EXECUTTVE SUMMARY
PALO VERDE TEST LAND FALLOWING PROGRAM
August 1, 1992 - July 31, 1994

On May 29, 1992, a Program Agreement was signed ratifying a two-year Test Land Fallowing Program (Program) between The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and the Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID). Under the Program, MWD would receive water saved through fallowing agricultural land in PVID in exchange for monetary compensation. The agreement required MWD to pay for administrative costs, enforcement costs, contract monitoring, and to compensate Program participants $1,240 per acre over the two-year period. Payment dates for Program participants were August 1, 1992; February 1, 1993; August 2, 1993; February 1, 1994; and August 15, 1994. Payments were made on schedule. Program participants were responsible for payment of taxes, PVID water tolls, dust control costs and maintenance costs associated with maintaining participating fields fallow.

A five-member Measurement Committee (Committee) was established to provide ongoing review of the Program. The Committee consisted of one representative from each of the following organizations: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), PVID, MWD, Imperial Irrigation District (IID), and Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD).

Prior to Program implementation, an environmental analysis was conducted. It was determined that no significant impacts would result from the Program for the following reasons: (1) with implementation of approved mitigation measures, no significant impact to area resources was anticipated; (2) effects would be small and diffuse since only a maximum of 25 percent of base agricultural acreage would be accepted from each participant; (3) effects would be temporary as the Program was intended to last only two years; and (4) no previous significant environmental effects had been observed when PVID agricultural lands were left fallow for other reasons over a period of time.

The Program began on August 1, 1992 and ended on July 31, 1994. Landowners and lessees participating in the Program agreed to fallow a total of 20,215 acres (Fallowed Acreage). Sixty-three (63) contracts were executed with landowners/lessees in PVID. The total acreage participating in the Program (base acreage) was 80,366 acres consisting of 20,215 fallowed and 60,151 non-fallowed acres. Fallowed Acreage was 25 percent of the base acreage, consisted of 261 fields, and was approximately 22 percent of the total cropped acreage in PVID of 93,000 acres.

Over 73 percent of the Fallowed Acreage would have been used for forage production (alfalfa, sudan, and bermuda), absent the Program. Cotton and small grains would have been planted on approximately 16 percent of the Fallowed Acreage, and melons and vegetables on the remaining 11 percent.

The Fallowed Acreage was estimated to generate 4.6 acre-feet per fallowed acre each year (AF/ac/yr) during the two-year Program. Based upon 4.6 AF/ac/yr, the "saved water" was estimated to total 92,989 AF/yr or 185,978 AF during the two-year Program. The saved water was stored in Lower Colorado River Basin reservoirs, managed by the United States, and will be released at the request of MVM subject to provisions of the Program Agreement.

Maintenance of the Fallowed Acreage for the duration of the two-year Program was accomplished according to specific Land Management Plans (Plans) submitted by each participant and reviewed by MWD at the start of the Program. The purpose of the Plans was to conserve land and water resources, and eliminate or minimize adverse impacts to adjacent farms, the community or PVID through control of weeds and wind erosion. Weed control measures included chemical and mechanical methods. Wind erosion control measures included application of appropriate cultural practices such as providing stubble, sod remnants or cloddy fallow.

The most preferred method to begin the fallowing process was application of chemicals to existing crops. Chemicals were applied to 10,513 acres which is 52 percent of the total Fallowed Acreage. Disking was the most preferred mechanical method, used on 5,414 acres (27 percent), followed by plowing with 2,835 acres (14 percent), knifing with 1,068 acres (5 percent), and subsoiling with 385 acres (2 percent) which account for the initial land fallowing of the 20,215 acres. After initial fallowing, chemicals and disking were the most common methods employed in maintaining Program compliance. The total weighted average cost during the two-year Program for all fallowing treatments, including initial fallowing and all follow-up treatments, was $53.38 per acre. Total weighted average costs among Program participants ranged from a low of $23.08 per acre to a high of $135.00 per acre.

Program fields were monitored throughout the two-year period to ensure compliance with the terms of the fallowing agreements. Fields were visually checked a minimum of once a month. Soil moisture readings were taken from selected fields (138 fallowed and 21 non-fallowed) up to 11 times during the two-year Program. Groundwater was monitored on a monthly basis through readings from 285 observation wells. Satellite images were taken at the beginning, mid-point, and end of the Program. All monitoring efforts provided cross-checks and verified that no water was applied to fallowed fields during the Program.

One of the components of the Program Agreement was development of a computerized water ordering system for PVID. The new PVID water ordering system is being used on a daily basis and has replaced the previous manual system improving water control and manpower scheduling.

Parties to the Program Agreement agreed that 4.6 AF of water would be considered the amount saved for each fallowed acre. Part of the post-Program efforts involved estimating the amount of water actually saved. Following an in-depth review of available procedures, three methods were employed to estimate the amount of water actually saved which included: 1) Historical Comparison; 2) Rule Curve; and 3) Actual Use. The Historical Comparison method compared net diversions during the two-year Program to the 1981-91 average net diversions with the difference of 207,334 acre-feet or 5.1 AF/ac/yr considered as an estimate of Program water savings. The Rule Curve method relies upon historic water use patterns to predict future water use. Historic water use for the 11-year period 1981-91 was used to develop a rule curve for predicting water use during the two-year period of the Program. The difference between predicted PVID net diversions and actual net diversions during the Program provided an estimate of water savings of 4.5 AF/ac/y-r. The third method used to estimate water savings was based on actual water use during the Program. Inherent to this method is the assumption that the cropping pattern and water use on the followed fields, absent the Program, would have been similar to the 73,000 acres of non-fallowed fields during the Program which resulted in an estimated water savings of 4.6 AF/ac/yr. Results from these three methods provided support for the 4.6 AF/ac/yr water savings contained in the Program Agreement.

Participants were surveyed following each year of the Program. The structure of the first- and second-year surveys was very similar and included three primary areas of focus. The first area was concerned with fallowing methods used by participants both at the start of the Program and to maintain compliance throughout the two years; the second area involved labor, equipment, purchase of goods and services, crop marketing, and use of Program funds; and the third area covered miscellaneous topics such as issues associated with non-fallowed fields due to the Program, acreage enrolled in federal programs, preferable Program implementation dates, irrigations saved in anticipation of the Program, and general comments. Overall, the surveys found that the Program had little impact on existing operations and all participants indicated that the Program was beneficial and would be willing to enter into another, similar Program with only minor modifications.

A post-Program survey of the participants was completed in February 1995. Requested information related to: (1) the process of bringing fallowed fields back into production, (2) crops planted or planned for the fallowed fields, and (3) perceptions of the Program by participants.

The post-Program survey found that there were 61 participants, representing 19,095 acres (94 percent), indicating that no additional irrigations were required, however, three participants (611 acres) within this group did notice that it took longer to irrigate the fallowed fields. Only 2 participants, representing 1,120 acres (6 percent), indicated that one additional irrigation was needed on the fallowed fields. In addition, as of February 1995, 17,931 acres (89 percent) had been planted, leaving only 2,284 unplanted acres. Crops that would be planted in the spring on 1,747 acres had been decided, leaving only 537 acres in which a decision was still pending. It was observed that most of the Fallowed Acreage was planted into alfalfa (62 percent) followed by wheat (21 percent) and cotton (7 percent).

In addition to surveying Program participants, a survey was also conducted in the community to evaluate an impression of possible indirect impacts to third party businesses. The Program was not found to have affected overall regional economic performance to any significant degree. City officials and local bank representatives characterized the current state of the regional economy as improved relative to pre- Program conditions. The Program was not found to have affected the region's property or sales tax bases, or the provision of governmental services. It was, however, found to have contributed to a slight (1 percent) loss of employment in the region.

The total cost of the Test Land Fallowing Program to MVID was S26.6 million. Based on 4.6 acre-feet of water saved per acre of fallowed land, the Program saved an average of 92,989 acre-feet per year and a two-year total of 185,978 acre-feet. Considering both the amount of water saved and the total Program costs, the average cost per acre-foot of water saved for MWD was $143.