The Santa Clara Valley Water District has given all county surface-water users a two-month reprieve to find alternative measures before being completely cut off from a pipeline flowing with federal water.
“It’s good news. It’s better than just cutting us off completely,” said Andy Mariani, proprietor of the family-owned Andy’s cherry orchard in Morgan Hill. “It will get us through cherries, and then we’ll have to see what happens.”
Mariani, along with his brother, relies on the pipeline water to nurse orchards, mostly cherries, on 85 acres of land.
This is the second time SCVWD officials have backed off their ultimatum of shutting off the water for all agricultural use, who are not out of the water yet with the next shutoff deadline scheduled for July 1.
“Our staff has contacted agricultural and commercial surface water users that submitted requests for an extension to let them know that we are extending their service for two months, through June, to allow time for wok on alternative sources of supply,” said SCVWD spokesman Marty Grimes, whose office received more than a dozen extension applications from county surface water users.
According to the SCVWD, there are 62 surface water accounts from South County that are hooked up to the Cross Valley Pipeline including 25 agricultural and 37 municipal or industrial. There are 38 locals who rely on the Half Road Lateral, a privately owned untreated water system connecting to and diverting water from the Cross Valley Pipeline as their sole water source.
Instead of an automated phone message from the SCVWD, something that did not go over well with farmers who were initially given a two-week notice back in March, Mariani received a personal phone call informing him on the latest extension.
“A stay of execution,” said Mariani, who worked out a temporary, partial solution in anticipation of his water being shut off May 1.
Mariani planned to tap into a nearby neighbor’s well but said there was no guarantee that he’s be able to pump the water to his property.
“We’re going to test it next week to see if it works,” he said. “It’s certainly not enough to supply the whole Half Road Lateral. It’s something that we can fall back on in case they do decide to cut us off at the end of June.”
The local farmers, however, must take into account a 20 percent reduction in water allocation for the Half Road Lateral over these next two months. The same rationing has been requested throughout the county.
“I’m happy,” Mariani said. “I think this is the best way to do it.”
