Central Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Revised)

Central Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency (CKGSA) | July 13th, 2022

Central Valley Basin: A Comprehensive Report on the Development of the Water and Related Resources of the Central Valley Basin for Irrigation, Power Production and Other Beneficial Uses in California, and Comments by the State of California and Federal Agencies

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | August 15th, 1949

Central Valley Project Documents, Part One, Authorizing Documents

U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) | March 27th, 1956

Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | March 8th, 2022

The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply

The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply projects. The CVP covers approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield, and draws from two large river basins: the Sacramento and the San Joaquin. It is composed of 20 dams and reservoirs and numerous pieces of water storage and conveyance infrastructure. In an average year, the CVP delivers more than 7 million acre-feet of water to support irrigated agriculture, municipalities, and fish and wildlife needs, among other purposes. About 75% of CVP water is used for agricultural irrigation, including 7 of California’s top 10 agricultural counties. The CVP is operated jointly with the State Water Project (SWP), which provides much of its water to municipal users in Southern California.

Changes in Evapotranspiration of Agricultural Crops in Kern County during the 2014-2015 Drought Years

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | September 5th, 2017

The 2012-2015 drought in California has major impacts for agricultural water users in Kern County. Farmers shifted crop planting patterns and irrigation scheduling to min

The 2012-2015 drought in California has major impacts for agricultural water users in Kern County. Farmers shifted crop planting patterns and irrigation scheduling to minimize profit loss with water shortage. This report models the changes in crop evapotranspiration from 2011 to 2014 and 2015 using the remote-sensing-based METRIC model developed by the University of Idaho. Results show that rather than universal losses of acreage and productivity, farmers reduced acreage on annual crops while increasing acreage on low-water-use new orchards. Productivity increased on the annual crops that remained in production, perhaps due to fallowing less productive land. High-value crops such as citrus and grapes saw increases in both acreage and productivity. Remote-sensing-based evapotranspiration mapping provides an important tool to policymakers by providing field-based estimates of a wide range of farmer responses to drought including planting, fallowing, under-irrigation, and, if combined with productivity models, changes in revenue. 

Chowchilla Subbasin Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Groundwater Sustainablity Plan

Chowchilla Subbasin GSP Advisory Committee | January 1st, 2020

Climate Change and the Agricultural Sector in the San Francisco Bay Area: Changes in Viticulture and Rangeland Forage Production Due to Altered Temperature and Precipitation Patterns

California Energy Commission (CEC) | July 31st, 2012

Climate change has the potential to alter the San Francisco Bay Area’s agricultural production, a $2 billion industry. Two of the top sectors, wine and ranching, are ex

Climate change has the potential to alter the San Francisco Bay Area’s agricultural production, a $2 billion industry. Two of the top sectors, wine and ranching, are examined in this paper. Downscaled models suggest that forage production in Bay Area rangelands may be enhanced by future conditions in most years, at least in terms of peak standing crop. However, the timing of production is as important as its peak, and altered precipitation patterns could mean delayed germination and earlier senescence, resulting in shorter growing seasons. An increase in the frequency of extremely dry years also increases the uncertainty of forage availability. Similarly, wine grape yields are projected to increase throughout much of the Bay Area, but wine grape quality may decline substantially under future climate conditions, as the crop ripens earlier during hotter months. The implications for these shifts in wine grape and forage production are that the aspects of Bay Area agriculture most sensitive to climate change are not yields, but subtler nuances of production such as quality and timing. Adaptive measures will need to be taken to maintain the economic viability of these enterprises.

Climate Change Consortium for Specialty Crops: Impacts and Strategies for Resilience

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) | January 16th, 2014

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) convened the Climate Change Consortium, a diverse group of individuals involved in California specialty crop agri

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) convened the Climate Change Consortium, a diverse group of individuals involved in California specialty crop agriculture, to identify specific climate change adaptation strategies for growers. Changes to the climate as a result of anthropogenic activities are well recognized and acknowledged by the scientific community. Therefore the Consortium assumed, as charged by CDFA, that climate change is now occurring and will continue to occur in the future. The realities of climate change were not debated, nor were mitigation measures identified although, some adaptation measures could also be also considered mitigation measures. The Consortium was asked to evaluate climate change impacts and to propose potential strategies for adaptation so that California agriculture and CDFA can prepare for impacts. The Consortium discussed and documented challenges faced by growers due to climate change. The Consortium addressed climate change impacts to temperature, water resources, pests and pollination. Growers will face new challenges from changed environmental averages, trends, variability, and extremes. These challenges are summarized below. While specialty crops are the focus of this report, the Consortium’s work on climate change impacts can be applied widely to California agriculture.

Climate Change Trends and Impacts on California Agriculture: A Detailed Review

Agronomy (MDPI) | February 26th, 2018

California is a global leader in the agricultural sector and produces more than 400 types of commodities. The state produces over a third of the country’s vegetables an

California is a global leader in the agricultural sector and produces more than 400 types of commodities. The state produces over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts. Despite being highly productive, current and future climate change poses many challenges to the agricultural sector. This paper provides a summary of the current state of knowledge on historical and future trends in climate and their impacts on California agriculture. We present a synthesis of climate change impacts on California agriculture in the context of: (1) historic trends and projected changes in temperature, precipitation, snowpack, heat waves, drought, and flood events; and (2) consequent impacts on crop yields, chill hours, pests and diseases, and agricultural vulnerability to climate risks. Finally, we highlight important findings and directions for future research and implementation. The detailed review presented in this paper provides sufficient evidence that the climate in California has changed significantly and is expected to continue changing in the future, and justifies the urgency and importance of enhancing the adaptive capacity of agriculture and reducing vulnerability to climate change. Since agriculture in California is very diverse and each crop responds to climate differently, climate adaptation research should be locally focused along with effective stakeholder engagement and systematic outreach efforts for effective adoption and implementation. The expected readership of this paper includes local stakeholders, researchers, state and national agencies, and international communities interested in learning about climate change and California’s agriculture.

Climate-smart management of soil water storage: statewide analysis of California perennial crops

Environmental Research Letters (IOP) | April 9th, 2019

The FAO-56 dual crop coefficient model was used to simulate site-specific irrigation management to quantify the green water resource (rainfall stored in soil) in five Cal

The FAO-56 dual crop coefficient model was used to simulate site-specific irrigation management to quantify the green water resource (rainfall stored in soil) in five California perennial crops (alfalfa, almonds, grapes, pistachios, and walnuts), considering local soil water holding capacity and climate data from 2003 to 2018. We tested different rooting depths and irrigation management thresholds (allowable depletion) across 1.46 million hectares of cropland to determine how the size of the soil water reservoir affects green water utilization and, consequently, blue water demand (irrigation). The 13-year cumulative green water utilization ranged from 17 to 36 million km3 out of a 57 km3 rainfall input and 162–263 km3cumulative blue water demand. For a deep scenario (2 m rooting; 50% allowable depletion), green water met 12% of cumulative crop water demand. However, green water use was not uniform: 20% of the landscape met over 20% of its annual crop water demand. Deeper rooting or greater allowable depletion reduced blue water demand more than the increase in green water utilization, due to less frequent irrigations, which reduced soil evaporative loss. Compared to a 'business-as-usual' shallow irrigation management scenario (0.5 m rooting; 30% allowable depletion), a moderate scenario (1.0 m rooting; 50% allowable depletion) saved 30 km3 blue water evaporation and increased green water use by 7 km3through 13 years. Such savings would fill California's largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, 6.6 times. This study demonstrates an opportunity for climate-smart management of soil water storage, by delayed spring irrigation, applying deeper irrigations less often, and ending fall irrigation early.