Water use to tighten for agricultural customers

TEMECULA - Laura Eggering knew what she was getting into when
she agreed to take part in a program offering a reduced price for
water used in agriculture.

In exchange for the lower water rate for her De Luz avocado
groves, she knew there may come a time when she could be asked to
reduce her water consumption.

Eggering was one of about 50 area farmers and growers who met
with officials of the Rancho California Water District on Tuesday
to discuss the need for a 30 percent reduction in the amount of
water used by customers who take part in the Interim Agricultural
Water Program, which was established in 1994.

Under the program, agricultural customers pay $394 per acre-foot
of water - $132 less than municipal, industrial and residential
customers for the same quantity and quality of water.

But in the eyes of the Metropolitan Water District, which
provides the Rancho California district with 70 percent of its
water, agricultural water is categorized as surplus water. As
Southern California water supplies continue to tighten due to
drought and legislative decisions that will restrict the
importation of water to Southern California, that surplus water use
will be subjected to a mandatory conservation effort beginning Jan.
1.

"I'm not happy about it, but I am going to stick to my word and
stick with the terms of the agreement," Eggering said of her
participation in the agricultural water program. "I'm going to
watch my water usage and will start cutting down my trees. I'll
keep my good producers, but this could turn out to be very
difficult financially. I think we might see a lot of ranches
closing down, especially if we have another emergency like last
winter's freeze."

She is one of 1,700 customers who will be effected by the
mandatory water-use reductions, district officials say.

New threshold levels have been proposed that would cap water use
for farming. Each crop and areas of the water district will have
different water allowances, but the penalties will be the same
across the board. For those customers who, in a six-month period,
use more water than allowed by Metropolitan, they will be charged
three times their normal rate. That means the cost of one acre-foot
of water would rise from $394 to $1,212.

One acre-foot is the volume of water sufficient to cover an acre
of land to a depth of 1 foot - 325,851 gallons. On average, one
acre-foot of water is enough to meet the needs of four people for a
year.

"I think a lot of these agricultural customers understand that
we have a water crisis," said Perry Louck, the Rancho California
district's director of planning.

He said that if the district can show its customers are willing
to act in good faith and abide by the reductions, then the
agricultural water program will likely continue and offer reduced
rates for those customers. In 2006, more than 7 billion gallons of
reduced-price agricultural water was delivered to district
customers.