"A group of California farmers, in a surprising turnaround, is volunteering to give up a fourth of its available water this year, sharing a resource all but guaranteed to them for more than a century.

A senior water official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he would decide whether to accept the offer by Friday. The concession by farmers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River delta could be one of the most important yet forced by California's record four-year drought.

In exchange for taking 25 percent less river water for irrigation or leaving a quarter of their fields unplanted, the farmers want guarantees that the state won't restrict the remaining 75 percent of the water they've had rights to, even if the drought deepens and other users go dry.

The offer was made as these and other "senior water rights holders" face an imminent threat of being included in the mandatory cutbacks that apply to most other California water users."

Fenit Nirappil and Scott Smith report for the Associated Press May 21, 2015. [2]