Date: Sept. 21, 2004

Valley Water District board approves regional expansion of local agricultural water-conservation program

SAN JOSE — A program that helps Santa Clara County growers use less water and fertilizer without decreasing crop yields – and helps the Santa Clara Valley Water District better protect the groundwater basin – will expand into San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties to help protect the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

In addition to the regional effort, the Water District Board of Directors agreed today to fund an expansion of a five-year-old local program, which is the model for the five-county project.

“This is an opportunity to take what we’ve learned and help our partners in outlying counties protect the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and to continue our work to protect Santa Clara County’s groundwater basins,” said Director Rosemary Kamei, who represents Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill – home to the bulk of Santa Clara County’s agribusiness.

The Water District Board voted to participate in a grant agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board to implement what’s known as the Regional Integrated Program for Irrigation and Fertilization Management Assistance. Under terms of the agreement, the state board is providing nearly $900,000 in grant money to the three-year, $1.24 million project; the Water District is providing approximately $340,000 to the project. The Water District funding comes from water revenues collected in South County.

The grant project is a joint effort among the Water District – which will serve as primary contractor – the farm bureaus for Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, the San Benito County Water District, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency.

In addition, the Board voted to provide an additional $200,000 to the Santa Clara County program. Because of the program’s popularity, funding ran out last year creating a waiting list of more than two dozen farmers.

“There just wasn’t enough funding last year to accommodate all the farmers requesting service, so we came to the water district and said, ‘This is a great program. You need to provide this to the farmers,’ “ said Jenny Derry, executive director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau. “The program has been extremely beneficial to farmers in Santa Clara County.”

The program, known as Irrigation and Nutrient Management Assistance Program, provides on-farm irrigation and fertilizer assistance to growers. The benefit to the community is better control on fertilizers that can compound nitrate-contamination in groundwater and greater water-use efficiency.

Growers participating in the local program receive a $3-per-acre-foot discount on groundwater charges.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages Santa Clara County's wholesale drinking water resources, coordinates flood protection for its 1.7 million residents and provides stewardship for the county's 10 reservoirs and more than 800 miles of streams.