California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has announced it is increasing its allocation of 2006 State Water Project (SWP) water for long-term contractors from 65 to 70% of requests.

"It has been wet, but the recent storms have been warm. We would like to see more of the precipitation as snow, but the rain has given us a very healthy start to the water supply year," commented Dan Flory, chief of the department's State Water Project Analysis Office.

He credited a very wet December and early January with giving DWR the opportunity to provide SWP contractors 70% of their requests.

Flory added, "a big factor in the increase to 70% allocation is record precipitation in the Northern Sierra during December, which totaled nearly 300% of average."

A 70% allocation amounts to 2,888,782 acre-ft, distributed among the 29 long-term SWP Contractors who serve more than 23 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.

SWP Contractors' Table A water for 2006 totals 4.13 million acre-ft, of which all was requested. Table A water is the maximum contractual amount that SWP Contractors can request each year.

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning and plans for future statewide water needs.

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