[env-trinity] Trinity Journal July 21 2010

[Byron Leydecker]

Water boost 

Bureau of Reclamation says it will pull less water from Trinity Lake this
year 

 

BY AMY GITTELSOHN THE TRINITY JOURNAL 

 <http://www.trinityjournal.com/images/2010-07-21/001p1.jpg> Trinity Lake
will be able to retain more snowmelt this summer due to lower diversions.
PHIL NELSON | THE TRINITY JOURNAL FILE Trinity Lake will be able to retain
more snowmelt this summer due to lower diversions. PHIL NELSON | THE TRINITY
JOURNAL FILE Trinity Lake will keep more water than usual this year thanks
to the bountiful inflow to Shasta Lake and repairs needed at two power
plants, an operations supervisor with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said. 

Approximately 300,000 acre-feet of water from Trinity Lake will be sent via
underground tunnel to Whiskeytown Lake and into the Sacramento River for
Central Valley Project use, said Larry Ball, operations supervisor for the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the North State. 

With 647,000 acre-feet being released to the Trinity River this year, close
to the same amount would normally be sent through the tunnel, Ball said, but
conditions at the faster-filling Shasta Lake make the lower amount possible.


"It allows us to reduce some of the diversions from Trinity," Ball said,
adding that Trinity Lake will have a higher carryover storage than it would
otherwise. 

Trinity Lake has had fairly good inflow as well, but started the season down
considerably after several dry years. 

In addition to ample water at Shasta Lake to take up the slack, Ball said
the Judge Francis Carr and Spring Creek power plants that the Trinity water
flows through after it is diverted are at half capacity due to maintenance
on one generator and the need to replace another. 

In addition to the 300,000 acre- feet to be diverted and sent south, water
is also released to the Trinity River. In April, this was forecast to be a
normal water year for the Trinity River Basin which means that 647,000
acre-feet must be released to the river under the Trinity River Record of
Decision. Total inflow to the lake since the beginning of the water year,
Oct. 1, is now almost 1.5 million acre feet, with 200,000 to 300,000 acre
feet more expected by the end of September. The inflow is higher than had
been forecast. 

The amount sent south is treated with more flexibility by Reclamation. The
split between what is released to the river and the amount sent south for
CVP has averaged out to about 50/50 over the years as the Record of Decision
called for, Ball said, although the diversion may be higher or lower than
the river release in a given year. 

The improved carryover does not mean a full Trinity Lake. This week the lake
level began to slowly drop, although it will still be well above last year's
levels. 

This is the time of year when the high spring release to the Trinity River
is being ramped down and the diversion for CVP use is increasing. As of
Monday, inflow to Trinity Lake was 1,514 cubic feet per second (cfs),
release to the Trinity River was 757 cfs, and release to the Clear Creek
Tunnel for diversion was 1,166 cfs. Last year at this time more than 1,500
cfs was being sent south. 

Ball said by the end of the season in late September it's looking like
Trinity Lake might be 65 to 70 feet from the crest, whereas it was 100 feet
down at that time last year. 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land/fax

415 519 4810 mobile

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

 

 

 

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