Santa Fe Irrigation adopts water reduction program for agriculture

NEW MEXICO, 25 June 2021: The Santa Fe Irrigation District (SFID) board approved the adoption of a program that will benefit the district’s agricultural water users.

SFID will now allow eligible customers to participate in the San Diego County Water Authority’s Permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate (PSAWR), a program that recognizes the value of agriculture by reducing water rates for growers, SFID Director Sandra Johnson said.

The district will begin accepting applications to verify customers who are eligible on July 1, according to a local media report.

“One of the great advantages of this pass-through program is that SFID gets reduced rates for the water ag customers use but doing so does not negatively impact other water users’ rates,” Johnson added.

The water authority has been offering a temporary special agricultural water rate program since 2008. Johnson and Chuck Badger, owner of R E Badger Grove Management, have met with SFID General Manager Al Lau several times to request that SFID implement the program.

SFID public communications officer Teresa Penunuri said the district had been planning to evaluate and implement PSAWR, but Director Johnson’s advocacy and other board member support advanced the timeline by a few months.

Santa Fe Irrigation District started its own agricultural water program in 2016 based on feedback from the community the rate for agricultural customers is USD 6.11 per hundred cubic feet of water and customers must meet specific requirements.

As the water authority transitioned from a temporary to a permanent special agricultural rate program in 2020, SFID needed to make sure its program was aligned as well as address some customer concerns regarding its agricultural program, Penunuri added.

“We are very sensitive to the fact that agriculture is a very important part of our regional economy. We are the 19th largest farm economy in the nation and there are almost 6,000 farms in San Diego County,” Penunuri said.

The PSWAR is a pass-through rate that SFID facilitates and the water authority defines what criteria need to be met to qualify as agricultural customers. Aligning SFID’s program with the PSWAR eliminates SFID’s requirements for sub-metering and the criteria that property owners have to sell at least USD 1,000 in agriculture products to be identified as an agri customer, the report added

With the board’s approval, SFID can now start doing outreach to potential participants on what their options are; customers must choose to participate in SFID’s agricultural water program or the PSWAR program.

PSWAR’s lower rate is in exchange for reduced reliability farmers who participate receive a lower level of water service during water shortages or emergencies. SFID agricultural customers receive local water benefits and the district may be slightly more resilient due to the local water condition.

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