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- Draft EA Available for the Storage and Exchange of Central Valley Project Water from Westlands Water District to Semitropic Water Storage District
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Draft EA Available for the Storage and Exchange of Central Valley Project Water from Westlands Water District to Semitropic Water Storage District
Media Contact:
Jeffrey S. McCracken, 916-978-5100, 08/07/2006 16:57
For Release: August 07, 2006
The Bureau of Reclamation announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Storage and Exchange of Central Valley Project (CVP) Water, Westlands Water District (Westlands) to Semitropic Water Storage District (Semitropic). Due to an extremely wet year, Westlands has a water supply in excess of its immediate needs.
Reclamation proposes to approve a one-time water banking project in which Westlands would bank up to 50,000 acre-feet of their 2006 allocated CVP contract supply in Semitropic's facilities for use by Westlands at a later date. The CVP water to be banked would be in excess of Westlands' immediate demand. Westlands would then recover up to 20,000 acre-feet per year of the banked water when the water supply is insufficient to meet demands.
It is anticipated that the CVP water would be conveyed to Semitropic sometime between July 2006 and April 2007 or the end of the 2006-2007 South of Delta CVP rescheduling period, whichever is later. Ten percent of the CVP water delivered to Semitropic would be left behind to compensate for aquifer losses as required by Semitropic's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the surrounding districts. The remaining balance would be credited to the Westlands account. Semitropic would use the delivered CVP water, in-lieu of pumping ground water, for irrigation purposes within Semitropic. Westlands would use banked supplies, returned via exchange, for irrigation purposes on established agricultural lands within Westlands.
The Draft EA has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and is available for a 30-day public review. The document is available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/index.cfm; select SCCAO and scroll to the Draft EA. If you encounter problems accessing the document online, please contact Ms. Lynnette Wirth at 916-978-5102 or e-mail lwirth@mp.usbr.gov.
The Draft EA will be finalized upon conclusion of the public review period. To request a copy of the draft document, please contact Ms. Laura Myers at 559-487-5179 or e-mail lmyers@mp.usbr.gov. Comments are due to Ms. Myers by close of business Tuesday, September 5, 2006.
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