California needs to address its water needs without 50-year-old expensive deadbeat ideas. Currently legislation to fast-track dams, cease litigation, and put the dam-building agency at the helm of new projects has moved through the House of Representatives. Encourage Senator Harris to invest in better ways that leads California towards flexible and resilient solutions in our changing climate.

California can solve this without Temperance Flat Dam!

1.       There is inadequate funding. Temperance Flat Dam could not demonstrate significant public benefit for funding from the Water Commission in 2018 and only received 6% of their total budget (1).

2.       There is no water. The San Joaquin River has no water rights available. It is 861% over allocated already (2). In many years, it dries up before reaching the Central Valley.

3.       There is only loss. Built inside the tail of another reservoir, the project destroys 2 current powerhouses and replaces it with one. It is a net energy loser that costs us $2.6 billion (3). Unique recreational opportunities will be lost. The Millerton Caves are unique because they are granite—not sedimentary rock. Californians will also lose the chance to designate these 8 miles Wild and Scenic.

The San Joaquin River—between Kerckhoff Dam and Millerton Reservoir—is suitable and eligible for Wild and Scenic status (4). Miles of river gorge are more valuable than the ineffective cost of $2.6 billion to destroy it. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has already completed the necessary environmental studies and process. The BLM supports the river's designation. The next step is Congressional approval.

Urge Senator Harris to support California by blocking this legislation--and lead the way to better solutions.

We can meet our needs without further destroying valuable river miles.

Learn more about this project from:

American Whitewater | Friends of the River

References:

(1) Scroll down the page to view information. https://cwc.ca.gov/Pages/WSIP.aspx

(2) Grantham, T.E. and Viers, J.H., 100 years of California's Water Rights System: Patterns, Trends and Uncertainty, Environ. Res. Lett. 9 (August 19 2014) at p. 5, available at: https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/files/biblio/WaterRights_UCDavis_study.pdf.

(3) See USJRBSI DEIS, chapter 20 for a detailed discussion of lost hydropower associated with Temperance Flat Dam.

(4) http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/BLM-SJRG-WSR-Recommendation.pdf