up with investments in physical habitat. That’s why we’re promoting an ecosystem water budget managed by a trustee of some kind –a restoration administrator like on the San Joaquin River. This is probably the best way to go. It’s nimble. It sets the environment as a partner, working with the people who are managing the operations of storage all the time. And there’s certainty. The key bottom line is the flexibility this would bring.”

Sites would also provide more water for urban needs, something very appealing to many, including General Manager Valerie Pryor of Zone 7 Water Agency, which serves the East Bay Area.

“Our community places a lot of value on increasing water storage and especially the Sites Reservoir,” Pryor remarked. “Our board and community are excited about this prospect. Seventy percent of our water comes from the State Water Project, and that supply is increasingly less reliable. Also, we are not all the way to build out, so we do expect to add population over the next 30 years, so we need additional water supply – both to make up for decreasing reliability and also for growth. The Sites Reservoir really helps with that equation.”

This enthusiastic support, plus increased momentum from favorable state and federal reviews of the project, are welcome developments for those trying to get this reservoir built – including the top person tasked for this job. “I am 100 percent confident that Sites Reservoir will be built,” remarked Jerry Brown, General Manager of the Sites Project Authority. “It must be built. The thing that we are striving for, and I believe is a need in order to proceed, is that we must do this together.”

Episode Transcript

Kai Tawa: We had a really good start to the water year with that atmospheric river event in late October. A lot of the valley got somewhere between 4 to 8 inches of rain. Quite historic, really.

Jim Morris: Meteorologist Kai Tawa of Western Weather Group in Chico commenting on the positive start of the water year, building hope that the drought might be broken.

Kai Tawa: From there our luck really continued going into December with some more atmospheric river storms with things looking good.

Jim Morris: Unfortunately, 2022 has been underwhelming for rain and snow.

Kai Tawa: We know it was certainly one of the driest January's recorded throughout northern California, and now we're going into February here. The medium to long-range models are pretty confident that we're going to remain quite dry.

Jim Morris: Today, we take a look at California's water shortage and how long-term planning can help the state survive and thrive.

Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. Proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for the past 32 years to help tell their stories. As if the pandemic wasn't enough, this year has started with little rain and snow fueling concerns that once winter is all over we may be in another dry year. That would be painful for our environment, cities, and farms. It's been more than 40 years since the last major water storage facility has been built in our state and our population nearly doubled over that time. Many are eyeing Sites Reservoir as a big part of a more stable water future. Proposed for the west of the Sacramento Valley in Colusa and Glenn counties, Sites would provide a major boost to the amount of water that can be stored during wet years to help during the dry ones. Jerry Brown is general manager of the Sites project authority, and Jerry, it would be good to get caught up on how the project is proceeding. I understand there's important news from the California Water Commission, so can you tell us a little bit about some of the latest developments with the Sites project.

Jerry Brown: Just last month, the state made a feasibility determination for the project, which they went through a very extensive review process of several elements of the project and came to the determination that the project continues to be feasible and investible from the state's perspective under the Prop 1 storage program. That compliments the earlier decision by the federal government for a similar feasibility determination, and between those two that represents anywhere from 30 to 40% of the project. Beyond those investors, there's the local agencies, and they are going through a process right now to evaluate their continued participation in the project, and we're getting really good and positive responses from the local agencies. Collectively we're looking really strong as far as where we are, and the funding levels to proceed with the project, and have a lot of momentum to move forward with some great work in the coming years.

Jim Morris: Those who are unfamiliar with Sites, this would be an off stream reservoir fed by excess water from rainstorms. Is that right?

Jerry Brown: That's right, Jim. Sites is not your old dam. It is a reservoir that is set off the Sacramento River, but does receive water diverted out of the river, but only taken during the highest flow periods in the river, pretty much the very wet times like 2017, 2019 would be the timeframes, that would store the water in the reservoir during those periods until we need it in the drier times when we would release it back into the river for meeting demands of our participants or directly serving demands within the area of the reservoir. It's really an insurance policy for those drier times which we're seeing more often and more severely. It's something that we need in order to prepare ourselves for our future.

Jim Morris: Past years, we've certainly seen, we've had tremendous amounts of rainfall and we haven't been fully able to capture all of it. Is it feasible to think if we have an incredibly wet year, that Sites can fill rather rapidly?

Jerry Brown: If you look at averages and the analysis that we've done, we're expecting that we could fill the reservoir in anywhere from five to seven years. But from my experience in my prior life as the general manager of Contra Costa, we were able to fill Los Vaqueros on first spill in one year, and we had originally anticipated a five to seven year fill period as well. That's a question that a lot of people ask me is how long is it going to take to fill, and it couldn't be anywhere from one year to, on average, five to seven years.

Jim Morris: The environment is talked about a lot in California and for good reason, it's vital, of course. The diminished salmon runs come up a lot, and at the rice commission, we're working with UC Davis on a pilot project raising salmon and rice fields. There's also promising work where fish food is being produced in rice fields and then returned to the river to help salmon. Jerry, what would Sites do to help this area?

Jerry Brown: There's two aspects to Sites that I think need to be understood. First, the state is an investor in the project, and as such, they are receiving benefits for the environment. There will be a dedicated storage space and amount of water that is provided for the state to manage for the benefit of the environment, including the salmon, and including the delta smell, for example, is another species that could be helped with the project. What they will be able to do is storing this water in the wet years for use in the dry years. In these dry times like we've been seeing and the effects that we're seeing on the salmon, this water could help the salmon survive these periods, so that's number one. Number two, being where we are on the Sacramento River and where we are located relative to Shasta and Orville and Folsom Lake, there are opportunities to coordinate the site's operations in a manner that could provide for greater cold water in those reservoirs. Cold water can, especially in the dryer years, can enhance our abi