Basis for the TROA California Guidelines
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Truckee River Operating Agreement Basis for the 2018 California Guidelines for Truckee River Reservoir Operations This page intentionally left blank. STATE OF CALIFORNIA Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor CALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources Department of Water Resources Cindy Messer Karla Nemeth Kristopher A. Tjernell Chief Deputy Director Director Deputy Director Integrated Watershed Management Division of Integrated Regional Water Management Arthur Hinojosa, Chief Truckee River Operating Agreement BASIS for the 2018 CALIFORNIA GUIDELINES for TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS This informational document was prepared for use by the Truckee River Operating Agreement Administrator and all signatory parties to that Agreement pursuant to Public Law 101-618 and the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) Preparation Team Department of Water Resources North Central Region Office, Regional Planning and Coordination Branch California – Nevada & Watershed Assessment Section Juan Escobar, P.E, Office Chief (Acting) Amardeep Singh, P.E., Branch Chief Paul Larson, P.E., Section Chief Tom Scott, P. E . , Engineer, W.R. David Willoughby, Engineer, W.R. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Laurie Hatton, Senior Environmental Scientist In coordination with: Truckee River Basin Water Group (TRBWG); Richard Anderson, Chair This page intentionally left blank. Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents (cont.) ........................................................................................................................................ iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ iv Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Floriston Rates, Drought Status and Season Determination................................................................................ 5 Floriston Rates .......................................................................................................................................... 5 “Drought Situation” Declaration ............................................................................................................... 6 “Normal” or “Dry” Season Determination ............................................................................................... 6 The California Guidelines ....................................................................................................................................... 7 PART 1 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS .................................. 9 Rivers and Streams .................................................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Truckee River Instream Flows and Priorities ............................................................................................... 11 1.2 Rationale for Environmental In-Stream Flow Priority Ranking ................................................................ 12 Prosser Creek below Prosser Dam .......................................................................................................... 12 Little Truckee River between Stampede Dam and Boca Reservoir ........................................................ 12 Independence Creek between Independence Dam and the Confluence with the Little Truckee River .. 13 Donner Creek between Donner Lake Dam and the Confluence with the Truckee River ....................... 13 Truckee River from Lake Tahoe to the State Line .................................................................................. 14 Little Truckee River from Boca Dam to the Confluence with the Truckee River .................................. 14 1.3 Flow Ramping Rates ........................................................................................................................................ 15 Rationale for Flow Ramping Rates ..................................................................................................... 16 1.4 Truckee River Watershed Natural Hydrograph ........................................................................................... 17 1.5 River and Stream Recreation Activities and Targets ................................................................................... 19 Recreational Stream Fishing ................................................................................................................... 19 River Rafting ........................................................................................................................................... 20 1.6 Water Quality Monitoring Plan ...................................................................................................................... 22 PART 2 .................................................................................................................................................................... 25 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS ................................ 25 Lakes / Reservoirs .................................................................................................................................................. 25 2.1 Truckee River Basin Reservoirs ..................................................................................................................... 27 i 2.1.1 Stampede Reservoir ....................................................................................................................... 27 2.1.2 Boca Reservoir ............................................................................................................................... 27 2.1.3 Prosser Reservoir ........................................................................................................................... 28 2.1.4 Donner Lake ................................................................................................................................... 29 2.1.5 Independence Lake ........................................................................................................................ 30 PART 3 .................................................................................................................................................................... 31 TROA ADMINISTRATION ................................................................................................................................. 31 3.1 California’s Responsibilities under TROA .................................................................................................... 33 A) Monitoring of Operations .................................................................................................................. 33 B) RiverWare Operations Model ............................................................................................................ 33 C) Operations Scheduling ....................................................................................................................... 34 D) The California Guidelines .................................................................................................................. 34 E) California Credit Waters .................................................................................................................... 34 F) Financial Obligations ......................................................................................................................... 35 3.2 California’s Opportunities under TROA....................................................................................................... 35 A) TROA Benefits to California ............................................................................................................. 35 B) California Credit Water and Objectives ............................................................................................. 35 C) Local Participation ............................................................................................................................. 38 3.3 Role of the TROA Administrator ................................................................................................................... 38 A) Scheduling ......................................................................................................................................... 39 B) Accounting ......................................................................................................................................... 39 PART 4 .................................................................................................................................................................... 41 RESERVOIR OPERATIONS TABLES .............................................................................................................. 41 California Guidelines for 2018