On January 22, 2022, Dan Bacher published an article, Why is California’s DWR increasing State Water Project allocations in the middle of a drought? Jennifer Pierre, the General Manager for the State Water Contractors: tweeted the following response to the article:
All of the allocated water is already in storage downstream of the Delta. It was pumped during the storms in December. It could not be used for the env. In the future.
— Jenny Pierre (@jenbenthehen) January 23, 2022
The problem is that there are low point issues for Valley Water if San Luis reservoir is drawn down below 300 TAF during the summer. There have been problems with reservoir-wide algae, which is very difficult to treat at Valley Water’s water treatment plants, and cause taste and odor problems for Valley Water’s customers.
The San Luis Low Point Improvement Project (SLPIP) EIR states, “During the drought periods of 1976–1977, 1988–1992, and 2008, the reservoir was drawn down to below 300 TAF… San Luis Reservoir also fell below 300 TAF in summer 2016…. The low point issues did not materialize in most of these years because SWP contractors left some water in storage as carryover for future years.” (p. 12.)
On January 23, 2022 federal storage in San Luis was at 261 TAF. And according to Reclamation, “[t]he reservoir has not been drawn down to its minimum operating pool of 79 TAF since before the San Felipe Division began deliveries in 1987.” (SLPIP EIR, p. 12.)
We responded:
@jenbenthehen You have said that you are committed to collaborative science and adaptive management of the SWP for #climatechange. But there needs to be independent review. Will you support full, timely disclosure of forecast operations by @CA_DWR? #CAwater #DontLookUp pic.twitter.com/6A6ciuGIbW
— Deirdre Des Jardins (@flowinguphill) January 24, 2022
So far, Ms. Pierre has not responded or indicated that the State Water Contractors support disclosure of the forecast operations of the State Water Project.
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