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Decades-old water rights in California halted amid drought

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Despite California’s drought, Richard and Danna Jones’ cattle grazing pasture has stayed green thanks to water flowing free from a gulch claimed by his grandfather in 1911.

Their nearly ironclad right to water was suspended Friday when state regulators ordered them to stop taking the water for their rural property east of Redding. They are among more than 100 senior water rights holders told for the first time in decades that major waterways in California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley are too dry to meet demand, but aren’t expected to be the last.

“The place is going to look like hell,” said Danna Jones. She and her husband depend on money from letting cattle graze on their land to pay off property taxes.

“It’s going to dry up and become a star-thistle patch. It’s not going to be good for us.”

California’s mandatory water curtailment has moved from cities, towns and farmers with less iron-clad water rights to those historically shielded from cuts. Thousands of people, water districts and entities with claims dating before 1914 have long enjoyed nearly guaranteed access to water, and some are threatening lawsuits to keep it this way as California’s drought drags into a fourth year.

Among them are two small irrigation districts serving farmers near the San Joaquin River planning to go to court next week. Their attorney Jeanne Zolezzi said the districts serve small family farms that depend on taking water from the San Joaquin River watershed to grow permanent crops such as apricots and walnuts, and have little backup supplies in wells or reservoirs….More Here

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