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Cold water from Lake Oroville is stunting the growth of rice and farmers want the Department of Water Resources to start talking about it. Irrigation districts that receive relatively cold water through irrigation canals from the Thermalito Afterbay are asking the Department of Water Resources to find some resolution to the problem during the federal relicensing of Oroville Dam operations. Water temperatures below 68 degrees can shut down rice, causing the plants not to grow rice kernels. Almost 50 years ago when growers with water rights negotiated contracts with the federal government, they were given assurances that water would be supplied at temperatures similar to that before the dam, rice farmers said. But in recent years the afterbay has been operated to provide colder water to help sensitive fish populations. People on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-licensing committees have been trying to get the issue talked about, but so far the Department of Water Resources running those committees has said FERC is not the appropriate venue. Instead, farmers have been told the cold water is a contractual issue and their only recourse would be to file a lawsuit. This month managers from five water agencies and the Northern California Water Association sent a letter to the Department of Water Resources' new acting director, Michael Spear. The letter states "Rather than proceeding in an adversarial manner, we are interested in building on our collaborative efforts and working with the Department of Water Resources to constructively explore how the water temperature targets contained in the agreements can be achieved." The water districts include Biggs-West Gridley Water District, Joint Water Districts, Butte Water District, Western Canal Water District, Richvale Irrigation District and Sutter Extension Water District. Ted Trimble, manager of Western Canal, said he got a call last week from Laurie Brown of the Department of Water Resources. She asked if the groups could sit down and talk. No meeting time has yet to be made, but beginning the dialogue is a good step, according to the rice growers. The topic has also been brought up during some committees for the FERC relicensing of Lake Oroville's dam. Some ideas being thrown into the mix include changing the point where water is diverted from the dam to agriculture, or building a system that zooms cold water through the Thermalito Afterbay for use by fish, leaving the other water to warm for farms and recreation. Trimble said water districts have contracts that say they will receive water at temperatures that won't kill rice. He said it's time for the parties involved to get creative and come up with some new ideas. Mike Pierce is on several of the FERC committees as well as the county's relicensing team. He said the county is also working to get several other issues addressed through FERC. Pierce said the county is working toward getting more benefit from the sale of electricity from the lake's operations. His point is that the dam should contribute more to the local economy. There are dozens of players in FERC relicensing, all of whom have similar concerns and sometimes conflicts or areas of overlapping interest. Pierce said suggestions over the past several months have included a whitewater facility, warmer water for water skiing, integrated watershed management programs, improved recreation facilities, improvements in Oroville along the riverfront and levees, better fish passage and habitat restoration, trail improvement, better turnouts on winding roads, marina improvements, a Gridley visitor center and repatriation of artifacts and skeletal remains for local tribes. |
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