Scott Valley farmers and ranchers, please act now!

Scott Valley producers, we need your help: please fill out these surveys regarding your interest in water-savings technologies, and what you’ve done over the past 20 years to improve your irrigation efficiency. Please try to submit by July 14 to Theo@scottvalleyagwa.org.

Click this link to access the surveys, or email or call Theo (Theo@scottvalleyagwa.org or 530-598-3081) for a copy. Your personal information won’t be shared; we’ll just compile the acreages and water savings estimates to share.

Here’s why: On May 23rd, 2023, a petition was filed with the State Water Resources Control Board to require permanent instream flow minimums in the Scott River (click here to read the petition). Written comments are due July 20th, and a hearing is scheduled for August 15th.

We need to show the Water Board that Scott Valley ranchers remain committed to continued water conservation. It’s crucial that we quantify our water savings history—and potential for more savings—right now.

The data we collect from you will also be useful when AgWA meets with potential funding agencies, NRCS and the Department of Water Resources. We would like to show them (and possibly other funders) that there is demand for cost-share projects in Scott Valley. Furthermore, due to the pending petition, Scott Valley projects should be a priority for funding.

More about the instream flow petition: it includes unreasonable flow expectations, levels well above the Scott’s historic mean flows for August, September and October. They’re also double the minimum flow levels required by the Water Board under the emergency regulation.

We don’t know what the Water Board will decide to do with the petition—deny, accept, or accept in part. But we do know they are getting immense pressure from certain interests to adopt at least some sort of instream flow minimums in the Scott.

Scott Valley farmers and ranchers need to show we are part of the solution, and that burdening us with regulations that put us out of business will do more harm than good for the aquifer. Indeed, the ranchettes that would replace our open spaces would not be capable of contributing to groundwater recharge like many of our ranches do now, by applying excess surface water to the land in winter and spring. Without that recharge, our aquifer would suffer—and so would instream flow.

Our aquifer needs Scott Valley agriculture, especially given the major negative influences that are beyond our control—such as natural drought conditions, poor upland management, and past actions by a government agency to straighten the river and drain the valley.

Scott Valley ag is supportive of and committed to actions that will help our aquifer, fish, and watershed be healthy. The Water Board needs to know they can’t afford to lose us.

Please help by filling out the surveys and returning them to Theo Johnson at theo@scottvalleyagwa.org by July 14th, or as soon as you can.

AgWA will be filing written comments on the petition for instream flows by July 20th, and will be attending the August 15th Water Board hearing in Sacramento. We will keep you posted on how you can help—we’ll probably circulate a letter for locals to sign. Scott Valley may also need to make a showing in Sacramento.