U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Liberty Island is on the northwest edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Following sharp criticism by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, federal officials announced they would increase the amount of water available to farmers this year from the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta.

Last week, Feinstein described the plan to provide farmers with just 55 percent of their normal allocation as “shocking.” The government announced Monday that it would increase the farmers’ allocation to 65 percent.

The farmers, who also receive water from the state and other sources, will be able to increase the amount of crops that they grow this year because of the adjustment.

The snowpack in Northern California contains 72 percent more water than average for this time of year, which means an abundance of water will flow through the delta this year following years of drought.

While most towns and companies that rely on the federal water will receive their full allocation this year, the San Joaquin Valley farmers will endure a shortage due to pumping restrictions that aim to protect endangered delta smelt and salmon.

Pete Lucero, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said federal officials re-examined expected water flows and concluded that more water could be pumped to the farmers than previously thought, while still providing protections for salmon.

“With the amount of flow we're seeing going through the system, the (salmon) protection is built in, which allows us to pump more frequently than we’d anticipated,” Lucero said.

Denis Prosperi, president of Families Protecting the Valley, a group that represents San Joaquin County farmers, welcomed the change but said it did not go far enough.

“I think it's step in the right direction,” Prosperi said. “If they can’t figure out how to get these guys 100 percent of their contract this year, then these guys won’t ever see 100 percent.”

But the increase in water allocations for farmers drew ire from environmentalists, who criticize wasteful irrigation practices of corporate farms that dominate the valley.

“These allocations are unsustainable,” said Gordon Becker, Senior Fisheries Scientist at the Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration. “If we don't fix the water supply plumbing and allocations in time, we'll have an effective collapse of the California salmon fishery and literal collapse of the water supply infrastructure when the next big earthquake hits those delta levees.”