Water Leaks

Congress’ chief investigative agency has looked into ways that big farming businesses have twisted the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, and basically concluded that they can get away with it. The law must be amended to make sure that Congress’ intent was carried out: to limit the flow of subsidized federal irrigation water to farms of 960 acres or less.

Congressional expectations have not been met, reported the General Accounting Office after analyzing the way that eight big farming operations in California and Washington state have found ways to get the cheap water to as many as 12,000 acres each.

The response of the Department of the Interior, which is in charge of administering the law, was that nothing could be done without further congressional action. Some officials contend that congressional intent was quite clear that the big farms should pay the full cost of the water for any irrigated area beyond the 960 acres and that Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation could impose regulations to achieve that. The bureau could at least have tried but apparently was not interested in doing so with any vigor at all.

Before 1982, reclamation law limited federal project water to farms of no more than 160 acres, although that rule was broadly and liberally violated, particularly in California. Congress finally gave up on the archaic 160-acre rule in 1982, permitting project water to go to farms of up to 960 acres. Any federal water used beyond that would be priced at its real cost. In the case of the Westland Water District in the San Joaquin Valley, the difference was between $17 an acre-foot and $42 an acre-foot.

Many farmers sold off their excess lands and were content to irrigate just 960 acres at the cheaper price. Others paid the higher cost. But some big farmers skirted the law by dividing their land into 960-acre “paper” farms created in legal offices, each presumably under different ownership. The operation of the original farm really did not change. The GAO found that one 12,345-acre cotton farm, which it did not identify, was divided into 15 pieces through 18 partnerships, 24 corporations and 11 trusts. The revised operation was able to buy subsidized water for all 12,345 acres.

The problem was that the 1982 law referred only to “landholdings” and not “farms” or “farming operations,” the GAO said. Congress can correct that little point very quickly. And it should.