70% Complete Draft PRELIMINARY APPLICATION DOCUMENT (PAD) Project Description • General Description of the River Basin (Section 3) • Project Location, Facilities, and Operation (Section 4) BISHOP CREEK HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC PROJECT NO. 1394 July 2018 3 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF RIVER BASIN Bishop Creek is a 10.1-mile-long stream in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains spanning across two of Inyo County’s thirteen watersheds (EPA 2018) and is the largest tributary of the Owens River. Bishop Creek drains a 104-square-mile area which is largely dammed for the purposes of water storage and power generation. The largest dams on Bishop Creek are Lake Sabrina, South Lake, and Longley Lake Dam (Figure 3-1). Bishop Creek is composed of three forks: North, Middle and South. The North Fork of Bishop Creek flows into North Lake and is unimpaired while the Middle Fork flows into Lake Sabrina. The two forks then join southeast of the town of Aspendell, California. The South Fork of Bishop Creek flows through South Lake and continues north where it combines with the North and Middle Forks approximately 2.5 miles northeast of Aspendell. Bishop Creek then continues in a northeasterly direction before continuing into the Owens Valley. Bishop Creek flows through the city of Bishop, California before its confluence with the Owens River east of Bishop. The Bishop Creek Basin is a sub-basin of the Owens River (Figure 3-2). The Owens River is a 183-mile-long river between the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains and the Inyo and White mountains, that flows southeasterly through Lake Crowley reservoir and descends through the Owens River Gorge, emerging at the north end of the Owens Valley, and terminating at Owens Lake south of the city of Lone Pine, California. The Owens River forms a 2,600- square-mile watershed. Tributaries to the Owens River include Spring Valley Wash, Silver Canyon Creek, Coldwater Canyon Creek, Hot Creek, Rock Creek, Bishop Creek, Big Pine Creek, Birch Creek, Independence Creek, and Lone Pine Creek. These tributaries provide nearly 50 percent of the surface water flows of the Owens River Valley. The mouth of the Owens River begins approximately 6 miles southeast of the city of Lone Pine near Dolomite, California. Ten miles southeast of Big Pine, the river is diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which consists of three source aqueducts from the Owens River, Haiwee Reservoir, and the Mono Extension. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was constructed in 1913 and is managed and JULY 2018 3-1 maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The aqueduct system delivers water from the Owens River to the city of Los Angeles, California. Inyo County, LADWP and others have been implementing the Lower Owens River Plan since the early 2000s. This plan provides for re-watering a 62-mile-long stretch of river and adjacent floodplain left essentially dry after the river was diverted into the Los Angeles aqueduct in 1913. The largest cities in the Owens River Valley are Bishop, Lone Pine, Independence, and Big Pine. JULY 2018 3-2 FIGURE 3-1 LOCATION OF THE BISHOP CREEK HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT JULY 2018 3-3 FIGURE 3-2 BISHOP CREEK DRAINAGE AREA JULY 2018 3-4 3.1 MAJOR LAND AND WATER USES 3.1.1 California Water Right Law Water right laws in the western states differs from water right laws in the eastern United States. California’s water system is dictated heavily on seasonal, geographic, and quantitative differences in precipitation, which has resulted in two types of water system management: riparian and appropriative. Additionally, California has two other types of water rights: reserved (water set aside by the federal government when it reserves land for public domain), and pueblo rights (a municipal water right based in Spanish and Mexican law). Riparian rights have a higher priority than appropriative rights. California Water Code 1943 establishes the foundation for the acquisition and protection of water rights (Inyo County Planning Department 2014). The California State Water Resources Control Board (CSWRCB) manages and administers various federal and state water quality programs. Locally, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) is responsible for oversight in the Owens Valley. The Inyo County General Plan Land Use Elements contains the provisions related to both land use, and public services and utilities. Inyo County and LADWP have a cooperative long-term water resources management agreement (1991) to ensure that there is a reliable water supply for export to Los Angeles, and for use in Inyo County (Inyo County Water Department 2017). 3.1.2 Bishop Creek Land and Water Uses Southern California Edison (SCE) has nine claimed Supplement Statements of Water Diversion and Use rights in Inyo County beginning on January 1, 1974 and six appropriative licensed water rights beginning in 1918 according to the State of California Electronic Water Rights Information Management System (eWRIMS). SCE’s water rights are outlined in Section 3.1.1. Land ownership within and adjacent to the FERC Project boundary is predominantly composed of federal lands jointly administered by the Inyo National Forest and Bureau of Land Management; a small portion of Inyo National Forest lands within the FERC Project boundary are also managed as a National Wilderness Area (John Muir Wilderness). The JULY 2018 3-5 remainder of lands are owned by SCE, LADWP, or private landowners, much of which is classified as rurally protected lands. While there is only a small portion of residential lands adjacent to the FERC Project boundary, the Inyo National Forest provides many recreation opportunities in the area that attracts visitors to the area. The FERC Project boundary includes only lands necessary for Project operations and maintenance and for the conveyance of water throughout the Bishop Creek system. 3.1.3 Owens River Land and Water Uses The Owens River forms a 2,600-square-mile watershed, of which the Bishop Creek is the largest tributary. The confluence of the Bishop Creek and Owens River is east of the town of Bishop, California. Ten miles southeast of Big Pine, what remains of the Owens River is diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which consists of three source aqueducts from the Owens River, Haiwee Reservoir, and the Mono Extension. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was constructed in 1913 and is managed and maintained by the LADWP. The aqueduct system delivers water from the Owens River to the city of Los Angeles, California. Much of the land in the Owens Valley drainage basin is either owned by the United States Government or the LADWP (307,000 acres). A small portion is owned by private citizens and municipalities. Of the United States Government land in the area, the two agencies that own the land generally located in the mountains and along the edges of the mountains are the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (USGS 1998). The primary economic activities in the valley are livestock ranching and tourism. Approximately 190,000 acres of the valley floor is leased by the LADWP to ranchers for grazing, and 12,400 acres are leased for pasture for growing alfalfa. Most of the land in the area is open to the public and is used for hunting, fishing, skiing, and camping (USGS 1998). The major historical periods of water use are summarized in Table 3-1. JULY 2018 3-6 TABLE 3-1 MAJOR HISTORICAL PERIODS OF WATER USE Time Period Characteristics of Water Use Pre-1913 Prior to the first export of water from the Owens Valley. Installation of canals to dewater the valley floor and supply water for farming and ranching. 1913 to 1969 Export of surface water from the Owens Valley by diversion of the Owens River and tributary streams into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. General decrease of farming and ranching in the valley. Brief periods of pumping to augment local surface-water supplies. 1970 to 1984 Export of some additional surface water. Beginning export of ground water with the addition of new wells and second aqueduct. Major fish hatcheries switch supply from surface water to ground water. Decrease in consumptive use of water by remaining ranches. 1985 to 1988 Continued export of surface and ground water. Design of cooperative water-management plan between Inyo County and the LADWP. Installation and initial operation of enhancement and mitigation wells. Source: USGS 2017 Post-1988, the water in the Owens Valley has primarily been used for surface-water diversions and/or ground-water pumping. 1,200 to 2,000-acre feet of ground water is supplied by the four largest towns: Bishop (population 3,879), Big Pine (1,756), Independence (669), and Lone Pine (2,035). Other uses of water in the Owens Valley include water delegated for Indian Reservations, stock water, irrigation for pastures, and irrigation of alfalfa (USGS 1998). There are numerous wells that are not maintained and monitored by the LADWP for domestic water supply, primarily at Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, on isolated ranches in Bishop, and on four very small Indian Reservations (USGS 1998). 3.2 OTHER DIVERSION STRUCTURES There are eight dams (Hillside, Sabrina, Longley, Intake No. 2, Intake No. 3, Intake No. 4, Intake No. 5, and Intake No. 6) and four diversions (Green Creek, Birch-McGee Diversion pipe, Birch Creek [West], and McGee Creek) on Bishop Creek. A description of each can be found in Section 4.3.2. JULY 2018 3-7 3.3 TRIBUTARIES The Bishop area has the most abundant native water supplies of any area in the Owens Valley as indicated by the large discharge of Bishop Creek (average annual discharge is more than 90 cubic feet per second [ft3/s]).