News aNd INformatIoN from the CeNtral CalIfornia IrrIgatIoN dIstrict • www.ccidwater.org • Issue three • 2012 WATER RESOURCE PLAN CCID and Partners Pursue Los Banos Creek Detention Dam Project ■ STUDY SHOWS PROMISE FOR NEW SURFACE STORAGE AND GROUNDWATER RECHARGE BENEFITS FROM BUREAU-OWNED FACILITY. new feasibility study is showing in the facility for use promise for a partnership and release in the Abetween local interests, CCID summer during peak and other members of the Exchange irrigation,” White said. Contractors, the San Luis Water “This partnership would District, Grasslands Water District and produce mutual benefits the City of Los Banos to utilize the for all entities involved.” Los Banos Creek Detention Dam for additional water supply benefits. In addition to enhancing surface water storage, A proposed plan to re-operate the the new plan would existing Bureau of Reclamation facility enhance the availability for additional surface water and recharge of groundwater for benefits into Los Banos Creek is being municipal and farming examined this year as a first piece of the water supplies by Los Banos Creek Water Resource Plan. recharging area aquifers CCID General Manager Chris White through releases to said the feasibility study has revealed Los Banos Creek. a very promising project with multiple Historical groundwater benefits for the local partners. studies with the City of Los Banos show The Los Banos Creek Water Resource that Los Banos Creek Plan could provide significant benefits including, among other things, is a primary recharge improved water supply reliability, source for the aquifer recharge of local runoff, groundwater that feeds consumer and agricultural wells table stability, recreational and THIS AERIAL VIEW SHOWS THE PARAMETERS OF THE PROPOSED in the area. Releasing environmental enhancements at and PROJECT ALONG LOS BANOS CREEK. near the Dam, and improvements additional flows from the in water supply and quality to the Dam will help recharge wells in the area. made no releases down Los Banos Creek. community water system in Los Banos. The new partnership would operate the The Bureau has traditionally operated Dam in a more intentional way to garner “The District is making an effort to surface water storage and groundwater look at the operations of that dam and Los Banos Creek Detention Dam for flood control only and in many years has recharge benefits. the possibility of storing spring water Continued on page 3 2 3 SUBSIDENCE IssUES IRRIGATED LANDS PROGRAM Subsidence Issues ■ DISTRICT INVOLVED IN FINDING SOLUTIONS TO SUBSIDENCE IN WESTERN MADERA AND MERCED COUNTIES. A recently completed study of subsidence areas of the San Joaquin Valley caused County Water Advisory Commission, in the western part of Merced and Madera by an extraction of deep groundwater the Merced County Public Works Counties near the San Joaquin and Fresno beneath a layer of Corcoran Clay. While Department, and other involved parties to rivers reveals that soil in some of those the issue has been minimized in other develop potential solutions to the issue. areas sank nearly 2 feet between 2008 and areas of the Valley, it has been detected 2010. The District only recently became as the area of Madera County known as White said the solution will likely aware of that level of subsidence near its Red Top has been developed for irrigated involve getting area landowners off conveyance system following results of the agriculture over the last decade. most recent survey released by the San Joaquin River Restoration System. Subsidence is likely to continue as deep well groundwater is pumped from the area to irrigate farmland. CCID and San Luis Canal Company are taking steps to be involved in a solution to the problem. “We realized that if this subsidence continues there are going to be severe impacts to the District west of the San Joaquin River which could impact the District’s ability to convey water in THIS MAP SHOWS THE AREA WHERE SUBSIDENCE HAS OCCURRED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IN WESTERN the middle of that MADERA COUNTY NEAR THE CENTER OF THE CCID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. system,” said CCID General Manager Chris White. “If a canal deeper well water by redrilling wells in system develops holes in the middle, we The problem area lies outside of the shallower zones and recharging them are not going to get gravity flow through, District boundaries near its South with floodwater releases. Division, east of the River and north of and the only solution to that would be to the extension of Valeria Ave. pump water, which is very expensive.” “We have data that shows there are better areas of water quality in the shallower White said the District is also concerned CCID is currently meeting with zones so we are trying to determine if we that subsidence might reduce the River’s landowners and working with the Madera can redrill shallow wells and recharge ability to safely convey flood flows near them directly by developing recharging Sack Dam. Every year, the capacity of the ponds near the bypass,” White said. River in Sack Dam is reduced from a level “There are a number “The Districts are a little more nimble of about 4,000 cfs three to four years ago of promising solutions as the area has subsided since that time. organizations than USBR or DWR and we are on a very and are taking the lead to come with “There is a real chance that if subsidence aggressive schedule to do a solutions in cooperation with other continues, during the next significant flood study and put together an involved agencies,” he added. “There are release we could see significant regional a number of promising solutions that look flooding,” he said. implementation plan.” possible and we are on a very aggressive — Chris White, CCID schedule to do a study and put together an Subsidence has been a problem in some implementation plan.” Page Two CCIDOBSERVER Issue Three, 2012 Detention Dam Project Continued from page 1 Irrigated Lands Program “We thought, ‘Why not re-operate the system to better manage that captured water for benefit of the aquifers,’ and this Ramps Up Enforcement project provides potentially brand new ■ GROWERS IN POSO SLOUGH AREA WITHIN WESTSIDE COALITION SHOULD yield for the system and groundwater TAKE STEPS TO MINIMIZE WATER QUALITY EXCEEDANCES OF CHLORPYRIFOS. benefits,” White said. “We proposed the plan to the Bureau and their initial The Central Valley Regional Water response has been of solid support. Quality Control Board is focusing on They are looking for ways to allow us to exceedances of chlorpyrifos and other operate that reservoir as a local project.” compounds in tail-water and overspray that find their way into the Poso Slough drain. “This partnership could produce mutual benefits for Water quality exceedances of chlorpyrifos and diuron have been detected the last all entities involved.” two years in the Poso Slough area within — Chris White, CCID the District’s South Division, an area GROWERS SHOULD MANAGE TAIL-WATER planted largely to alfalfa. Although the AND AVOID OVERSPRAY ON ALFALFA AND OTHER CROPS TO ELIMINATE DISCHARGES OF situation has improved, Regional Board CHLORPYRIFOS INTO SURFACE WATER DRAINS Additional surface water storage benefits has written a letter to the Westside San NEAR POSO SLOUGH. would also give the District added Joaquin River Watershed Coalition flexibility for its distribution of surface threatening possible enforcement under Westside Coalition Watershed water during peak summer months. the Regulatory Program for Irrigated Coordinator Joe McGann said there Lands if exceedances are not curbed. are a number of management practices Growing concerns over the reliability growers can implement to avoid tail-water of future water delivery from the Delta “Growers in the Poso Slough area of the discharges and overspray, which may end is prompting CCID and other members Westside Coalition need to understand up in neighboring drains. of the Exchange Contractors to explore that there have been exceedances ways to physically store more water to of chlorpyrifos in the area and pay McGann suggested alfalfa growers not bridge any possibility that future delivery careful attention to their applications, irrigate fields for at least 24 hours after an commitments may not be met. particularly in light of the fact that application and also manage tail-water the Regional Board is beginning to discharges using tail-water collection ponds “We are working hard on putting implement fines,” said CCID General or return systems. Growers should also together a long-term plan to proactively Manager Chris White. avoid overspray from aerial applications by protect our water supply,” White said. carefully following language on the label related to spray methods to avoid spraying Boards of the Exchange Contractors Chlorpyrifos, the primary compound near or toward drains. and CCID voted in mid-September to showing up in regular monitoring, initiate environmental reviews and enter is marketed under the trade names design contracts on the proposed Los Lorsban, Lock-On, NuPhos and Govern. “Carefully follow the label and make sure Banos Creek Detention Dam project Additionally, exceedances of diuron, aerial or ground applicators know where with an aggressive schedule to start marketed as Direx and Carmex, have drainage ditches are so they can adhere to construction and begin utilizing the also been detected. the label requirements,” McGann said. facility by next summer. CCID HAS POSTED “NO Signs TRESPAssING” SIGNS ALONG MANY OF ITS CANALS AND Available IS MAKING SIGNS AVAILABLE TO ITS LANDOWNERS AND CONSUMERS. ANYONE THIS DIAGRAM INTERESTED IN OBTAINING A ILLUSTRATES SIGN FOR USE IN THE DISTRICT THE POTENTIAL SHOULD CONTACT THEIR STORAGE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENTS BENEFITS FOR A at (209) 826-2288 (North RE-OPERATED LOS dIvIsIoN) aNd (209) 392- BANOS CREEK 3783 (south dIvIsIoN). DETENTION DAM. Issue Three, 2012 CCIDOBSERVER Page Three Prsrt Std U.S.