CVP South-of-Delta Ag Allocation Raised to 25%

The Bureau of Reclamation raised CVP South-of-Delta irrigation allocations to 25% and municipal and industrial allocations to 75%, announced May 19, up 5 points each from prior figures of 20% and 70%. The revisions cover water service and repayment contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

• Elephant Butte Reservoir (Bureau of Reclamation): 223,415 af, down 4% on the week and 38% below the 5-year median. The tracked Rio Grande gauge read 0 cfs (USGS), leaving Elephant Butte as the near-term supply buffer for lower Rio Grande deliveries.
• Wyoming drought (US Drought Monitor): 98% of the state in D1 or worse, 69 pts above the 5-year median. Colorado at 96%, 67 pts above the 5-year median. Neither changed on the week.
• Oregon and Idaho drought (US Drought Monitor): Oregon at 83% coverage, 58 pts above the 5-year median. Idaho at 79%, 55 pts above. Both unchanged week over week.
• Yuma County drought (US Drought Monitor): 67% in drought, up 47 pts on the week and 17 pts above the 5-year median. The largest week-over-week drought shift in this issue.
• Trinity Lake (Bureau of Reclamation): 2.18M af, down 1% on the week and 34% above the 5-year median. Above-normal storage gives CVP north-of-Delta operations room through late spring drawdown.
• San Juan-Colorado (USGS): 626 cfs, 81% above the 5-year median. Late-season runoff is pushing upper Colorado flows above normal.

Allocations (Bureau of Reclamation and DWR):

• CVP South-of-Delta: irrigation 25%, M&I 75% (revised May 19)
• CVP North-of-Delta, Sacramento River irrigation: 100% (announced Feb. 26, standing)
• SWP statewide: 45% (announced May 1, standing)

Data note: One CVP data series has not updated in over two weeks. Treat any CVP storage figures as stale until refreshed.