It's April and it's been a busy irrigation season already. Irrigation off the West-by-God-fork of the Carson River starts April 1. And it did. But if you drove around the Valley in late March you might have noticed an abundance of stock water flowing over fields. When that happens it means it is going to be a bad water year.
Bad water year is a relative term in a desert climate. According to the 2000 USDA-NRCS annual precipitation map of Nevada, 90 percent of Nevada gets 20 inches or less of precipitation per year. Of that 90 percent more than 50 percent gets only 10 inches of precipitation or less. Douglas County is not typical of most of Nevada. That same USDA-NRCS map shows about 40 percent of Douglas County getting 20-35 inches of moisture a year. Most of which comes in winter storms and is stored as snow in the mountains.
This year the record keepers are saying snowfall in the Sierras is between 30 and 40 percent of average. In real numbers that means 30-40 percent of 20-35 inches of moisture is between 6-10.5 and 8-14 inches. Which is what is going to make Carson Valley feel this summer like what 90 percent of the rest of Nevada looks like, a desert.
To alleviate some of the early desert appearance heavy stock water was let flow over banks and onto dry fields in March by some of us. But with the first of April, irrigation season started with intention. Boxes were checked. Ditches had been cleaned and burrowing animal holes filled quickly.
Water is going to be a hot commodity this summer. A rancher who shares an irrigation ditch with us stopped by to let us know we could take the water, he was done with it, for now. Thanking him for stopping in and informing us he was ready to release the water I said how I appreciated this, knowing later this summer things will get tense when we all will be fighting to get a full share of water on our fields when he said, "We already are fighting."
Watching water flow down ditches is like watching money run away and taking time with it. As irrigation season progresses ranchers will become late for or even miss gatherings and celebrations altogether. They will have to leave early from events and meetings they do make to check and change the water. When responses to, 'Hey, where is so'n so?' is 'He has water' will explain everything. Those that understand will nod their head, tighten their lips and shift their weight indicating they know. Water, like air, is real important to attend to when you are allowed only a little of it for short periods of time.
The water master will be checking river flow gauges and so will your neighbors. Rotating the water between ranches is on an understanding basis for now. Ranches running for generations know who takes how much water and when. Right now it's an estimation done in an irrigator's head on when they will have the water, how fast they need to move it around and how long they will have it before they know they will need to voluntarily give up the water to a neighbor; a show of manners and courtesy at its best. Then the day comes when decreed rotation starts, then you get what you get. The river more or less decides how much water there is.
It is the less that we worry about.
-- Marie Johnson is a Carson Valley rancher.
