There was a Bee story Wednesday about an Interior Department announcement that made it seem as though west San Joaquin Valley farmers would get an additional 350,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water this year.

As the story said, that's a false impression. The announcement was a commitment from the federal government to make room in San Luis Reservoir for water that west-side farmers already have purchased.

This commitment has been renewed annually for at least 15 years. This was the earliest commitment in memory, and that was the significant point.

Just for the record, the largest west-side customer on the federal project is Westlands Water District.

Westlands farmers saved a total 270,000 acre-feet of water from last year for use in 2010.

Of this, 115,000 acre-feet is Central Valley Project water that will be rescheduled for use from 2009 to 2010, and 155,000 acre-feet is water purchased from many sources by Westlands and stored in San Luis Reservoir.