Gestión del agua

California’s farmers who produce our food are especially vulnerable to the state’s increasing water insecurity.

The “precipitation whiplash” the state experienced in recent years is a phenomenon that climate scientists anticipate will increase in frequency and severity in the decades to come. One recent academic literature review by six UC researchers found that by the end of the century, California can expect a 50 percent increase in the number of severe droughts, a 50 percent increase in the number of severe flooding events, and a potential 65 percent loss in snowpack (Pathak et al., 2018). Good water stewardship is key to the long-term sustainability of California’s vibrant agricultural production and communities.   

Other benefits that can come with conserving water include:

• Lower water and energy bills for farmers
• Reduced agricultural use of scarce water supplies
• Improved air quality from more efficient and solar-powered irrigation pumps
• Reduced N2O emissions from more precise water application

New policies passed in the past eight years have laid the groundwork for long-overdue groundwater management, nitrate pollution reduction, and investments in on-farm water use efficiency.

“Conserving water is not rocket science, but there is a learning curve. SWEEP supports producers in taking risks to learn new methods.”

- Rich Collins, Collins Farm, Dixon, CA

State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP)

In 2014, under an emergency drought declaration, Governor Brown authorized a new program called the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program(SWEEP). The program’s funding comes from the state’s cap-and-trade and bond revenue and is used to make grants to farmers and ranchers for practices that reduce both water and energy use.

Coordinated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), SWEEP provides cost-share grants to growers to install more efficient irrigation systems, including subsurface drip irrigation, solar-powered pumps, and remote soil moisture monitoring equipment. Not surprisingly, the program has been very popular with farmers—during the first six grant rounds, almost three times more applications were received than were funded.

Eligible projects include:

• Implementing micro-irrigation or drip systems
• Conversion of a fossil fuel (e.g. diesel) pumps to solar, wind, electric, or natural gas energy
• Low pressure irrigation systems

Read more information on SWEEP.

Related Programs

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act – In 2014, the legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), a package of bills requiring local governments to monitor and regulate groundwater usage. Since then, many local groundwater sustainability agencies have formed and are in the process of developing groundwater sustainability plans. Learn more about SGMA

Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) – ILRP was established in 2012 to prevent further contamination of surface and groundwater through grower education, required nutrient management planning and reporting. Learn more about ILRP

Bond Measures

In 2014, voters approved Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond that included funding for on-farm water conservation that CalCAN advocated for in the bond. $30 million in grants were made in 2016 by the Department of Water Resources for a range of training, technical assistance, and demonstration projects.

In 2018 , Proposition 68 was passed by voters, authorizing a $4.1 billion natural resources bond.  Included in the bond and supported by CalCAN was one-time funding for SWEEP of $20 million, $10 million for the Healthy Soils Program and $20 million for the Farmland Conservancy Program.

Water Stewardship Bill History

CalCAN patrocinó o desempeñó un papel principal en los siguientes proyectos de ley relacionados que fueron aprobados y convertidos en ley.

AB 1532 (2012)

AB 1532 (2012) - Presentado por el Presidente John Pérez, el proyecto de ley incluye la agricultura sostenible como un área de financiación elegible para la inversión de tope y comercio. Esta ha sido una importante fuente de financiación para SWEEP del CDFA.

SB 252 (2017)

SB 252 (2017) - Presentado por el senador Bill Dodd, este proyecto de ley respondió a las preocupaciones sobre las aguas subterráneas de muchos agricultores familiares y residentes rurales al exigir a los gobiernos locales de las cuencas de aguas subterráneas críticamente sobreexplotadas que soliciten información adicional sobre los nuevos permisos de pozos y pongan la información a disposición del público.

AB 2377 (2018)

AB 2377 (2018) - De autoría de la asambleísta Jacqui Irwin, este proyecto de ley financia la asistencia técnica para agricultores y ganaderos que buscan la transición a prácticas de Agricultura Climáticamente Inteligente a través de SWEEP y otros programas.