California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
A part of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program will now allow Porterville area landowners to take surface water diversions in lieu of pumping groundwater thereby allowing the aquifer to passively recharge as well as slowing groundwater overdraft in the system.
The Bureau of Reclamation released a Final Environmental Assessment/Initial Study (EA/IS) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) earlier this week for a new water conveyance for the Porterville Irrigation District. The project will connect two areas, Service Area 1 (1,400 acres) and Service Area 2 (720 acres) to surface supplies. Service Area 1 will connect pipelines to the Wood Central Ditch and Service Area 2 will connect new pipelines to the Friant Kern Canal. The pipelines will be installed into existing agricultural fields.
The San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP) is a comprehensive long-term effort to restore flows to the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam to the confluence of Merced River and to also restore a self-sustaining Chinook salmon fishery in the river while reducing or avoiding adverse water supply impacts from restoration flows.
Reclamation’s proposed funding for construction of the project is in accordance with Part III of Title X, Subtitle A of Public Law 111-11. It authorizes Reclamation to provide financial assistance to local agencies within its Central Valley Project for the planning, designing and constructing of local facilities to enable bank water underground or recharge groundwater in order to reduce or avoid water supply impacts of implementing the San Joaquin River Settlement.
The Final EA/IS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The FONSI was prepared in accordance with NEPA. Reclamation is the lead agency in accordance with NEPA and Porterville Irrigation District is the lead agency in accordance with CEQA. The documents are available at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=26057. If the event of problems accessing these documents, please call 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or email [email protected].
For additional information, please contact Adam Nickels at 916-978-4415 or [email protected]
