UPDATE VOL 23 NO 4 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2009 PLACER COUNTY WATER AGENCY water • energy • stewardship IN THIS ISSUE: Helping to Plan Tahoe Water Supplies... Page 2 Placer Students Are Water Aware... Page 3 Update for an Old Dam Two-Year Project to Improve Spillway at French Meadows ollowing eight years of studies, planning and design, PCWA is preparing to rebuild key sec- tions of the almost 50-year-old dam that holds back water at French FMeadowsF Reservoir. L.L. Anderson Dam, named for the late Foresthill Divide community leader, and District 5 county supervisor and PCWA director, was built in 1963-66 as a key feature of PCWA’s Middle Fork Regulatory Commission confirmed the Mountain Waterworks American River Project. Corps’ conclusion. The spillway at French Meadows, above, French Meadows Reservoir holds Probable Maximum Flood at left, will be upgraded after studies 136,400 acre-feet of water and is situated Using modern hydrometerological showed that it is too small to handle a at 5200 feet on the western slope of the data, the Corps developed a 72-hour maximum probable flooding event. Sierra Nevada. Lake Tahoe lies about 18 Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) miles to the east. Donner Summit is depth of 46 inches for the French about 15 miles north. Meadows watershed. This computed to a be overtopped,” said PCWA Hydroelectric In 2001, the U.S. Army Corps of French Meadows inflow of 66,700 cubic Engineer Jon Mattson. “This could cause Engineers first released hydrologic studies feet per second, which could overtop the failure of the dam and significant down- showing that the existing L.L. Anderson dam by about three feet. PCWA studies stream damage to the Middle Fork Project Dam could potentially be overtopped in predicted a somewhat smaller inflow. and other facilities in the American River maximum flood conditions. Subsequent “The studies showed that in a proba- canyon.” The PMF can be described as a PCWA studies for the Federal Energy ble maximum flood (PMF) the dam could 1 in 10,000 years, or “Noah’s Ark” event. To meet current standards, PCWA Recreational Opportunities at PCWA Reservoirs and a design team from MWH, Inc., have Consider PCWA’s mountain reservoirs when planning your next camping or fishing trip. developed a detailed project to improve French Meadows Reservoir offers five campgrounds, including the walk-in or boat-in the dam, spillway and release gates, as well only Poppy Campground; and two group camps that can accommodate gatherings of up to 50 as the channel that carries water into the and 75. Most camps have piped water and flush toilets. Fees are $18-$20; group camp rates are Middle Fork American River. $85-$125. Contact the American River Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest, (530) A parapet wall on the dam crest will 367-2224. For camping reservations, call (877) 444-6777. be replaced and raised and the spillway Hell Hole Reservoir is located at the 4600-foot elevation just south of French Meadows. will be widened by 32 feet, nearly dou- It features three campgrounds: one is at the reservoir, one is an upstream hike-in or boat-in site bling present capacity to 40,000 cubic feet (no fee), and the third is the Big Meadows Campground, two miles away. Contact the Eldorado National Forest in El Dorado County. No reservations are offered; camping is on a first come, per second. The existing control gates first served basis. For information, call (530) 622-5061. (Please see Spillway, page 2) he blue waters of posals to engineering consultants and Lake Tahoe stretch expects to award a contract this sum- as far as the eye can mer. see, but when it Water for North Tahoe Martin said he expects the study comes to water for to be complete by October and that fire protection it will be valuable to local agencies around Tahoe’s north shore, the sup- PCWA Helps Local who plan to apply for hazard mitiga- plies are stretched pretty thin. Agencies Develop tion grant funding through the With memories of the Washoe American Recovery and Tand Angora fires still fresh, fire dis- Reinvestment Act of 2009. T a Master Plan tricts and water suppliers serving PCWA General Manager David areas of Lake Tahoe within Placer A. Breninger said the agency is County want to improve water avail- Technical Services Brian Martin. “You ability for fire protection but agree there have summer cabins that have been con- are hurdles to overcome. verted to full-time homes. Some areas 18 Water Purveyors lack standby power so the water goes out There are 18 different water purvey- when there is a power outage. There are ors and water systems that supply Placer little spaghetti lines systems all over the County areas from Kings Beach near the place.” Nevada state line to Tahoma on the west In March, the Tahoe City Public shore near the El Dorado County line. Utility District and the North Tahoe Fire Protection teamed up on a joint request for a PCWA financial assistance grant for the preparation of a consolidated master ‘...From a fire plan for the entire area. It is hoped that district perspective... the eventual addition of new facilities, we would like to look storage tanks and interties can expand at the area water availability through the planning as a whole...’ area. Duane Whitelaw, chief of the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, said there - Fire Chief Duane Whitelaw is wide disparity in the water systems within the district. “From a fire district Some are publicly-owned and some perspective, we would like to be able to always interested in finding solutions to are private - a result of early vacation blur the jurisdictional lines and look at the Placer County water issues. “As a county- home development dating back to the area as a whole,” he said. “This is the wide water resource agency, we are in 1920s. Some systems rely on lake water, most efficient and cost effective way.” position to assist and support local agen- some on well water, one on spring water. Help With Grant, Staff cies and local projects around the county,” Some have adequate water system storage In May, PCWA directors approved a he said. and infrastructure; some don’t. $35,000 grant and authorized agency staff “We’re dealing with a lot of history to manage and coordinate the project. PCWA Financial Grants up there,” said PCWA Director of The agency circulated a request for pro- To Local Agencies The financial assistance grant for Continued From P. 1 North Lake Tahoe master planning is one Spillway - of five water resource planning grants will be replaced with new, wider gates and the channel will be widened and fortified. awarded in 2009 by PCWA. The project has been designed and phased to allow the existing release gates to be The others are: used until the newer, downstream gates are in place and ready for operation. Mattson • $35,000 to the Squaw Valley Public said this would allow the agency to keep as much water as needed in French Meadows Service District to help the district fund during the two-year construction project. installation of backup electrical power at a The project involves removal of about 65,000 cubic yards of rock and rubble booster pump station. which will be placed on a spoil site below the dam that is designed to be very similar in • $35,000 to the Northstar Community appearance to the dam itself. Service District to help fund a water meter Contract Award This Fall replacement program. PCWA has pre-qualified four specialized contractors and anticipates going to bid • $10,000 to the Sierra Lakes County and awarding a construction contract by fall. Due to the mountain location, work will Water District on Donner Summit to help be limited to the April-November time frame in both 2010 and 2011. fund a water supply analysis project. Mattson said the agency has worked with the U.S. Forest Service in an effort to • $26,000 to the Foresthill Public minimize noise and other impacts associated with construction. Utility District for preparation of a water The overall dam improvement project is estimated at $23 million. rate analysis and financing plan. PAGE 2 • PCWA UPDATE Water Awareness Placer County Students Come Out On Top wo Placer County students and one entire second grade class from Loomis have been named winners in the 2009 “Be Water Smart Challenge” spon- sored by the Regional Water Authority (RWA) and The Sacramento Bee. Winning in the Grade 5-8 division was Josh Thibeault,a student in Mrs. Corcoran’s fifth grade class at Twin Oaks TElementaryT School in Rocklin. The other individual winner from Placer County, also in the Grade 5-8 divi- sion, was Kiernan McKnight, a seventh grader in Patty Onorato’s class at Spring Josh Thibeault is pictured with Ron Brand of The Sacramento View Middle School in Rocklin. Bee, PCWA’s Audra Davison, and teacher Mrs. Corcoran. In the Grade K-4 category, Mrs. Feyder’s second grade class at Placer Elementary School in Loomis was one of five classes throughout the region and the only one in Placer County to win a first place award. Students from 150 schools from throughout the greater Sacramento region took part in the annual water education program. The “Be Water Smart Challenge,” a Newspaper in Education (NIE) program, is designed to increase water awareness among students through class studies and personal research projects. ABOVE, Kiernan McKnight RIGHT, Mrs. Feyder’s class at Placer Elementary School pictured with Water Challenge mascot “Mr.