Drought not as bad in desert, but farmers still feeling it

The current drought that has gripped the rest of California hasn’t had as big an impact on the Mojave Desert, but some local farmers are still feeling its effects.

Ruth and Jim Harmsen, who have owned Harmsen Family Dairy in Hinkley for 29 years, said they’re doing everything they can to be more efficient with their water. In addition to owning 1,200 cows, the Harmsens farm 300 acres of alfalfa. They use groundwater to irrigate their fields, but have had to cut their alfalfa production by 30 to 40 acres because the fees the water master charges has been continually increasing.

“There’s not much we can do,” Ruth Harmsen said. “The only thing (is to) cut back on acreage and put different types of irrigation that uses less water.”

Agriculture has been suffering statewide because of a drought California has been going through since 2007, but the situation in the Mojave Desert isn’t as bad as other areas of the state. Norman Caouette, assistant general manager for the Mojave Water Agency, said the Mojave Desert has extensive groundwater basins that are able to be replenished by water purchased from the State Water Project and stored ahead of time. But because of the drought and pumping restrictions in the Sacramento Delta, where the water comes from, the amount of water the agency was allotted this year has decreased by 40 percent.

The Mojave Water Agency usually receives 75,800 acre feet of water annually from the project. This year the agency is only alotted 30,320 acre-feet. The amount of groundwater in the desert varies depending on location, Caouette said. In some areas along the river the ground water is between 30 and 50 feet below the ground. In other areas further away from the river the water table is 100 to 150 feet below ground. According to United States Geological Survey, groundwater levels for Barstow are currently between 50 and 60.

In the Mojave Desert, farmers are able to pump a certain amount of water out of the ground, Couette said. But when there are drought conditions, farmers continue to pump groundwater faster than it can be replenished.

Sandra Cleland, San Bernardino County agricultural officer, said the drought has been a concern of farmers that she’s talked to for a number of years. Many people are planting pomegranates, and one farmer is planting watermelons instead of hay because they take less water, she said.

“(We’ve) got a population that’s drawing faster than we can replenish,” she said. “This is a desert. We can’t keep planting 5,000 square-foot Kentucky bluegrass lawns and not pay the price.”

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com