State pledges $200 million to Friant-Kern, Central California canal fixes

The state Department of Water Resources has created a $200 million program to help restore several Central California canals damaged by groundwater pumping. The program includes $40 million for the Friant-Kern Canal that snakes through eastern Tulare County.

Subsidence has caused several Valley waterways to sink, reducing their ability to deliver water to growers and communities by more than half. Portions of the Friant-Kern near Terra Bella have sunk as much as 3 feet in three years.

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The reduced capacity is a major concern in wet years when snowmelt rushes from the Sierra Nevada to the Valley floor. Surface water delivered by canals will become an increasingly important tool in the grower toolbox with pumping restrictions on the horizon via the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA.

More: Another Sacramento 'snub': Friant-Kern Canal fix stalled again after Newsom vetoes bill

The state funding will bring $200 million over the next two fiscal years to four canals: the California Aqueduct, San Luis, Delta-Mendota and Friant-Kern. Together, the canals deliver water to more than 29 million people, 2.9 million acres of farmland, and 130,000 acres of wetlands, according to DWR.

The money was authorized in this year's budget bill, with $100 million coming this year and another $100 million slated for 2022. Friant-Kern received the lion's share of the initial round, $39.2 million.

“Fixing these canals is an important foundational piece to ensure a reliable and climate-resilient water supply for California,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement. “It enables us to move water during very wet conditions, which will be essential to adapting to more extreme weather."

The money comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 559, a proposed law that would have brought $300 million to the Friant-Kern. Newsom wrote that the bill, authored by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), was too focused on a handful of Valley water projects and called for a more "holistic" approach to managing the state's water portfolio.

Sponsors of the bill cautiously praised the state's commitment to repairing California's water infrastructure as record-busting drought grips the Golden State and the western U.S.

“This first $100 million isn’t just an investment in water infrastructure, it is a down payment on California’s future," the bill's sponsors wrote in a statement. "While this initial funding will help to leverage federal and local dollars so that repairs can begin, additional funding along with the political will to see it through will be necessary if we are to truly meet the water supply challenges ahead of us."

Local growers said the funding, while appreciated, is only "the tip of the iceberg" in terms of the investment needed to prepare for California's future water demands. Agricultural leaders said more storage and dams are needed to make the most of the repaired canals in wet years.

"We must drastically improve and increase the storage infrastructure capacities that supply the water to these canals," said John Guthrie, a rancher and president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. "If we can’t store the water in the good rainfall years, the distribution system becomes much less important."

Friant managers have been working to cobble together funding for the massive project, which is estimated to cost between $200 and $500 million, depending on how engineers go about the fix.

The federal government has contributed about $120 million, while the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency has agreed to pay up to $220 million. Eastern Tule represents growers that did the bulk of the pumping blamed for damaging the 33-mile stretch of the canal that is the priority for repairs. Friant contractors are contributing $50 million.

Private funding could be an option to further improve capacity but remains controversial among some water districts who are weary of bringing private investment — and control — to canal flows.

"That’s something we absolutely don’t want to happen,” Fergus Morrisey, General Manager of the Orange Cove Irrigation District, told SJV Water in July. “This canal is a public facility that was built to bring water to the valley. Not for a private company to profit from without regard to where that water ends up."

State officials believe restoring canal capacity will be a critical step toward achieving groundwater replenishment across the Central Valley.

"It's a prudent investment in our water future," Namath said.

Joshua Yeager is a reporter with the Visalia Times-Delta and a Report for America corps member. He covers Tulare County news deserts with a focus on the environment and local governments.

Follow him on Twitter @VTD_Joshy. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: California pledges $200 million for Valley canal fixes