[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 51 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H1358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CALIFORNIA WATER ALLOCATIONS

  (Mr. VALADAO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VALADAO. Mr. Speaker, after years of exceptional drought, 
California is in a second consecutive wet year. Every major reservoir 
in our State is above the 15-year average, and our snowpack in the 
Sierras is at more than 100 percent of average for this time of year.
  This is all good news, but even with the current abundance of water, 
the South-of-Delta farmers are still not allocated 100 percent of the 
water they contract and pay for. This is unacceptable.
  Central Valley Project contractors rely on meaningful allocations 
from the Bureau of Reclamation for their yearly planning, including the 
types of crops they will plant and when.
  California grows a quarter of the Nation's food, and these 
allocations are critical to the fate of our Nation's food supply.
  My farmers and communities have endured disproportionately low water 
allocations for many years, with contractors receiving well below their 
contracted supply even during wet years.
  I urge the Bureau of Reclamation to increase these allocations for 
South-of-Delta water contractors to reflect the record wet year that we 
are seeing right now. Our ability to grow food for the Nation will not 
survive without reliable water supply for South-of-Delta agriculture.

                          ____________________