California moves to restrict senior water rights amid drought

Facing a four-year drought, California on Friday ordered water cuts to more than 100 growers and irrigation districts holding some of the state's long-standing water rights.

There is insufficient water available for senior water right holders with a priority date of 1903 or later in the San Joaquin and Sacramento watersheds and the Delta, the State Water Resources Control Board said in a statement.

The order is aimed at more than 100 senior water rights holders dating to 1903 or later, while those with rights earlier than 1903 in the affected watersheds can continue to divert water, according to the board statement.

The need for further curtailment of more senior rights and curtailments in other watersheds is being assessed weekly.

The curtailment order will impose limits on water use by the more than 100 farmers and other landowners for irrigation and provision of livestock from drought-starved rivers and streams.

While this marks the first time for the California government to restrict water use by senior water right holders during the current drought, it is not unprecedented. Some senior water right holders were curtailed during the drought of the late 1970s.

California has ordered cuts in water use by cities and towns and by many other farmers.

For more than two years, the Californian government and business circle have been managing water resources to deal with the effects of the drought which enters the fourth year this year.

In April, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the first ever 25 percent statewide mandatory water reductions and a series of actions to help save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state's drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient.

Many cities in California persuaded their residents to reduce water use by limiting garden watering days and changing lawns to water-wise plants.

The devastating drought in California also prompted federal aid actions. President Barack Obama announced new actions and investments to support workers, farmers and rural communities suffering from drought and to combat wildfires.

The newly announced actions also included 18 million U.S. dollars for California to provide jobs for workers dislocated by the drought.

"The drought has caused more than half a million acres to be followed and thousands of farm jobs to disappear," California Governor Brown said in a statement Friday. "This aid will provide new opportunities for farmworkers and rural communities most impacted by the drought and make the state more water-efficient and drought resilient." Endite