January/February 2023 - 13

IRRIGATION & WATER MANAGEMENT
DWR was looking for partners,
Bettencourt said, and Almond
Alliance and Western United Dairies
looked to similar historical events for
options. How was water kept behind
the dam in these other scenarios?
Farmers were paid to leave it there.
To those looking for alternatives, it
made sense. Why couldn't the state of
California buy the water to leave it in
the ground, and to protect that lower
aquifer during drought?
It also made sense as policy was
concerned, where it required a hard
look at real-time happenings with
drought and SGMA's intent to protect
and create a sustainable and healthy
aquifer for all land and water users.
" It was figuring out what we could
do immediately to stop the bleed and
protect the watershed for those rural
and underserved communities and
watersheds, while creating a new tool
in the toolkit for the farmer and GSA, "
Bettencourt said.
That tool: Flexible and rotational
management of farmland that still
provides economic feasibility and
sustainability when compliant with
SGMA.
It was about thinking outside of the
box, getting creative and not doing
the same thing over and over again in
trying to find different results.
" We turned it on its head, "
Bettencourt said.
Accountability and
collaboration
Led by Director Karla Nemeth,
DWR was open to proposals, willing
to meet organizations halfway and
searching for partners who were
equally focused on a solution.
" It was a total dedication of
resources, from both sides, but
also from the department side
with incredible support out of the
governor's office, " said Bettencourt.
Industries and companies tend to
have lofty sustainability goals with
targets that often are impractical.
Conserving a significant amount
of water in a thirsty state such as
California is itself a lofty goal, but with
the right tools in place, can be managed.
It's a frustration shared the
world over: how to calculate the
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environmental improvements.
Quantifying the water saved is a
huge component of LandFlex, and
so much so that the program focuses
on the water instead of the land.
" I would challenge anyone to
find a drought program in the
West that is predicated on the
amount of water saved instead of
the amount of acreage fallowed, "
said Bettencourt.
There is a misconception that
fallowed acres equals more water.
If 1,000 acres of poor-quality land
are fallowed, there isn't much of a
water savings. But, the right acres
in the right place at the right time
can achieve a maximum water
savings in an overdrafted area.
The program is designed to be
measurable and accountable.
" This has to be about wet water, "
said Bettencourt, " not about dry land. "
A reprieve for
permanent crops
It may be an easier decision for
annual crops in these regions, but
permanent crops are more at the
SGMA recap
Signed into law in 2014,
SGMA's purpose is to
halt overdraft, balance
pumping and recharge,
and to have sustainable
groundwater
management by 2042.
Local groundwater
sustainability agencies
were formed to create
sustainability plans for
priority basins, and
they are required to
reach sustainability
within 20 years of plan
implementation.
www.sym-agro.com
NATIONALNUTGROWER.COM 13
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January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2023
