Farmington Dam Repurpose Project
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Farmington Dam Repurpose Project $158,100,000 to re-purpose the Farmington Dam from flood 2017 protection only to a long-term water storage facility that increases water supply reliability to the region. The recent 5-year drought highlights a critical need for more water storage. The proposed project is to re-purpose the Farmington Dam from flood protection only to a long-term water storage facility that increases water supply reliability to the Stockton metropolitan area Stockton metropolitan area and mitigates groundwater San Joaquin Valley overdraft in the eastern portion of the San Joaquin Valley. Stored surface water supplies in the region Re-purposing Farmington Dam would increase the amount of stored surface water supplies in the region through the transfer of New Melones water or the capture of storm water when availa- ble. The original purpose of Farmington Dam for flood control would be enhanced by the additional capabilities of capturing storm water and year round storage. Scot A. Moody, General Manager • Stockton East Water District P.O. Box 5157 • Stockton, CA 95205 • (209) 948-0333 • [email protected] Project Details / Talking Points The project includes: areas dropping to 100 - Placing a 40-foot-deep slurry cutoff wall along the feet below historic levels. entire length of the dam to minimize seepage. CA DWR’s groundwater - Improving two sections of the dam foundation, 500 Bulletin 118 (2006 update) feet long, for safety and seepage. This improvement states “measurements over the would be required for any water storage option at past 40 years show fairly Farmington Dam. continuous decline in groundwater - Replacing the existing 95-foot broad crest weir levels in Eastern San Joaquin County”. spillway with a 200-foot-wide ogee spillway to In 1998, the US Army Corps of Engineers accommodate the new probable maximum flood (PMF). issued a Conjunctive Use Study on the The size of the spillway is calculated based on a Farmington Dam and Reservoir and found reservoir size of 112,000 acre-feet. A similar that the primary benefit identified was the improvement would be required for a 52,000 acre-foot reduction of aquifer degradation (including both reservoir for water storage. overdraft and salinity intrusion) in proportion to - Acquiring reservoir lands in fee. Most of the lands surface water development. within the reservoir area were obtained through flood-control easements and are farmed or grazed The proposed project consists of modifying during the non-flood season. Long-term water storage Farmington Dam to allow long-term storage and in the reservoir would reduce or eliminate the regulation of local inflow to Littlejohns Creek and water opportunity for agricultural land uses and would diverted from the Stanislaus River. The proposed require the purchase of some or all reservoir lands. project would provide an additional water supply in the amount of 60,000 acre feet and would allow SEWD The proposed project is to re-purpose the Farmington access to local inflow to Littlejohns Creek and Dam from flood protection only to a long-term water Stanislaus River spills when storm water is available. storage facility that increases water supply reliability to the Stockton metropolitan area and mitigates Stored water would be released from Farmington groundwater overdraft in the eastern portion of the Reservoir to satisfy downstream requirements and to San Joaquin Valley. optimize SEWD diversions to help offset groundwater overdraft in the study area. The reservoir would be Re-purposing Farmington Dam would increase evacuated sufficiently prior to the flood season, in the amount of stored surface water supplies in the order to provide flood control storage space. Releases region through the transfer of New Melones water to Rock Creek would be based on minimum instream or the capture of storm water when available. flow objectives established by state and federal fish The original purpose of Farmington Dam for and wildlife agencies. flood control would be enhanced by the additional capabilities of capturing storm water and year round storage. The Eastern San Joaquin Basin is a region that for a half-century has seen groundwater levels decline an average of 1.7 feet per year, with some Bellota Fish Ladder & Passage Improvement 2017 $15,000,000 construct permanent fish ladders and a weir to facilitate steelhead passage, and to install fish screens that prevent fish entrainment, both with the purpose of enhancing steelhead populations of anadromous salmonids. Fish passage issues have been identified as a problem in the Calaveras River watershed. These problems include potential entrainment of fish into unscreened diversions and various degrees of migration blockages. This Stockton East Water District project Stockton and greater addresses multiple issues including: improving passage for San Joaquin County residents adult steelhead (O. mykiss) fish access to optimal spawning and Steelhead fish populations rearing habitat upstream of the project area; directing and providing protection for out-migrating juvenile steelhead; and modernizing fish screens at the Bellota Intake Structure for water supply reliability for the greater Stockton area residents. Scot A. Moody, General Manager • Stockton East Water District PO Box 5157 • Stockton, CA 95205 • (209) 948-0333 • [email protected] Project Details / Talking Points The proposed project includes Phases III and IV, the The project would final design and construction of: allow anadromous fish - a modern fish screen at the District’s Bellota Intake reach habitat further Structure for the water treatment plant, upstream and meet the - a fishway to improve upstream migration for objectives of the CVPIA, CWA, salmonids at the Bellota Weir and Mormon Slough, and and CDWF’s Species Conservation - a fish exclusion structure on the Old Calaveras River and Recovery program. channel to prevent entrainment of juvenile salmonids Specifically, the project would eliminate into the Old Calaveras River channel. barriers to fish migration, reduce species The purposes of this project are to enhance the survival stressors, increase habitat for populations of anadromous salmonids dependent on threatened and endangered species, and the Calaveras River and Mormon Slough and to prevent increase water supply reliability to the water entrainment of fish in river diversions. Entrainment was treatment plant. identified as a limiting factor affecting recovery of Lower Calaveras River steelhead (O. mykiss) populations by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The project has been listed as one of the top priorities for the region under the California Water Action Plan. The project is shovel ready and both Phase III and Phase IV would take 2 years to complete for a total project completion period of 4 years. South Gulch Water Conservation Project 2017 $1,000,000 for a feasibility study to study and evaluate the implementation of the South Gulch Water Conservation Project to improve water supply reliability and flood protection for the greater Stockton Metropolitan Area. The proposed South Gulch Water Conservation Project would increase the water supply reliability and flood protection for the greater Stockton Area. The project includes constructing an off-stream reservoir with related appurtenances for the Calaveras Stockton metropolitan area River to store and regulate flood releases from New Hogan San Joaquin Valley Dam for future water supply and flood prevention. The project Stored surface water supplies in the region would alleviate 200-year flood events with projected future climate change. The main purpose of the proposed project is to increase Stockton East Water District (the District’s) surface water supply and reliability and mitigate for the 200-year flood event with projected climate change in the Calaveras River. Scot A. Moody, General Manager • Stockton East Water District P.O. Box 5157 • Stockton, CA 95205 • (209) 948-0333 • [email protected] Project Details / Talking Points The project includes constructing an off-stream The proposed Project reservoir with related appurtenances for the Calaveras would increase water River to store and regulate flood releases from New supply reliability for the City Hogan Dam for future water supply and flood of Stockton and would prevention. The project would alleviate 200-year flood alleviate the need for additional events with projected future climate change. flood infrastructure downstream. Hydraulic analysis should In October 2016, DWR released a draft Basin Wide Feasibility Study, San Joaquin Basin (Feasibility Study) demonstrate the benefit of system as part of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan. In improvements that reduce the need for the Feasibility Study, Calaveras River Watershed future levee raises and reveal important Reservoir Management recommended an additional 42 synergies of water conservation coupled with thousand acre-feet (TAF) of storage in the Calaveras flood protection. Upstream storage can reduce River watershed to mitigate flood stage increases the extent of stage increases downstream. caused by projected climate change and reduces the Increased flood storage in the Calaveras River need for some levee improvements. watershed can eliminate the need for 1 mile of urban levee raises and 15 miles of flood walls on the Calav- According to the Feasibility Study, San Joaquin Basin, eras River. “increased flood storage in the Calaveras River alone would obviate the need for approximately $100 million of floodwalls and levee raises to protect against the 200-year event with projected climate change”. Existing developments along the Calaveras River are directly adjacent to the levees, complicating future levee/floodwall improvements in the area. .