This column was contributed by Dana Jacobson, general manager with San Benito County Water District. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues. Lea este artÃculo en español aquÃ.
The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has announced its initial surface water supply allocations from the Central Valley Project (CVP) for the 2026-27 water year. CVP contractors’ south-of-Delta have been allocated 15% of their agricultural contract total and 65 of their municipal and industrial (M&I) total. California’s winter weather has been inconsistent this year, starting with a wet fall followed by two extended dry periods. Luckily, these were punctuated by very large storms, leaving snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains at about 70% of average for this time of year. Compared to last year, Reclamation only allocated about half as much water even though California had a similar hydrology.
The San Benito County Water District (District) is one of many federal water contractors in California that imports surface water from the CVP, which is one of the largest water storage and conveyance systems in the world. With these allocations the District would be provided with over 11,000 acre-feet of water. This is enough to meet all municipal demands in 2026. However, the District will not be able to meet all its agricultural demands unless Reclamation increases its water supply allocations, which will occur later this spring.
Although Reclamation’s initial allocation for agriculture was only 15% the District is able to provide its agricultural customers 35% of their annual requests. This is possible due to its thoughtful water management strategy of storing water in San Justo and San Luis Reservoirs from previous years, thus ensuring local farmers receive sufficient water for their irrigation use.
Reclamation’s initial allocation for the M&I sector is 65%, which equates to over 6,000 acre-feet for homes and businesses for their daily use. Because the District was able to store last year’s water in our local facilities, such as San Justo, it will be able to deliver a full allocation to the M&I sector and store additional supplies for future years. Our local surface water treatment plants, Lessalt and West Hills, will be blended with local groundwater to produce and deliver high quality drinking water to our county’s residents. This drinking water is delivered to Sunnyslope County Water District and the City of Hollister and ultimately distributed to homes and businesses. This water will also be made available to the City of San Juan Bautista within a few years.
Although future forecasts predict below-average rainfall in March it is common for Reclamation to increase its water allocations as the season progresses. The allocations are based on an estimate of water available for delivery to CVP water users and reflect current reservoir storage, precipitation, and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.
The District has authority by state statute for management of water resources within San Benito County and is the Groundwater Sustainability Agency for the county. The District is governed by an elected five-member Board of Directors and administered by the General Manager.
For more information, please visit sbcwd.ca.gov or call 831-637-8218.
Dana Jacobson, General Manager
San Benito County Water District
BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues.