Old Deer Creek Water Bank Project
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2021110003
Lead Agency
Saucelito Irrigation District
Document Title
Old Deer Creek Water Bank Project
Document Type
MND - Mitigated Negative Declaration
Received
Present Land Use
The proposed basin site is currently a walnut orchard and three of the proposed pipeline alignments are within farmed agricultural properties (Options 1, 3, and 4). Alignment Option 2 is within an easement that SID has along the western boundary of the Landfill site, currently not used for any waste disposal. The Project site is surrounded by rural agriculture uses, rural residences and the Landfill.
Document Description
Project Location
The Project is located in Tulare County, California, approximately 220 miles southeast of Sacramento and 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield. The proposed site of the Old Deer Creek Water Bank Project is located approximately six miles southwest of the City of Porterville on Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) 302-020-013.
Additionally, the Project will lay pipeline extending south from the recharge basins crossing various APNs in one of the four following alignment options:
Alignment Option 1 – 302-410-011, 302-410-012, 302-430-008, 302-430-010, 302-430-011
Alignment Option 2 – 302-130-001
Alignment Option 3 – 302-410-011, 302-410-012, 302-430-008
Alignment Option 4 – 302-410-016, 302-410-010, 302-430-001
Project Summary
The Project proposes to develop and operate up to 50 acres of recharge basins for banking and associated facilities. The Project site is currently walnuts and will be cleared and developed in three phases with a pipeline going north to south for a distance of approximately one mile, connecting to an existing District mainline along Avenue 120. The Project will not include recovery wells and will be constructed in monitored phases to ensure that significant unacceptable water quality and water level impacts do not occur.
The recharge facilities will be operated in compliance with the SID “Policy Principles for Saucelito Irrigation District Groundwater Banking Program” (adopted on June 14, 2018, Banking Policy). The facilities will be designed, constructed, operated, and monitored in accordance with a water banking agreement between Capinero and SID (Capinero – SID Banking Agreement) as required by the Banking Policy (Project). In addition, the Project will be operated in compliance with the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETGSA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), submitted to the Department of Water Resources in January 2020, and the ETGSA Land Subsidence and Management Plan (“Subsidence Plan”), currently in draft form, once adopted.
As detailed in Chapter 2 of the Initial Study Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), there is a concern that Project recharge water could perch on fine grained layers and that this perched water might migrate beneath the Landfill. If Project monitoring, indicates that unacceptable mounding is occurring, Capinero may elect to install dry wells within the Project recharge basins to drain perched water down to the upper unconfined aquifer. These wells will be permitted and completed in accordance with Tulare County Environmental Health Division requirements.
Recharge Operations
It is anticipated that the Project will primarily bank Friant water. It is possible that the Project might bank water from other systems, but separate approvals will be required. As required by the Banking Policy, 10% to 30% of the recharged water will be allocated to SID’s storage account. All phases of the Project will convey and bank water from the FKC through SID’s turnout from the FKC through the existing pump station and be pumped through the new (or improved) pipeline facility to the recharge basin site. In all cases the Capinero’s ability to divert and convey water will be contingent on approval from SID to ensure that Capinero’s operations do not impair District operations and comply with District policies, rules and regulations.
Recovery Operations
The Project will not include construction of recovery wells. There will also be no recovered water returned to the FKC. All banked water recovery will take place through in-ground transfers, as described in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
Monitoring and Operational Constraint Plan (MOCP)
The Project will be designed, operated, and monitored in a manner to ensure that the beneficial effects of the Project are maximized while preventing significant unacceptable impacts to the aquifer, groundwater levels, groundwater quality, the FKC, or adjacent landowners relative to conditions that would have occurred absent the Project. A Monitoring Committee will be formed to ensure that district interests, adjacent landowners and FKC interests are protected. A full description of the MOCP can be found in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
Ground Water Monitoring
Ground water monitoring will involve water level monitoring, baseline water quality sampling, monitoring of each phase of basin construction and operation, annual monitoring, and water accounting and monitoring. Full discussion of each of these monitoring steps can be found in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
Contact Information
Name
Nick Keller, Interim General Manager
Agency Name
Saucelito Irrigation District
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Amy Wilson
Agency Name
Provost & Pritchard Consulting
Contact Types
Consulting Firm
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Porterville, Terra Bella
Counties
Tulare
Regions
Citywide, Unincorporated
Cross Streets
Avenue 120 & Road 208
Zip
93257
Total Acres
50
State Highways
190
Waterways
Friant Kern Canal
Township
22S
Range
26E
Section
12&13
Base
MDB&M
Other Location Info
Project Location
The Project is located in Tulare County, California, approximately 220 miles southeast of Sacramento and 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield. The proposed site of the Old Deer Creek Water Bank Project is located approximately six miles southwest of the City of Porterville on Assessor's Parcel Number (APN)
302-020-013.
Additionally, the Project will lay pipeline extending south from the recharge basins crossing various APNs in one of the four following alignment options:
Alignment Option 1-302-410-011, 302-410-012, 302-430-008, 302-430-010, 302-430-011 Alignment Option 2 - 302-130-001 Alignment Option 3 - 302-410-011, 302-410-012, 302-430-008 Alignment Option 4- 302-410-016, 302-410-010, 302-430-001
Project Summary
The Project proposes to develop and operate up to 50 acres of recharge basins for banking and associated facilities. The Project site is currently walnuts and will be cleared and developed in three phases with a pipeline going north to south for a distance of approximately one mile, connecting to an existing District mainline along Avenue 120. The Project will not include recovery wells and will be constructed in monitored phases to ensure that significant unacceptable water quality and water level impacts do not occur.
The recharge facilities will be operated in compliance with the SID "Policy Principles for Saucelito irrigation District Groundwater Banking Program" {adopted on June 14, 2018, Banking Policy). The facilities will be designed, constructed, operated, and monitored in accordance with a water banking agreement between Capinero and SID (Capinero - SID Banking Agreement) as required by the Banking Policy (Project). In addition, the Project will be operated in compliance with the Eastern Tule
Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETGSA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), submitted to the Department of Water Resources in January 2020, and the ETGSA Land Subsidence and Management Plan ("Subsidence Plan"), currently in draft form, once adopted. As detailed in Chapter 2 of the Initial Study Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), there is a concern that Project recharge water could perch on fine grained layers and that this perched water might migrate beneath the Landfill. If Project monitoring, indicates that unacceptable mounding is occurring,
Capinero may elect to install dry wells within the Project recharge basins to drain perched water down to the upper unconfined aquifer. These wells will be permitted and completed in accordance with Tulare County Environmental Health Division requirements.
Recharge Operations
It is anticipated that the Project will primarily bank Friant water. It is possible that the Project might bank water from other systems, but separate approvals will be required. As required by the Banking Policy, 10% to 30% of the recharged water will be allocated to SID's storage account. All phases of the Project will convey and bank water from the FKC through SID's turnout from the FKC through the existing pump station and be pumped through the new (or improved) pipeline facility to the recharge
basin site. In all cases the Capinero's ability to divert and convey water will be contingent on approval from SID to ensure that Capinero's operations do not impair District operations and comply with District policies, rules and regulations.
Recovery Operations
The Project will not include construction of recovery wells. There will also be no recovered water returned to the FKC. All banked water recovery will take place through in-ground transfers, as described in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
Monitoring and Operational Constraint Plan (MOCP)
The Project will be designed, operated, and monitored in a manner to ensure that the beneficial effects of the Project are maximized while preventing significant unacceptable impacts to the aquifer, groundwater levels, groundwater quality, the FKC, or adjacent landowners relative to conditions that would have occurred absent the Project. A Monitoring Committee will be formed to ensure that district
interests, adjacent landowners and FKC interests are protected. A full description of the MOCP can be found in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
Ground Water Monitoring
Ground water monitoring will involve water level monitoring, baseline water quality sampling, monitoring of each phase of basin construction and operation, annual monitoring, and water accounting and monitoring. Full discussion of each of these monitoring steps can be found in Chapter 2 of the IS/MND.
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, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), 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), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
State Reviewing Agency Comments
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Development Types
Water Facilities (Water Banking and Storage)(Type Water Banking, MGD 0.000001)
Local Actions
Water Bank
Project Issues
Biological Resources, Cumulative Effects, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Tribal Cultural Resources
Attachments
Draft Environmental Document [Draft IS, NOI_NOA_Public notices, OPR Summary Form, Appx,]
Notice of Completion [NOC] Transmittal form
State Comment Letters [Comments from state reviewing agencies]
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