Tulare Lake Basin Storage Facility Concept Proposal to

TULARE LAKE BASIN
Surface / Groundwater Storage
Concept Proposal
July 21, 2008
Water Quality and Reliability
for the San Joaquin Valley
A Cost Effective Approach to
managing the long term effects
of drought
Submitted by
Steve Haze
Gary Temple
Chris Acree
Richard Sloan
Grace Napolitano, Chair
House Subcommittee on Water and Power – Drought Hearing
Fresno, California
Contact Information
Steve Haze (559) 970-3656 - [email protected]
Gary Temple (559) 855-5653 - [email protected]
Technical Advisors
Dr. John Suen, California State University – Fresno
Sargeant Green Consultant to California Water Institute – CSUF
(Former GM Tranquility Irrigation District; Former Chair – FCWA)
Presentations
Fresno Bee Editorial Board and Staff Reporters – July 7, 2008
Honorable Jim Costa, U.S. House of Representatives - 20th Congressional
District, CA - November 29, 2007
Honorable Mike Villines, Republican Leader California State Assembly and
31st District - November 19, 2007
Fresno County Water Advisory Committee - October 25, 2007
Don Perrata, President Pro Tem California State Senate - October 8, 2007
Darrell Steinberg, Chair - California Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee and all members of the Committee - October 8, 2007
Statement for today’s Congressional Hearing on the Drought in California
Dear Chairwoman Napolitano, Congressman Costa and Members of the Subcommittee,
It is a pleasure and indeed an honor to contribute to this important Congressional
hearing regarding the significance of the drought that is now afflicting not only the San
Joaquin Valley in which we live in – but the entire state of California. We applaud you
for all of your hard work and commitment to securing and improving the quality and
reliability of a finite and indeed precious natural resource. Without water – our valley
communities and agriculture will indeed wither away.
We all need to pull together, farmers, businesses, environmentalists and all citizens – as
a partnership to build a secure and better future here in our valley. As you have so
wisely stated, “All of California must work together as we endure drought conditions
through a hot summer”. And, I must add without hesitation.
With that in mind, we offer solutions for securing our precious and finite water
resources for the future. We must plan well. All constituencies and leaders of any and
all political persuasions must be willing to reach across to each other – in a positive and
constructive way.
It is with this spirit of cooperation and willingness to sit down across the table, that we
have hereby submit a comprehensive surface storage and enhancement proposal – that
can become a catalyst to move from paralysis and unwillingness to compromise. All
constituencies must be welcomed to the table – and be willing to roll up their sleeves
and begin to do the necessary heavy lifting. We cannot rely solely on Washington DC
and Sacramento to dig us out of this hole. We, here in this wonderful valley must take
the initiative and work in partnership for long term solutions.
The San Joaquin Valley Water Leadership Forum today stands unequivocally in support
of a partnership that truly represents the common and best interests of all of the
people.
Respectfully,
Steve Haze
San Joaquin Valley
Water Leadership Forum
CREATING FEASIBLE SURFACE STORAGE
OPPORTUNITIES IN CALIFORNIA
The Challenges:
1). Save money
2). Leverage finances for best return on investment for taxpayers
3). Assure flexibility of new infrastructure
4). No direct or indirect impact to the environment
5). Minimize or reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and global warming
6). Complete projects on time, to cost and to specification
7). Work toward minimizing deficit spending or raising taxes
8). Pay as you go
9). Long term capital improvement with low cost maintenance
10). Multiple benefits to all Californians
11). Leverage off of existing infrastructure
Tulare Basin Background and Overall CVP/SWP System Benefits
Background:
Historic Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River
Historic Tulare Lake was 50 miles by 100 miles or 5,000 square miles
Historic Tulare Lake covered over 3,200,000 acres with a depth ranging from 6 to 25 feet
The Historic Tulare Lake stored approximately 25,600,000 acre feet of water - or 8.345 Trillion Gallons of water
The storage capacity of the historic lake would serve the water needs of 26 to 40 million people in California -- and nearly all
of agriculture's need
At just 10% of its potential capacity - Tulare Lake could store over 2.56 Million acre feet of water This equates to the water
needs of 26 to 40 million people
This equates to nearly twice the storage capability of the largest dam being built at Temperance Flat
Temperance Flat is now estimated to cost $3.9 Billion Dollars for a 1.3 million acre foot storage or $3,000 an acre foot
Tulare lake as managed storage and 10% increment would be 2.56 million acre feet or 2 times greater than Temperance Flat
for only $195 an acre foot or @ 6.5% of the cost
The capital outlay for the total system enhancements would be $313 an acre foot or 10.4% of the cost of a Temperance Flat
Capital Outlays would not only systematically benefit the San Joaquin River - but also the Kings River, Kaweah, Tule and the
California Aqueduct - thus allowing for greater flexibility in moving water around in a timely, reliable, cost effective and
efficient way
CALSIM II and/or CALSIM III could be enhanced to simulate system enhancements and performance
Imagine if the Salton sea could store fresh water - and then imagine that Tulare Lake at one time was the largest freshwater
lake in California - and can again be serving a thriving and growing California
TULARE LAKE BASIN
Surface / Groundwater Storage
Conveyance Hub with River and
Canal Interties
San Joaquin /
Kings Intertie
Friant-Kern Canal
Kings River Intertie
CA Aqueduct
Intertie
Tule River
Cross Valley Canal
TULARE LAKE BASIN
Surface / Groundwater Storage Conveyance Hub
with River and Canal Interties Schematic
Tule River
Kaweah River
Kings River
Friant-Kern
Kings Intertie
Surface
San Joaquin /
Kings Intertie
Groundwater
Cross Valley
Canal
CA Aqueduct
Intertie
CA Department of Water Resources – CALSIM-II
Comparison of Temperance versus
Millerton Enlargement and Tulare
Lake Basin Surface Storage Facility
Benefit or Impact Temperance
Cost
>$4 Billion
Maximum Storage
1.3M acre Ft
Flexibility of
Conveyance
Use of existing
infrastructure
Flood Control - Rivers
Link to California
Aqueduct
Loss of Clean
Hydroelectricity
Groundwater storage
/ recharging
Bi-Directional
movement of water
Environmental Impacts
Environmental
Improvements
None
Tulare
< $1 Billion
2.5M acre Ft or
greater
4 Rivers
3 Canals
1
Maximum
Leverage
4
None
Yes
Yes – 216 Mega
Watts / year
No Loss
None
Yes
None
Yes 2
Significant
Minimal
None
Significant
Minimal