After four years of drought, Fallon is benefiting from its second full water season in a row. One year ago, so a record snowpack filled Lake Lahontan three times, leaving the reservoir with a surplus at the end of 2017. Farmers will get 100 percent of their water allocations again, this year.
"Two years ago, it was the worst ever," Colby Frey, Owner of Frey Ranch said. "Last year, we had the most water ever. It goes from feast to famine and now this year was about perfect."
Lake Lahontan has almost 20,000 acre-feet less than it did exactly one year ago but that is not a bad thing. It is still 90 percent full and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District will not have to use an emergency spillway and a canal, known as the big dig, to divert water around Fallon this year. Crews built those last year to prevent the Carson River from spilling over its banks and flooding Fallon.
"We have it," Rusty Jardine, TCID General Manager said. "It's an emergency facility and if we have to use it, it's there."
Instead of dealing with the potential of flooding, farmers are enjoying a season where crops are growing and water is not a concern. The heat is the biggest challenge.
"Everybody wants to irrigate when it gets hot," Frey said. "The plants are using a lot of water but we're fortunate because we're not having to conserve like we were two years ago and really stress out the plants."
Jardine says timing is important when it is hot. The key is delivering water as fast as possible to everyone because everybody wants it immediately.
"That puts a demand on the system for us but we're going to get through and get a lot of water to folks," Jardine said.
The Lahontan Valley is full of crops like corn and alfalfa. In addition to those crops, Frey grows oats, rye and barley. His corn is growing faster than expected.
"Corn's supposed to be knee-high by the Fourth of July and it's already up to here (chest height), so we're really excited," Frey said.
Frey says his corn could grow as tall as 14 feet by the time he harvests in September or October. That is because he will be able to irrigate the maximum amount this year.
"The two most important ingredients are dirt and water and, in Nevada, we have lots of dirt but water is so precious," Frey said.
Most of Fallon's farmers use their crops as feed for the local dairies. Others export it to other states and countries. Frey will use his corn to make whiskey at the Frey Ranch Distillery. He says the water is not just paying off for farmers but for businesses all over the valley because so many of them rely on agriculture.
"A lot of farmers are much happier," Frey said. "They're spending money on equipment and other things that are needed. So it's helping the whole economy."
With a water surplus expected as we head into winter, Jardine says farmers are set up nicely for next year.
"If we have a good supply leftover at the end of the year, and we have any kind of a good year up there upstream, that's good things for the entire valley," Jardine said.
