Littlerock Creek Recharge Project
Summary
SCH Number
2024120568
Public Agency
Antelope Valley State Water Contractors Association
(AVSWCA)
Document Title
Littlerock Creek Recharge Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
12/13/2024
Document Description
The Antelope Valley State Water Contractors Association (AVSWCA) has contracts with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) for entitlement to and delivery of State Water Project (SWP) water from the California Aqueduct, which traverses the Antelope Valley. In response to DWR’s request for AVSWCA to find creative ways to maximize the use of SWP water in a 100 percent SWP allocation year and proactively respond to Executive Order N-4-23 issued by Governor Newsom to maximize groundwater recharge in wet years, AVSWCA is pursuing the proposed Littlerock Creek Recharge Project (Project). The Project would involve diverting surplus SWP water from the California Aqueduct into Littlerock Creek, where it would naturally percolate into the Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin. The water would be diverted using an existing turnout with a capacity of 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) located along the California Aqueduct.
Contact Information
Name
Tom Barnes
Agency Name
Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency
Job Title
Water Resources Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Littlerock (unincorporated)
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Southern California
Zip
93543
State Highways
State Route 138
Waterways
Littlerock Creek
Other Location Info
0.5 mile south of State Route 138
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Common Sense Exemption, California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), a project that qualifies for neither a statutory nor a categorical exemption may nonetheless be found exempt under what is known as the “common sense” exemption, which applies “[w]here it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The proposed Project would utilize existing infrastructure to divert surplus water supplies into an existing creek for groundwater recharge. The Project would not require construction activities. Operational activities would be limited to opening and closing two existing sluice gates to divert flows into the creek. No changes in other operational/maintenance activities from existing conditions would occur.
The Project does not propose physical improvements and therefore would not have the potential to have a significant effect on the environment. While the diversion of water supplies would represent a physical change in the environment, this change would not have the potential to have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Flows diverted into the creek would be restricted to the creek’s existing low-flow channel and would therefore not alter existing vegetation communities or alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area. Water recharged by the Project would be comprised entirely of SWP water; therefore, adverse water quality impacts to existing water in the Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin would not occur. The quality of SWP water delivered at the Project location is tested by AVSWCA member agencies at several water treatment plant locations along the SWP. Groundwater quality is also tested at pumping wells throughout the Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin.
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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