Rector Reservoir Bypass Valve Project

Rector Reservoir Bypass Valve Project

Rector Creek flows from the east side of the Napa Valley and is a tributary to Conn Creek, which is a tributary to the Napa River. The State of California built Rector Dam in 1946 and CalVet has operated the dam and reservoir since that time to supply drinking water to the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, the Napa State Hospital, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Bay-Delta Region office, the Town of Yountville, and several local wineries. CalVet also supplies untreated water to the CDFW Silverado Fisheries Base (Fisheries Base), which includes a hatchery located along Rector Creek downstream of the dam, and to the CAL FIRE training facility, located at the base of Rector Dam. Water delivered to the Fisheries Base is returned to Rector Creek approximately 0.35 miles downstream of the spillway while water delivered to the other uses listed above are for consumptive purposes. The stream reach below Rector Dam is accessible to anadromous fish. Neither CalVet’s license to operate Rector Reservoir nor its water rights supporting those operations include specific instream flow release requirements. In response to a complaint filed in relation to the absence of specific instream flow release requirements, CalVet is proceeding in good faith to assess and implement minimum flow release requirements for Rector Reservoir and construct the needed infrastructure to facilitate these releases. In support of this effort a preliminary instream flow study was conducted to provide guidance in establishing an interim minimum flow release schedule at Rector Dam. RESD recognizes the need for further data collection and analysis needed in order to establish an effective and sustainable long-term minimum flow release schedule for Rector Reservoir and is currently in the process of conducting additional data collection and analysis. Rector Creek Dam is a 164-foot-high earth-fill structure with a crest elevation of 381.5 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL). A tower with intake inverts at 270, 291, 307, 323, 335, and 339 feet above MSL supplies the low-level outlet, a 30-inch iron pipe. In order to facilitate long-term releases to Rector Creek below Rector Dam, CalVet proposes to construct a bypass water pipe to provide a constant flow back to the creek at a point immediately downstream of the dam. Based on a preliminary design report, CalVet would construct a “hot tap” (bypass valve) which would connect to the existing 36” diameter raw water main that runs beneath the dam and carries water from the reservoir’s intake tower to the CalVet water treatment plant. The bypass valve would be installed between an existing 8” tap which serves the CDFW fish hatchery and a 6” tap which serves the fire training facility. Raw water to be released to Rector Creek will be carried form the bypass valve via a short pipeline to an outfall structure located on the bank of Rector Creek. With the completion of the bypass valve facilities described above, CalVet would implement minimum flow releases to Rector Creek in accordance with the recommendations presented in the Rector Creek Preliminary Instream Flow and Stream Habitat Assessment prepared by Stillwater Sciences and dated December 2018. The EIR will analyze the implementation of the interim minimum flow release schedule and construction and operation of the bypass valve facilities at the project level. In recognition that, with the completion of ongoing long-term minimum release studies, permanent minimum flow release schedules may be implemented that could vary from the proposed interim schedule, the EIR will address the future establishment of a permanent schedule at a programmatic level.

Yountville

Napa

Northern California

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of General Services (DGS), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 3, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW)

Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology/Soils, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Public Services