CENTRAL VALLEY – Central Valley farmers and municipal and industrial water users south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will start 2026 off with less water available to them than they had at this time last year.
The Bureau of Reclamation released its initial water supply allocations for Central Valley Project water users on Feb. 26, laying out how much water the more than 270 different contractors in the state of California will have access to. Acting California-Great Basin Regional Director Adam Nickels said in a press release that the initial allocations reflect a “cautious but realistic” assessment of water availability.
“There is still a portion of the traditionally wet season in front of us, and we are committed to delivering as much water as possible to our Central Valley Project contractors,” Nickels said.
While most contractors located north of the Delta will be able to access 100% of their contract total in 2026, south-of-Delta contractors are in a different boat.
According to the Bureau of Reclamation, irrigation water service and repayment contractors located south of the Delta will be allocated 15% of their contract totals. Municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors will be allocated 65% of either their historic use or public health and safety needs, whichever is greater.
South-of-Delta contractors are also expected to reschedule approximately 180,000 acre-feet of unused allocated water from 2025 for use in 2026, the press release said.
For San Joaquin River Settlement contractors and San Joaquin Exchange contractors, the 2026 water year has been determined to be non-critical as defined in their contracts and they will be able to use 100% of their contract total.
Additionally, Friant Division contractors will be allocated 100% of their Class 1 water supply and 0% of their Class 2 water supply. Contractors in this division receive water from Millerton Reservoir via the Madera and Friant-Kern canals, the press release said, and the first 800,000 acre-feet of available water supply is considered Class 1. Class 2 water supply is the next available amount of water up to 1.4 million acre-feet.
Local criticism
Central Valley Democratic Reps. Jim Costa and Adam Gray released a joint statement on Feb. 26 in response to the allocations, calling the initial allocation unjustified and criticizing President Donald Trump for not delivering on his promise to bring more water to farmers.
“The Trump Administration’s allocations are offensive to the farmers of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world,” according to the joint statement. “This administration needs to move forward immediately with higher allocations and bring more water to the Valley like they promised.”
In February 2025, south-of-Delta contractors received higher initial allocations, with irrigation water service and repayment contractors receiving 35% of their contract total and municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors receiving 75% of either their historical use or public health and safety needs.
Those allocations were increased multiple times throughout last spring. By the end of May 2025, south-of-Delta irrigation water service and repayment contractors were allotted 55% of their contract total and municipal and industrial water service and repayment contractors were allotted 80% of either their historical use or public health and safety needs.
Allison Febbo, general manager for the Westlands Water District, which spans much of west Fresno and Kings County, also released a statement about the allocations on Feb. 26.
Febbo said that while the district appreciates the Trump Administration’s recognition of the severity of the state’s water challenges, the 15% water supply allocation does not accurately reflect current hydrological conditions.
“Our farmers are among the most efficient water users in the world,” Febbo said. “Yet year after year, unreliable water supplies due to a broken water system and rigid water management regulations have led to fallowed farmland, lost jobs and increased reliance on groundwater.”
The Bureau of Reclamation said water allocations are based on an estimate of water availability, determined by current reservoir storage, precipitation levels and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. Contractor-rescheduled water from the previous water year is also taken into account.
Nickels said in the press release that the Bureau of Reclamation is encouraged by recent storm activity and additional precipitation despite current snowpack conditions remaining below average.
“As we receive and analyze updated data from these storms, particularly snowpack and runoff forecasts, we are hopeful conditions may improve,” Nickels said. “We will continue to closely monitor hydrologic developments and update allocations accordingly to reflect the most accurate and up-to-date information available.”
Slow Sierra snowpack
Snowpack accumulation in the Sierra Nevada has gotten off to a slow start this year, with snow depth and the snow water equivalent statewide remaining well below average for this time of year.
The California Department of Water Resources reported some improvement in snowpack conditions following its third snow survey of the season on Feb. 27. DWR Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit Manager Andy Reising, however, noted that California is running out of time to catch up.
“Water supply in California increasingly depends on a small number of big storms,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a press release. “We face higher drought risk when they don’t arrive and greater urgency to modernize infrastructure to capture water when they do.”
The Feb. 27 snow survey conducted at Phillips Station, located about 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50, recorded a snow depth of 28 inches and a snow water equivalent of 11 inches, which is 47% of the average for that location.
Statewide, snowpack was at 66% of average for this time of year, and the state is only at about 57% of where it would like to be by April 1, which is typically considered the time when snowpack reaches its peak.
Following the second snow survey conducted at the end of January, California saw a series of major snow-producing storms, DWR said; however, Reising said they were not enough to get the state back to average. Further, warmer storms at the end of February led to snowmelt at lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
“The dramatic wet-dry swings this winter remind us again that ever-warming average temperatures have reshaped the California water cycle,” Nemeth said. “We must adapt.”
