After below-average rainfall, low snowmelt runoff and court-ordered water transfer restrictions over the past two years, the governor of California has declared a statewide drought and is calling for water mandates, actions that might cause problems for flower growers in the southern part of the state, say officials.

"For the areas in Northern California that supply most of our water, this March, April and May have been the driest ever in our recorded history," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger via press release. "As a result, some local governments are rationing water, developments can't proceed and agricultural fields are sitting idle."

Schwarzenegger recently issued an Executive Order encouraging water conservation and preparation for the possibility of worsening conditions in 2009. Some growers in southern California, however, already are feeling the pinch. Mellano & Company, which has 375 acres in San Luis Rey and 75 acres in Carlsbad, and other area farms already have been ordered to cut their municipal water usage by 30 percent, explains Michael A. Mellano, vice president of production.

While Mellano & Company can rely on secondary sources, including well water and reclaimed water, not all farms have a back-up plan.

"There's a lot of other flower growers down here that don't have the same sources, so they are forced into a situation where they're cutting back and have had to do so since January (when the first water mandate went into effect)," Mellano says.

So far, the dry weather conditions and subsequent mandates have not affected crops, but that situation might change as the area enters into its heavy irrigation season and farms are forced to "tighten their belt" and make sure they're not over-watering or wasting water, Mellano says. In response to the new growing conditions, some growers are "cutting back areas that may be unproductive ground or making sure [their] irrigation system is uniform," Mellano adds.

"If [those measures are] not enough, they'll have to start making decisions based on productivity and economics of different blocks [of crops]," Mellano says. "If they do have a block that's old or old varieties, maybe that's going to be taken out. Or if it's diseased and not generating a high yield, that might come out."

Schwarzenegger has also proposed an $11.9 billion water bond for water management for the 2008-2009 state budget to dedicate additional water storage; help implement a sustainable resource management plan for the Delta; implement river restoration projects; increase water-use efficiency; reduce the contamination of groundwater; and other water projects.

Mellano says these proposals will help, but not anytime soon. "There are long-term fixes. It probably won't help for another 10 to 15 years," he says. "We need some resolution now to figure out how we can get enough water to continue doing what we're doing."

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

 

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