Collected storm water offered to growers to recharge their farm land, farmers rush to prepare

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- We've seen an impressive amount of rain during the last two months.

The Fresno Irrigation District has been collecting the water in recharge basins across the county and started offering it up to farmers early.

Farmers say the extra water is a blessing, but now some are rushing to make sure they're ready to receive it.

"Ten years ago, we didn't worry about how much water we were going to use and now everybody watches their water use," Ron Eastom the farm manager for R4 Farming said.

R4 Farming is a company that owns 700 acres of land west of Fresno and grows almonds, wine grapes and raisins.

Wet weather has been a welcome change for their team after three of the driest years on record.

Now, they're getting even more water from the Fresno Irrigation District.

"If we didn't have the water, we didn't know what we were going to do because well depths are dropping and wells are going dry," Eastom said.

Fresno Irrigation District General Manager Bill Stretch says they've been hard at work during the recent storms to make the most of the natural resources.

"We route storm water and we divert it to our recharge basins and we help replenish the ground water aquifer." Stretch said.

Water has been collected from urban basins in Fresno and Clovis, from local creeks and flood releases from the San Joaquin River.

Of FID's nearly 900 acres of recharge basins, about 60% are filled.

Typically, water is delivered to cities and growers in the spring, summer and fall, but this year, there's excess.

"For our growers, our communities, the cities of Fresno and Clovis this is a godsend for all of us," Stretch said.

To help with storage, farmers, like Ron Eastom, are taking on some of that water to recharge their farmland.

The extra water pushes down fertilizer and nutrients they recently put into the field.

But it's a balance because too much water can cause disease problems in the crop.

Eastom says they're hoping to accept more water on their almond trees, but, like many other farmers, they're not ready for it.

First they have to clear all the tree trimmings, but once they're done, they say they'll take as much as they can get.

"At this point right now, there's no downside for us. We welcome the water and they're going to use all they allow us to use," Eastom said.

This farm should be recharged within 48 hours.

The Fresno Irrigation District is still asking more growers to take on water, if you would like to do so you can reach out to the FID directly.