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Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District details conservation gains, warns basin storage remains insufficient
Summary
Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District manager David Feldman told the Sunnyside climate advisory team that SVID has invested about $22 million in conservation measures, has conserved roughly 38,000 acre‑feet to date and saved 29,000 acre‑feet in an earlier phase, but basin storage deficits mean additional projects and aquifer recharge remain necessary.
David Feldman, district manager for Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District, told the Sunnyside Climate Resilience Advisory Team on Dec. 16 that the Yakima Basin remains over‑allocated despite recent inflows and that local conservation projects have produced measurable savings.
“500,000 acres of irrigated cropland [in the basin] with roughly a $4,500,000,000 annual economy,” Feldman said, and he described SVID’s multi‑phase conservation program. He said SVID’s first phase saved about 29,000 acre‑feet; to date the district has conserved about 38,000 acre‑feet and has invested roughly $22,000,000 of its own funds in conservation work. Feldman added that the district’s portfolio is about 70% senior water and 30% junior water and that proratable (junior) irrigators were rationed to 40% this year.
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