State’s Water Storage Examined at Water Commission Workshop

The future of water storage in California and the potential impacts of specific storage projects were discussed during a California Water Commission workshop held Oct. 25 in Sacramento.  

The second of two Commission workshops on the topic, the day-long session featured 26 speakers, including ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn, state and federal officials, water agency managers, engineers and environmentalists.

Speakers offered insight and suggestions on system and reservoir reoperation; integrated water and flood management; and groundwater storage, remediation and conjunctive water management. While an undercurrent of the discussion was climate change, the mantra was the necessity of a statewide comprehensive solution.

ACWA Groundwater Committee Chair Greg Zlotnick led a discussion on conjunctive use as described in ACWA’s Groundwater Management Framework, released last spring.

“All of this can only happen with improvements in storage capabilities at the statewide level as well as the regional level, and the Delta conveyance issue has to be dealt with,” he said.

A panel on regional, state and federal surface storage projects included updates on Shasta Dam, Temperance Flat Reservoir, Sites Reservoir, the Delta Wetlands Project and North Bay Water Reuse Program.

Chapter 8 of the 2009 comprehensive water package was the backdrop for the final panel, “Criteria and Methods for Evaluating Public Benefits of Storage Projects.”

“We’re talking about 21st century infrastructure differently than we’re talking about 20th century infrastructure,” said Quinn, who moderated.

Other speakers offered advice on how to evaluate the public benefits of storage projects, including, but not limited to, ecosystem improvements, water quality improvements in the Delta, flood control benefits, emergency response and recreation.

View both workshop webcasts online, and look for a more in-depth story in the Nov. 4 issue of ACWA News.