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Water cutbacks leave UC research center high and dry
Irrigation program drained
Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press
February 12, 2009
Fresno
County farm advisor Dan Munk explains irrigation
techniques during a Westside Research and Extension
Center field day in 2008. The center is cutting back
on projects for 2009 due to lack of irrigation
water.
University of California's West Side Research and Extension
Center near Five Points is in the same boat as other
Westlands Water District farmers - zero irrigation water
allocations in the 2009 water year. The 320-acre facility,
used for a wide range of agronomic research including test
plots for new varieties and products, won't be able to
support all projects this year.
"There's no easy answer for this. We mirror what's going on
in the west side and we're in the same boat as Westlands,"
said center director Bob Hutmacher about lost research
opportunities.
West side grower John Diener said the center's research is
valuable to growers because it keeps them moving forward,
improving their production techniques.
"They bear the risks of experimentation, that's significant
for growers," he said.
Research projects at the center were set in December based
on a normal rainfall year. Now, with hopes of that drying up
fast, Hutmacher said he must make decisions on which
projects can be done and which will be delayed or downsized.
The water shortage on the San Joaquin Valley's west side is
blamed on a third year of drought and court rulings relating
to water quality that can also impact the amount of water
that can be pumped by federal agencies from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta into the California Aqueduct.
Hutmacher said the center does have a well that is pumping
water from 600 feet down, but that is expensive plus there's
a finite amount of water.
"There's not a lot of recharge, and there are some quality
issues as well, that will impact what we can do with the
water," Hutmacher said. "A lot of farmers will be pulling
water from the same aquifer and our well is still operating
really well, but we don't know how long that will last."
The West Side Research Center does a mix of projects, most
of them reflecting the agricultural operations in the area.
Processing tomatoes, lettuce, melons and cotton are all big
crops there and Hutmacher said the center works on disease
issues, water management and water use studies. The center
also evaluates new varieties and crop protection products
that haven't been released for use.
Besides Cooperative Extension farm advisors from Fresno and
Tulare counties, researchers from the USDA, faculty from UC
Davis and Riverside as well as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
conduct studies at the facility.
The center's Research Advisory Committee, a panel of
researchers, industry representatives and faculty consider
proposals from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors and
specialists, USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists,
and UC faculty and student researchers to make the best use
of the center's resources.
Hutmacher thinks some researchers will choose to suspend
their projects rather than go forward with the lower-quality
well water.
"We'll also be assessing what kind of flexibility
researchers will come up with on a voluntary basis to reduce
the size of their projects," Hutmacher said.
Among the center's considerations in setting water-use
priorities will be maintaining permanent crops.
"We have eight acres of almonds and pistachio trees, two
acres of grapes and about five acres of perennials in
biofuel studies and alfalfa," Hutmacher said. "We can cut
back on their irrigation, but we can't cut them off
completely without causing long-term damage to the trials."
Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail:
cparsons@capitalpress.com.
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