Water Transfer to the South Valley Water Resources Authority
Summary
SCH Number
2021020389
Lead Agency
Patterson Irrigation District
Document Title
Water Transfer to the South Valley Water Resources Authority
Document Type
NEG - Negative Declaration
Received
Present Land Use
2.1.10 Site and Surrounding Land Uses and Setting
Specific site and surrounding land use and settings are varied. The turnouts used to deliver water are within three counties: Fresno, Kings, and Kern. The Project would utilize existing water conveyance facilities and is not proposing the construction of any new facilities. The Project would be in conformance with all land use policies.
Document Description
PID proposes to transfer up to 10,000 AF/Y of water to SVWRA and PVWD. Each year, the transfer of available water would be determined by the PID Board of Directors depending on San Joaquin River hydrology. Except for critical water years when the February first California Cooperative Snow Survey’s Water Supply Index Forecast for the San Joaquin Valley 60-20-20 Water Year Type Index is 2.1 or less and that hydrology does not improve, each year PID would make a minimum of 5,000 AF of water available for transfer to the SVRWA participants; the SVWRA may allow delivery of up to 2,000 AF/Y of the 5,000 AF/Y to be conveyed to agricultural lands in PVWD. Any additional quantity offered for transfer to the SVWRA in any given year beyond the minimum amount would be determined by the PID Board of Directors.
Contact Information
Name
Vince Lucchesi, General Manager
Agency Name
Patterson Irrigation District
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Name
Dena Giacomini, Senior Planner, Environmental Project Manager
Agency Name
Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group
Contact Types
Consulting Firm
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Kern, Kings, Stanislaus
Regions
Countywide
Other Location Info
The Project consists of a five (5) year water transfer agreement (beginning 2021) between PID and the SVWRA to transfer up to 10,000 AF/Y of surface water conveyed to SVWRA participants; up to 2,000 AF/Y of the SVWRA deliveries may be delivered to PVWD. The water to be transferred would be comprised of PID’s pre-1914 appropriative water right from the San Joaquin River or Replacement Water, then conveyed through existing federal facilities (via an existing Warren Act Contract) to existing SWP facilities for delivery, again through existing conveyances to the SVWRA participants. A current water service contract exists. An update to Exhibit C of the existing contract to address delivery from the Coalinga Canal turnouts (at milepost 14.55 and 14.57) and the California Aqueduct would be needed to be secured prior to any water being transfer to PVWD and SVRWA. PID has entered into similar agreements in the past and this Project is a continuation of existing water transfer activities that have been ongoing between PID and various water purveyors since 2010. Due to aggressive conservation practices and the use of reclaimed water, PID has temporarily developed water supplies in excess of the current water demands within its service boundaries. As a result, PID has excess water that can be transferred, through Water Transfer Agreements to various water districts in the San Joaquin Valley that may have water shortages. Also, due to reduced water supply allocation from the SWP, members of the SVWRA have suffered water shortages in past years and anticipates that this trend will continue. For more than the past decade, farmed lands within SVWRA and PVWD have regularly sought replacement supplies to offset the supply reductions from the SWP. Water transferred due to the Project would be transferred from PID to lands within the SVWRA and PVWD to historically cultivated, farmed lands; no new lands would be brought into cultivation as a result of the Project.
Project activities do not include any new infrastructure, conveyance facilities, construction, or alteration of lands. Water transfers would be provided to SVWRA members via existing turnouts along the California Aqueduct from Reach 8D, 9, 10A, 11B, 12D, 12E, 13B, 14A, 14B, 14C, 15A, 16A, and 17E, and through the turnout from Reach 31A of the Coastal Branch of the California Aqueduct. Water would be provided to PVWD through the Coalinga Canal.
Other Information
Member Latitude Longitude
Belridge Water Storage District 35.519172° N -119.720072° W
Berrenda Mesa Water District 35.662932° N -119.945316° W
Cawelo Water District 35.568376° N -119.150173° W
Dudley Ridge Water District 35.881798° N -119.868578° W
Lost Hills Water District 35.724168° N -119.766801° W
Pleasant Valley Water District 36.113599° N -120.243027° W
Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District 35.382899° N -119.252035° W
Semitropic Water Storage District 35.606200° N -119.495446° W
Tejon-Castac Water District 34.856690° N -118.807712° W
Wheeler Ridge- Maricopa Water Storage District 35.038432° N -119.016011° W
Notice of Completion
State Review Period Start
State Review Period End
State Reviewing Agencies
California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 10 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB), California San Joaquin River Conservancy (SJRC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance
Development Types
Water Facilities (Water Transfer Project)(Type Water Transfer, MGD 0.000001)
Local Actions
Water Transfer
Project Issues
Other
Attachments
Environmental Document
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