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<H1 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Fresno</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Westlands
growers get some bad news<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<H2 id=story_subheadline
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">District likely
won't receive federal water deliveries this
season.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<H2 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
lang=EN
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face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Bee –
1/28/09<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H2>
<H2 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Robert
Rodriguez<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
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color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">FIVE
POINTS -- <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">West</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Fresno</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> farmer Bob Diedrich hoped for good
news during a standing-room-only meeting of Westlands Water District growers
Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But
Diedrich, a farmer for 45 years, didn't like what he
heard.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Westlands
officials said growers in the district will likely receive no federal water
deliveries this season. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#111111 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
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<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Our
projections are that our allocations will be zero, absent a significant change
in hydrology," said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water
District in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Farmers
are heading into their third consecutive dry year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Diedrich
was one of about 100 crammed into a shop building at the district's west side
office eager to hear details from district officials and Ron Milligan,
operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"What am
I supposed to do, if I have no water?" Diedrich asked. "I have five guys that I
employ year-round, and now I may have to tell them they don't have
jobs."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Diedrich
farms 960 acres that at one time grew processing tomatoes, dry beans, cotton and
alfalfa. He is contemplating pulling up stakes temporarily and moving to
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></st1:place> to live
with his son. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We are
at the point where a lot of us farmers need to make some decisions today about
whether we are going to plant this year," Diedrich said. "We don't want to just
walk away from this."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Birmingham</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> told
growers that the district is working on options, including water transfers and
accessing water that was not used as part of a water rationing program last
year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We are
literally looking all over the state to get water as quickly and inexpensively
as possible," <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:City> said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But none
of those options is guaranteed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Farmer
and Westlands board President Jean Sagouspe sympathized with growers, saying he,
too, is having to make tough decisions. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But
Sagouspe also said the problem is not just the lack of rain and snow. He said
environmental policies, including court-ordered pumping restrictions in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect endangered fish, have helped
create this current crisis.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"People
don't have a clue about what is going on," Sagouspe said. "The governor doesn't
even care. He will only care when <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">L.A.</st1:City></st1:place> runs out of
water."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Although
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation won't announce a water delivery forecast until
Feb. 20, Milligan told growers several things are certain: Rainfall is below
normal, the state reservoirs are depleted and the snowpack is small.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">And the
short-term weather outlook is not promising. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We do
not see a lot of water in the forecast," Milligan said. "And that will make it a
very complicated operational season."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Westlands
growers, who suffered the biggest hit among water districts on the west side of
the Valley, are expected to have only about 300,000 acres in production this
year, down from 500,000 acres that are farmed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Birmingham</SPAN></FONT></st1:City></st1:place><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> said
that while he hopes for a solution, he knows it may come too late for some
growers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"I pray
that I am wrong," he said. "But the reality is that a lot of you in this room
may not survive this."#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/1161605.html">http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/1161605.html</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#272627 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#272627 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #272627; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">DWR’s
California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources
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Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary
cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: <A
title=http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news
href="http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news">http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news</A>
. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and
flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water
management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water
needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any
programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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