Orientation Tour of Temperance Flat Dam Site

MILLERTON LAKE, FRIANT CA.  What might have appeared at first glance as a group of friends enjoying an early fall day on Millerton Lake, was actually an important orientation tour set up by Friant Water Authority (FWA) staff. The guests that day were Tim Quinn, Executive Director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), Jeff Rieker, Operations Manager of the Central Valley Operations Office, Bureau of Reclamation, and Michael Jackson, Area Manager of the South-Central California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation. The goals of the day’s activities were to one, visit the location for the proposed Temperance Flat Dam, thus the boat; and two, provide an orientation of facilities along the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and an introduction to the agencies who operate those facilities.

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Heading toward proposed Temperance Flat Dam site

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Tim Quinn (2nd from left) and Michael Jackson (3rd from left) get the lowdown from Bill Swanson

The proposed TFR Project would be a new reservoir, formed by constructing a new dam within the footprint of the existing Millerton Lake. The TFR would provide an additional 1.26 MAF of water storage capacity on the San Joaquin River that would manage water supplies stored from inflow that exceeds the operational capabilities of Millerton Lake. When lake levels are adequate the best way to visit the proposed dam site is by boat. Representing FWA on the tour was Jason Phillips, CEO, Jeff Payne (Director of Water Policy), Bill Luce and Bill Swanson (consultants). Michael Cervantes, Regional Affairs Representative for ACWA was on hand as well.

The group got a first-hand look at the future location of Temperance Flat Dam, as well as a rundown on how the project would operate in conjunction with Friant Dam. The organization Mr. Quinn leads, ACWA, is a statewide association whose 430 local public water agency members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California.

Jason Phillips and Tim Quinn praised the success of the Temperance Flat trip

“Seeing the proposed dam site is really important. Providing these ACWA and Reclamation managers with some of the proposed operational details of how Temperance Flat would work is also critical to everyone’s understanding of how important this project is to the State.”

— Jason Phillips

“It was exciting to see this project up close. ACWA and Friant worked together closely to include storage in Prop. 1, which was passed by voters in 2014. Thanks to that hard work, the California Water Commission is poised in 2018 to allocate $2.7 billion to CALFED storage projects like Temperance Flat and perhaps others.”

— Tim Quinn

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Bill Swanson, Jeff Rieker, Michael Cervantes, Tim Quinn, Jason Phillips and Jeff Payne

The second part of the tour took place along the San Joaquin River, and was intended to provide an orientation of facilities along the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and an introduction to the agencies who operate those facilities. Presentations at these facilities included information from Gerald Hatler (California Department of Fish and Wildlife); Reggie Hill (Lower San Joaquin Levee District); Randy Houk (Columbia Canal Company); and John Wiersma and Palmer McCoy (San Luis Canal Company).

Valley in Crisis Brochure

Get informed on some of the key challenges the Friant Division is facing and the options we have to mitigate and minimize possible future land retirement in our latest summary brochure.

Subsidence Lowers Friant–Kern Canal by 5 Inches in 5 Months

LINDSAY, CALIFORNIA  -  When officials with the Friant Water Authority (FWA) did an initial survey in April 2017 to measure subsidence along the Friant-Kern Canal, they expected to see impacts from the recent drought. What they measured in some places was a nearly three foot drop in the canal elevation. 

Even with last winter’s record breaking rain, snowfall and runoff, they assumed the discouraging trend would continue. What they found in early August when they resurveyed portions of the canal confirmed their fears. Since April the canal has dropped another 5 inches in one particularly hard hit location. 

“These findings are not entirely unexpected,” commented Doug DeFlitch, Chief Operating Officer for FWA. “Subsidence is a long-term challenge for the Friant Division, and will not be remedied after one year of good rain.” 

Jason Phillips, Chief Executive Officer for FWA added, “The continuing subsidence issue is why FWA is exploring possible funding mechanisms for bringing the Friant-Kern Canal back to its designed operational potential. A fully functioning canal will help achieve the groundwater/surface water balance the Friant-Kern Canal was designed to maintain, and lessen the impacts of subsidence.” 

Land subsidence is the gradual sinking of an area of land which occurs more dramatically in the region when groundwater is over drafted. Water that is removed from very fine clay-like pore space in the subsurface no longer has its internal strength and over time compresses and the surface of the land drops. During the drought when surface water supplies were limited or unavailable, regional farmers, cities and others relying on surface water supplies turned to groundwater. The resulting subsidence forced cuts in water deliveries to parts of the canal system during critical times this past summer.

The Friant Division was designed to bring stability to the San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater supply, which was threatened at the beginning of the 1920s by decades of groundwater pumping. The Friant Division’s two canals – the Friant-Kern and the Madera – source high-quality surface water from the San Joaquin River that supports crops, cities, and groundwater recharge. This investment to establish the Friant Division has paid off by providing stable surface and groundwater supplies that created and sustain a world-class agricultural sector that in turn supports numerous communities and businesses. 

The Friant-Kern Canal is a gravity-fed facility and currently does not rely on pumps to move water. Subsidence disrupts the natural grade line, which negatively affects the canal’s ability to convey water. As the surface expression of land subsidence continues to occur, the canal will continue to lose capacity. Current estimates put those reductions at nearly 60% of design. 

FWA is a joint-powers authority formed in 2004 by a majority of the water agencies receiving water from the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project. Its primary purposes are to operate and maintain the Friant-Kern Canal and to serve the information and representation needs of its member agencies.

Contact: info@friantwater.org