Groundwater recharge programs will play a vital role in augmenting water supplies for many communities' future neds.
California groundwater.

Integrated Storage Investigations

The 1996 Water Bond 204 provided $10 million dollars for an Integrated Storage Investigations program, which will be conducted over the next five to seven years. Results from these coordinated investigations will be used to help develop a broad, integrated water management strategy that the CALFED Bay-Delta Program can implement after its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement/Report has been approved.

ISI study results, when completed, will provide a comprehensive evaluation of alternative storage options available. In addition, the ISI will assess opportunities to modify or remove barriers to fish migration. The major ISI elements are:

• Comprehensive Planning Strategy - Evaluate the various combinations of water management options and arrive at a balanced strategy for long-term beneficial management and use of Bay-Delta water resources.

• North of Delta Off-Stream Storage Study - Continue engineering, economic, and environmental impact analyses to determine which North-of-Delta storage projects are feasible.

• In-Delta and Off-Aqueduct Storage Facilities - Further evaluate the alternative of connecting in-Delta storage to export facilities in the south Delta to improve ecosystem benefits and operational flexibility. Evaluate the feasibility of surface storage alternatives that resulted from CALFED’s initial screening of off aqueduct storage options, and further refine assessments of environmental, fiscal, and economic impacts.

• Onstream Storage Enlargement Studies - Assess the engineering and economic feasibility and the environmental impacts of enlarging storage capabilities of Shasta and Millerton reservoirs.

• Groundwater/Conjunctive Use - Work with local and regional stakeholders to develop groundwater management options that provide regional water supply benefits. Develop information critical for determining the optimal role of groundwater storage and conjunctive use in the overall mix of storage options.

• Hydro Facilities Re-operation - Evaluate the benefits and costs of re operating hydropower facilities and determine whether additional water supply benefits result from re-operation.

• Fish Migration Barrier Removal - Assess the potential to improve habitat by modifying or removing barriers to fish migration in Central Valley streams and rivers.

CALFED staff is working with CALFED member agencies and stakeholders on the Comprehensive Planning Strategy, while DWR conducts the remaining investigations, except the Onstream Storage Enlargement Studies. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is performing this investigation.

If CALFED and its coordinated programs are successful in helping solve long standing problems in the Bay-Delta estuary, the SWP and its contracting agencies may be able to depend on reliable future water supplies as California’s population and economy continues to prosper.