Santa Clara County
– President Bush has signed into law a $395 million funding bill
for California water projects, including $384 million for a program
to restore the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta – a key
source of water for Santa Clara County and millions of others in
California.
Santa Clara County – President Bush has signed into law a $395 million funding bill for California water projects, including $384 million for a program to restore the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta – a key source of water for Santa Clara County and millions of others in California.
In addition to extensive environmental enhancements and projects to improve the Delta’s aging water-delivery infrastructure, the legislation provides funding to address a potential threat to Santa Clara County’s water supply, as well as to others supplied by San Luis Reservoir.
“Santa Clara County depends on the Bay-Delta system for half of its annual water needs during average years, and as much as 80 percent of our water during dry years,” said Greg Zlotnick, a member of the Water District Board of Directors.
Some of the funding allows the federal Bureau of Reclamation to oversee work by the Santa Clara Valley Water District to remove operational constraints in San Luis Reservoir that can prevent the Water District and other south-of-the-Delta customers from receiving their full allotments of water from the reservoir.
Because the reservoir’s water level can fall below the outlet pipe that feeds Santa Clara and San Benito counties, the Santa Clara Valley Water District can’t rely on the reservoir to meet increased demand during late summer or in the fall. Or the water level can fall so low that late-summer heat encourages algae blooms, leaving the water unsuitable for human consumption.
The Water District must then hold back water in local reservoirs that would normally be used to recharge the groundwater basins so that enough water remains to supply treatment plants serving thousands of customers in Santa Clara Valley.
“The project to fix what is known as the ‘low-point’ problem is key to meeting current and future water demands by Santa Clara County and other areas in California utilizing water in San Luis Reservoir,” said Walt Wadlow, Water Utility Enterprise chief operating officer for the Water District.
The law – developed through the efforts of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) and Reps. Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) Ken Calvert (R-Riverside) and Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) – enjoyed bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In addition to the San Luis Reservoir low-point problem, the funding is expected to resolve several other Bay-Delta issues, including:
• A proposal to increase water-management efficiency,
• Further operational integration of state and federal water project operations, and
• Support for the Environmental Water Account, which provides water to help protect fish by reducing pumping at critical times and using water from the account to stabilize deliveries of water.
“President Bush’s signature of this bill marks the end of a decade-long struggle to turn CALFED legislation into law,” said Pombo, chairman of the House Resources Committee.
“This is extremely important for the people of California, our economy and our environment. Making sure we have the best quality and supply of water for the future was the end goal, and I’m very pleased we were able to make it happen.”
The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages wholesale drinking water resources and provides stewardship for the county’s vast watersheds, including a series of reservoirs, more than 800 miles of streams and groundwater basins. The District also promotes flood protection for Santa Clara County’s 1.7 million residents.
