San Joaquin County has avoided the worst impacts of the drought, which has cost California $1.7 billion and more than 14,000 jobs, a recent report found.
Surface water conditions in the San Joaquin Valley are less severe than during the 2012-16 drought, and are better in the north valley than in the south, the report by University of California researchers found.
“We’re faring better than most when it comes to drought,” Peter Rietkerk, general manager of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, said of his district. The district irrigates Escalon, Ripon and Manteca and surrounding agricultural areas.
In Rietkerk’s district, the watershed is at average levels, or about twice the water supply Rietkerk was expecting this time last year.
Rietkerk credits the storms that swept the region late last year.
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One October storm produced between three and five inches of rain in Stockton — more than three times the typical amount of rain for the entire month, according to National Weather Service data.
The precedence South San Joaquin’s water rights has over other water users is another reason the district is faring relatively well, Rietkerk said. Across the state, water rights are determined in part by historic claims to water use.
“We have entitlement to a certain amount of water flow in the Stanislaus (River). The other water rights holders will be curtailed to a point … in order for us to continue to use that right,” Rietkerk said.
The same system applies to the San Joaquin River Delta, where some water rights date back to the 1800s, Rietkerk said.
But while San Joaquin County has weathered the drought well compared to southern counties like Kings, Tulare and Fresno, not every area has remained unscathed.
For example, agricultural areas near Tracy have seen slightly greater impacts than other parts of the county, Tim Pelican, San Joaquin County’s agricultural commissioner, said.
Furthermore, continued drought could have more serious consequences for the county as a whole, Rietkerk said.
One area likely to be impacted would be power production. To generate zero-carbon hydropower, there needs to be enough water to run through the generators and collect in reservoirs, Rietkerk said.
Crop growers could be forced to draw upon more groundwater, further depleting reserves, he said.
“These drought periods, if they extend for longer periods of time, definitely have the potential for complicating the management of those aquifers.”
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers business, housing, and land use. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
San Joaquin County agricultural industry has avoided worst of California's drought – Stockton Record
