The fairways at Turkey Creek Golf Club in Lincoln might just become a little harder to hit this summer. Golf Course Superintendent Steven Beck, hoping to conserve water, is looking for parts of the course where he can cut back on irrigation.

“If we can cut back some small areas here and there, they add up,” he said, explaining that saving water is a big part of his job.

“A lot of people don’t think of golf-course superintendents as conservationists,” Beck added. “We’re all environmental stewards.”

Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared 2009 another drought year and is stressing statewide water conservation, the situation in Lincoln is much less dire than in other parts of the state, officials say.

Placer County Water Agency, which provides water within the city limits of Lincoln, Roseville and many other parts of Placer County, will not see any water shortages this season, said Mike Nichol, director of field services.

As of Monday, Bullards Bar Reservoir on the Yuba River was 77 percent full – 110 percent of average for this time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources Web site. Folsom Lake was 71 percent full – 116 percent of average for this time of year.

The final survey of snowpack levels will be complete April 1, but currently, Northern California’s snow pack is at 90 percent of average, according to the Department of Water Resources Web site.

“We’re fortunate to live in an area where we do have well-managed storage and have received good rainfall,” Nichol said.

On Wednesday, Nevada Irrigation District, which serves the areas east of Lincoln’s city limits, moved to declare a surplus of water. Don Wight, water operations manager for Nevada Irrigation District, said the current situation is a result of careful management.

“It’s the result of running a conservative system and running carryover from the year before,” he said.

Wight said Nevada Irrigation District always urges conservation and is offering four free classes on water efficiency for agricultural irrigation on April 25, April 26, May 2 and May 3. The classes will be held on the ranches and farms of volunteers.

Mark Adams, owner of Rancho Robles Vineyards in Lincoln, wants to attend one of the classes. Adams said he’s worried about how dry his three acres of grape vines are this year.

“Normally, I don’t need to start irrigating my vines until May 26,” Adams said. “I think I’ll have to start irrigating earlier (this year).”

Although grape vines are fairly resistant to dry conditions, Adams added, he can only cut back so much.

“There’s pretty much a set amount (of water) I need,” Adams said. “I don’t want the vines to be stressed out.”

Richard Shelby, owner of Ann’s Orchard in Lincoln, said his organic mandarin oranges benefit from dry conditions, to an extent.

“We let ours dry out more than most people,” Shelby said. “It produces a sweeter fruit.”

Although water conservation is an important part of surviving drought seasons, state officials say that isn’t the only reason why reservoirs like Folsom Lake and Bullards Bar are so full.

Maury Roos, semi-retired chief hydrologist and 51-year-veteran of the Department of Water Resources, said it’s much easier to refill smaller reservoirs like Folsom Lake and Bullards Bar.

“The big water systems are still quite short of water,” Roos said. “With an average runoff year, those would not quite come back.”

As of Monday, Lake Trinity was 47 percent full – 60 percent of average for this time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources Web site. And Lake Oroville was 52 percent full – 69 percent of average for this time of year.

Roos stressed that one average year of rainfall doesn’t mean the drought is over. He recalled a long drought between 1987 and 1992, and said the state received a near-average amount of rain in1989, followed by three even drier years.

“This is a reminder of something we’ve known for a while,” he said. “In dry years, the present system won’t handle it.”

The state is exploring new methods of water storage so it can save water from wet years to use when conditions dry up but it will take time before anything can be built, said Steve Roberts, chief of Statewide Infrastructure Investigations for the Department of Water Resources.

He said many local water agencies are exploring possible ways to store more groundwater and the state is currently studying three potential locations for new reservoirs. But before the Department of Water Resources can complete feasibility studies on the reservoirs, it must wait for new recommendations designed to protect California’s fish and wildlife.

The recommendations, which come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, should be available in June, Roberts said, adding that he hopes to do as much planning as possible before then, even though it will be incomplete without the new recommendations.

“I can tell you how much a dam will cost but I won’t be able to tell you if it’s a good deal until I know much water (can flow through it),” Roberts said. He hopes the first draft feasibility study for one of the reservoir sites will be complete in the fall, with the rest to follow in early 2010.

While new reservoirs are needed in California, Roberts stressed, they are just one of “a couple dozen strategies” necessary for preventing future droughts.

“There is no one strategy that’s going to solve all of California’s problems,” he said. “There’s no silver bullet.”

Sidebar info:

NID classes:

All-day classes

April 25, April 26 – Placer County

May 2, May 3 – Nevada County

To register, call NID at (530) 273 6185 ext. 284

Registration is limited to 30 participants per class

http://www.nid.dst.ca.us/documents/general/irrigation_efficiency_flier.pdf

New potential reservoirs:

http://www.water.ca.gov/storage/

Estimated dates for draft feasibility studies:

-       Lake Shasta Enlargement – N/A (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, not state Dept of Water Resources, is working on study)

-        North-of-the-Delta Offstream Storage Investigation – early 2010

-       In-Delta Storage – study completed in 2006, deemed not economically feasible

-        Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion – Fall 2009

-        Upper San Jaoquin River Basin Storage Investigation – early 2010

Final studies should be completed within one year of completion of draft studies

Reservoir levels as of Monday:

Snowpack levels as of Monday

source: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reports/EXECSUM