Coordinates: 36.7797°N 119.

781°W

Westlands Water District

Westlands Water District is a water district in central California, a local-government entity formed in
1952, that holds long-term contracts for water supplied by the Central Valley Project and the California
State Water Project.

It is the largest agricultural water district in the US, and provides water to farms in an area of approximately
600,000 acres (2,400  km²) in Fresno County and Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley of central
California. Its headquarters are in Fresno.

Contents
Background
Economical significance of district agriculture
Legislative history
Lobbying activities
See also
References
External links

Background
Westlands is the largest agricultural water district in the United States. Farms in Westlands make up less
than one-tenth of the 6.9 million acres of farmland in California. It has been the focal point for many
controversial water issues in California because of its size.[1] Roughly 600 farmers own land, many of them
are large (25,000 acres) but many also small.[2]

Economical significance of district agriculture

Farms within Westlands produce approximately $1 billion worth of food and fiber per year, more than 20
percent of the agricultural output of Fresno County, per the Fresno County Farm Bureau.[3] That averages
out to about $1,700 of gross revenues per acre. Despite this apparent productivity, a 2008 study by Oxfam
and the Rockefeller foundation found that the 20th U.S. Congressional District is the poorest congressional
district in the United States.[4] Westlands water district farmers receive a triple subsidy- cheap water, USDA
crop subsidies, and below-market electricity.[5]

Legislative history
The Reclamation Act of 1902 required that farmers live on their land, because Westlands had many absent
landowners at the time of federal contracting, and that they only receive water for 160 acres. From 1915
until the mid forties water from deep wells irrigated the land and lowered the water table.
In 1942, the 'Westside Landowners Association' formed to help finance studies of developing an alternative
water supply for the west side. They contracted with the Bureau of Reclamation, to determine if surface
water from the Central Valley Project (CVP) through an off-stream site at San Luis could reach west side
lands.

In 1952, owners of 400,000 acres of west side land successfully petitioned the Fresno County Board of
Supervisors to form a water district.

In 1961, the State of California signed a contract with the federal government for federal construction of the
San Luis Unit of the CVP, including a drain, followed by its construction over 6 years and operation since
1968. The government had agreed to build a drain as well, well aware that the irrigation in parts of
Westlands would saturate the root zone. Due to environmental concerns and budget constraints only the
first part of the San Luis Drain was completed. The half-completed drain created Kesterson Wildlife
Refuge.[6]

Congress passed the 'Reclamation Reform Act of 1982', which increased allowable irrigated land to 960
acres (3.9 km²) and struck the requirement that west side landowners remain near their lands. In 1985 the
drain had to be closed by court order due to high levels of heavy metals, such as selenium, boron,
chromium, molybdenum and salts in the drained water, violating environmental laws .[6] The soil in the
upslope regions of the district contains "extraordinarily elevated concentrations of selenium, boron,
chromium, molybdenum, and extremely high concentrations of various salts that disrupt the normal ionic
balance of the aquatic system."[6]
The California drought, beginning in 1987, led to reductions in surface
water delivery.

In 2011, lawyer David L. Bernhardt and the Colorado-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
filed a lawsuit for Westlands that "sought to force the feds to make good on a commitment to build a
multibillion-dollar system to dispose of the poisoned water" resulting from toxic irrigation in the Westlands
district. Later, through the 2017 bill HR 1769, Westlands agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for
forgiven debt and long-term access to water from Central Valley Project facilities. In April 2017, the House
Natural Resources Committee approved the settlement, but rejected an amendment that would have "barred
former Westlands officials or lobbyists — meaning Bernhardt — from working on the drainage issue for
five years."[7] Through Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Bernhardt also represented Westlands Water
District in "a lawsuit that sought to undo court-imposed protections for endangered salmon in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta."[7]

In February 2020, 75 project customers, including the Westlands, received permanent federal water
contracts for the Central Valley Project.[1][8]

Lobbying activities
Up until 2006 the Westlands Water District had spent less than $100,000 annually on lobbying. In 2006 it
increased to $208,000, to pay two firms, and $266,000 in 2009 to pay three lobbying groups.[9] In 2012
lobbying expenses further increased to $370,000, to pay three groups, and in 2013 to $600,000 for 5
lobbying groups and their 9 lobbyists.[10] Until the end of 2016, David L. Bernhardt was both an attorney
and lobbyist for Westlands.[7] However, in November 2016 he delisted himself as a lobbyist, to avoid
"running afoul of the new president's ban on lobbyists joining his administration." By April 2017,
Bernhardt remained on a $20,000-a-month retainer with Westlands.[11]

See also
San Joaquin River
 Central Valley Project
California Water Wars
Water in California
Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act (H.R. 3964; 113th
Congress)

References
1. Boxall, Bettina (2020-02-29). "Westlands Water District gets permanent U.S. contract for
massive irrigation deliveries" (https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-02-28/westla
nds-water-district-gets-permanent-u-s-contract-for-massive-irrigation-deliveries). Los
Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
2. Jenkins, Matt (27 Jan 2011). "Where Westlands water flows, California's agriculture follows"
(http://grist.org/article/food-2011-01-26-where-westlands-water-flows-californias-agriculture-f
ollows/). Grist Magazine, Inc. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
3. Fast Facts on Fresno County and California Agriculture (http://www.fcfb.org/PDF-Files/Ag-F
acts.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20101218022836/http://www.fcfb.org/PDF-Fi
les/Ag-Facts.pdf) December 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
4. See Michael Doyle The Results are in: San Joaquin County is the Worst McClatchy
Newspapers July 16, 2008 (Citing Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristin Lewis, and Eduardo Borges
Martins, The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115081937/http://my.firedoglake.com/kirkmurphy/tag/westl
ands-water-district/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20131115081937/http://my.firedoglake.com/
kirkmurphy/tag/westlands-water-district/). Archived from the original (http://my.firedoglake.co
m/kirkmurphy/tag/westlands-water-district/) on November 15, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. Beckon, W.N.; Henderson,J.D.; Maurer,T.C.; Schwarzbach, S.E. (September 1997).
"Biological Effects of the Reopening of the San Luis Drain (Grasslands Bypass Project) to
Carry Subsurface Irrigation Drainwate" (https://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/envicon/pi
m/reports/Sacramento/San%20Luis.html). Sacramento, CA: US Fish and Wildlife Service,
Div. of Env. Contaminants. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
7. Brekke, Dan (April 28, 2016), "Trump Appoints Valley Water District's Lobbyist to Interior
Department Post" (https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/04/28/trump-appoints-valley-water-distri
cts-lobbyist-to-interior-department-post/), KQED, retrieved May 14, 2017
8. "Bureau of Reclamation Completes First Group of Congressionally-Mandated California
Central Valley Project Contract Conversions" (https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/inde
x.php/news/local-news/22216-bureau-of-reclamation-completes-first-group-of-congressional
ly-mandated-california-central-valley-project-contract-conversions). Sierra Sun Times.
March 2, 2010. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
9. "Westlands Water District" (http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D00005857
3&year=2009). website. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
10. "Lobbyists representing Westlands Water District, 2013" (http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/c
lientlbs.php?id=D000058573&year=2013). website. Center for Responsive Politics.
Retrieved 17 April 2014.
11. Lochhead, Carolyn (May 1, 2017), "Ex-water district lobbyist nominated for Interior
Department post" (http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Ex-water-district-lobbyist-nominated-f
or-Interior-11108326.php), SFGate, retrieved May 14, 2017

External links
 Westlands Water District website (http://www.westlandswater.org)
Land Retirement Analysis of Economic Impacts (Full Report) (http://www.westlandswater.or
g/econreport/final2econreport.pdf)
Law.ggu.edu: "Reaping Riches in a Wretched Region: Subsidized Industrial Farming and Its
Link to Perpetual Poverty" (http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10
33&context=gguelj)

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