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GLENN-COLUSA IRRIGATION DISTRICT
WATER TRANSFER POLICY
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID or District) will consider transfers of water
from the District on a case-by-case basis, and in accordance with the following
policy, which restates and supersedes, in its entirety, the District’s previously
operative Water Transfer Policy, as adopted on September 20, 2013.
1. Goal of GCID Water Transfer Policy
The overall goal of this Policy is to protect, preserve, beneficially use and
manage GCID’s surface and groundwater supplies for the direct benefit of all
landowners within the District, while indirectly benefitting the local, regional and
state economies, and the environment. As water transfer opportunities arise, the
District will offer its landowners the option to participate in the District’s water
transfers on a purely voluntary basis.
2. Background
The District enjoys some of the most senior water rights on the Sacramento River
and its tributaries dating back to 1883. Today, the District’s surface water rights
are the basis of the District’s 1964 Sacramento River Settlement Contract with
the United States Bureau of Reclamation (“USBR”), as renewed in 2005, for a
term of 40 years, and providing for the District’s diversion of 825,000 acre-feet of
surface water from the Sacramento River during the months of April through
October each year.
The District’s water rights are held “in trust” by the District collectively for the
mutual benefit of all landowners (and lands) within the District. No single
landowner owns a right to, or an allocation of a share of the District’s water
supply. Instead, each landowner has a right to deliveries of water from the
District during the periods that water is available. The District continues to make
every effort to ensure that water is reasonably and beneficially used within the
District and to maintain the economic viability of the lands within the District, and
of the District itself. Water transfers conducted by the District should therefore
benefit all landowners in the District, and the District itself, while also providing
benefits to landowners within the District who take direct actions to make water
available to transfer.
In recent years, there has been growing statewide pressure on senior water
rights holders in the Sacramento Valley, like GCID, to voluntarily transfer water to
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meet local, regional, and statewide needs. In this regard, voluntary transfers can
provide for the temporary reallocation of water between willing sellers and willing
buyers for appropriate compensation while recognizing the importance of prior
rights in water. Both the California Water Code and the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (CVPIA) recognize the importance of water transfers and
encourage water transfers in accordance with their requirements.
GCID has worked diligently to develop water conservation practices that can
keep agricultural land in production while providing surplus water for in-basin
water transfers; has coordinated with landowners within the District to develop
conjunctive use practices that should also allow for water transfers both in and
out of basin; and has allowed landowners to temporarily fallow (idle) lands or shift
crops, which also makes water available for transfer both in and out of basin.
3. Water Supply
Water transfers will generally be limited to those years when the District has
100% of its water supplies available under its Sacramento River Settlement
Contract; however, the District may approve water transfers from the District in
years when its water supply is reduced under the Settlement Contract, provided
that the water needs within the District have been addressed as set forth in
Section 8.d of this Water Transfer Policy.
4. Board Approval Required
The Board of Directors shall make all final decisions with respect to water
transfers involving the District. In making these decisions, the Board of Directors
shall act based upon the best interests of the District, and will consider but shall
not be bound by the criteria contained in this Water Transfer Policy. The General
Manager will negotiate the price and terms of water transfers with potential
Buyers, and all water transfer agreements between the District and Buyers shall
be subject to final approval by the District Board of Directors.
5. Transfers Must Be District to District and No Resale by Buyers
Water transfers from the District, that rely in any manner on the District’s water
rights or Sacramento River Settlement Contract for the source of the transfer
water, shall only be effectuated through water transfer agreements between the
District and other water districts/agencies/non-governmental organizations.
Transfers between individual landowners in the District to common landowners or
other landowners in other Districts will not be allowed.
In addition, all water transfer agreements with Buyers shall include a provision
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prohibiting any resale of the transfer water outside the service area or boundary
of the Buyer without the written permission of GCID. Such permission will not be
unreasonably withheld by GCID. Any profits derived from such resale, other than
administrative costs associated with the transaction, shall be tendered to GCID
by Buyers.
6. Types of Transferrable Water
a) Project Water. The District’s Settlement Contract provides for GCID’s
diversion of 105,000 acre-feet of Project water, as uniquely defined in the
contract, for use in the critical months of July and August to supplement
the District’s base supply water during the irrigation season. Subject to
the provisions of the CVPIA, a portion of this Project supply may be
transferred into other months for irrigation use, or can be transferred
outside of the District, subject to certain limitations and USBR approval.
This Project water would only be available to other USBR contractors
within the Sacramento Valley hydrologic region. There are significant
limitations on a District landowner’s potential rights and ability to transfer
the landowner’s allocated portion of the District’s Project supply.
b) Land Idling and Crop Shifting. Land idling would make water available for
transfer as a result of landowners not planting a crop, thus making the
water that the crop would have consumed (through evapotranspiration)
available. Crop shifting involves paying farmers to substitute a crop with
one that uses less water, whereby the surplus water derived from the
shifting becomes available for transfer. In either case, actions taken by
the landowner will result in a portion of the District’s water supply being
available, and the District must enter into agreements for the transfer of
the water supply to another water agency buyer, as well as obtaining
approval from the USBR and other involved agencies.
All District landowners will be eligible to undertake voluntary land idling
and crop shifting actions for the purposes of water transfers by the District.
Landowners participating in a land idling or crop shifting transfer will also
be responsible for meeting requirements as mandated by local, state, and
federal agencies related to economic and environmental impacts that may
result from the transfer. Landowners will be required to implement and
comply with any monitoring and mitigation plan requirements imposed by
any agencies approving the transfer. The amount of water made available
through land idling generally may not exceed 20% of the water that would
have been applied within the District in that year, in the absence of the
water transfer(s) undertaken that year. To the extent land idling
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participation exceeds this general 20% limitation; the District will allocate
participation in the program in a fair and equitable manner.
c) Groundwater Substitution. Groundwater substitution transfers occur when
a landowner foregoes a surface water delivery from the District, and
pumps an equivalent amount of groundwater from the landowner’s private
well as an alternative supply. In this case, actions taken by the landowner
to pump will result in a portion of the District’s water supply being
available, and the District must enter into agreements for the transfer of
the water supply to another water agency buyer, as well as obtaining
approval from the USBR and other involved agencies. To the extent that
the interest in groundwater substitution exceeds certain limits, the District
will allocate groundwater substitution participation in a fair and equitable
manner. Landowners will also be responsible for meeting requirements
as mandated by local, state, and federal agencies related to economic and
environmental impacts that may result from the transfer. Landowners will
be required to develop a monitoring and mitigation plan should it be
required. All District landowners with private groundwater wells who are
able to meet these requirements will be eligible to undertake groundwater
substitution actions for the purposes of water transfers by the District.
7. Priorities of Water Transferred
a) In-Basin Agricultural Transfers. In-basin transfers refer to those transfers
that occur within the same counties of origin or hydrogeologic region, e.g.
the Sacramento Valley. GCID may transfer water in-basin however, such
transfers will occur only on a district-to-district basis, with preference given
to other CVP settlement or water service contractors for irrigation and
agricultural purposes of use.
b) Environmental Transfers. In next order of priority, GCID will market
surplus water for environmental purposes. This water may be marketed to
environmental groups, environmental agencies, e.g., the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS), or the USBR/Department of Water Resources
(DWR), depending upon the nature of the transfer at issue and the
number of willing environmental buyers.
c) North-of-Delta Transfers. GCID will next market water to urban water
agencies north of the Delta.
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d) South-of-Delta Transfers. GCID will next market water to agricultural or
urban water agencies south of the Delta, or to the USBR/DWR for delivery
to their contracting agencies south of the Delta.
8. Transfer Process, Pricing and Payments to Landowners
a) On or about March 1 of each year, the District will notify landowners if
water transfers within and outside of the District are being contemplated.
If water transfers are planned, the District will provide landowners an
Expression of Interest form to complete in order to participate in making
water available for transfers. Landowners must complete and return the
form to the District, by the date set by the District in order to participate in
the District’s water transfer program.
b) Establishment of Sale Price. When the District’s water supply has been
finalized, the District Board of Directors will set an Initial Sale Price per
acre-foot transferred, for consideration by interested landowners who
intend to make water available for the District’s Water Transfer Pool via
groundwater substitution, land idling or crop shifting.
Participating
landowners will be paid no less than the Initial Sale Price for each acrefoot transferred. Landowners may rescind their Expression of Interest
form if they consider the sale price offered by the District to be too low.
c) 100% Contract Supply Year Procedure. In 100% supply years under the
District’s Settlement Contract, the District will compare the amount of
water to be made available for transfer under the pending Expression of
Interest Forms to the demand for water transfers out of the District. If the
supply of water exceeds the demand, the District will prorate participation
in making water available. The landowners with pending Expression of
Interest Forms will then execute agreements with the District setting forth
the terms of participation in making water available for transfer and
payment.
d) Critical Year Procedure. The purpose of the Critical Year Procedure is to
ensure that no District landowner or water user is unreasonably adversely
affected as a result of any District water transfer in critical dry years. If the
year is deemed to be a Shasta Critical year under the District’s Settlement
Contract, the District will first offer water users within the District the
opportunity to buy water from the Water Transfer Pool at the established
Initial Sale Price. Interested in-District water users will execute an
agreement with the District and pay the Initial Sale Price per acre-foot
purchased.
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If the in-District demand for water from the Water Transfer Pool exceeds
the supply made available under the pending Expression of Interest
Forms, the District will prorate the supply to all in-District water users
purchasing water from the Water Transfer Pool. If the supply of water in
the Water Transfer Pool exceeds the in-District demand, any additional
supply will be made available for water transfers out of the District. The
landowners with pending Expression of Interest Forms will sign
agreements with the District setting forth the terms of participation in
making water available for transfer and payment.
e) Revenue Split Beyond Minimum Sale Price. Revenues from the sale of
water from the Water Transfer Pool beyond the Initial Sale Price will be
shared between participating landowners and the District. The District will
retain the next $XXX per acre-foot above the Initial Sale Price. If the out
of District buyer’s sale price per acre-foot is more than the Initial Sale
Price plus $XXX, the remaining revenue will be shared between the
landowners and the District in a percentage to be decided by the District
Board of Directors.
9. Water Transfer Revenue
Any revenues retained by the District for water transfers will generally be applied
as follows, unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors:
a) Landowner Payments. For land idling or crop substitution, the District will
pay to landowners an amount that in-part is based on the foregone costs
and benefits as if the land would have been farmed. The price from year
to year will vary depending on the price that water transfer buyers are
willing to pay. For groundwater substitution transfers, landowners within
the District utilizing their own private wells will be paid a price
commensurate to the actual cost to pump groundwater and deliver it to a
District facility, and a reasonable cost for the amortized capital installation
cost and operations and maintenance.
b) District Operational Costs. District water rates are based on the premise
of most of the irrigable lands within the District being irrigated and farmed
each year, except for the periodic idling due to crop rotation or resting the
land. If land is idled as a direct result of a water transfer program, the
District shall retain a portion of the transfer revenue from the land
participating in the transfer to pay for the water rates as if the land were
farmed. The District will use these funds to ensure its annual budget is
“made whole” from lands participating in a transfer, and that no cost-shift
occurs to lands remaining in production.
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c) District Reserves. The District will retain a portion of transfer revenues,
which will be placed into the Water Supply Protection and Regional
Sustainability Reserve and apportioned and utilized in accordance with the
District’s Reserve Policy. This retention is in direct recognition that the
District holds the water rights associated with the transfer “in trust” for all
lands within the District, as well as a recognition of the benefits accruing to
the groundwater system through recharge from the District’s canal and
drain system, and the deep percolation of the District’s surface water
during crop irrigation.
d) Monitoring/Mitigating Third Party Impacts and Regional Sustainability. As
determined by the District, funds from a transfer may be used to pay for
additional monitoring and/or mitigation that may be required to address
potential impacts resulting from a transfer. Any funds retained by the
District for past, present, and future groundwater recharge and
sustainability purposes will be used to protect, enhance, and ensure the
long term reliability of this resource as described in GCID’s Conjunctive
Use Policy. Funds retained for this item will be placed in the Water Supply
Protection and Regional Sustainability Reserve for specific purposes as
identified in the District’s Reserve Policy.
10. Compliance with Applicable Law, and Completion of Environmental
Documentation
GCID will comply with any applicable local, state, and federal laws pertaining to
water transfers, and the District’s approval and implementation of any water
transfer shall be contingent upon the completion and adoption of any necessary
environmental documentation under the California Environmental Quality Act and
National Environmental Policy Act.
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