In this story from today’s Bee we see that the legal and political structuring needed to ensure Sacramento is protected from flooding as only a dam can do, is coming together; an effort we heartily applaud.
While being very satisfied with the location and current type of dam being considered at the Auburn Dam site, we still have concerns about the water storage capacity, currently projected at 2.5 million acre feet.
We think it should be larger, not only for the obvious reason of protecting Sacramento from flooding, but to ensure the integrity of the American River Parkway, and reduce the use, as is now sadly happening, of the Lower American River as a flood conveyance vehicle where the river has to carry the water out of Folsom Dam to open storage space, creating very high-water levels on the river, inundating the Parkway, virtually destroying the public’s freedom to use it as intended.
A recent report (March 21, 2006) indicates that: “Accumulated snowpack/inflow estimates through 2/14 [06] indicated there is approximately 1.42 maf [million acre feet] of expected inflow for the remainder of the water year.”
That is about 420 thousand acre feet beyond Folsom Dam’s capacity of about 1 million acre feet, which clearly shows the importance of having a lot more storage available than projected in the current Auburn Dam design of 2.5 million acre feet.
We are continuing our research about the level of storage we feel is needed, and should be able to provide that information in our September 2006 report on water storage and supply.
Here is an excerpt.
Auburn dam may have sponsor
American River Authority board looks at moving project forward
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 13, 2006
WASHINGTON - The American River Authority, an obscure joint-powers agency with a modest budget, is considering stepping forward as the local sponsor for building a multipurpose dam at Auburn that could cost $3 billion, and perhaps a lot more.
"I think we will," said Bruce Kranz, a Placer County supervisor who heads the panel.
This move comes as a group of key House Republicans is organizing to revive construction of the controversial dam. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, said he plans to seek $5 million soon to begin work on a feasibility study for the dam.
That study, which Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken said could cost upward of $30 million, almost certainly would require a local sponsor to pick up half the cost.
"This is fantastic news," Doolittle said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "A local sponsor has been the missing piece of the puzzle. We are closer now to building an Auburn dam than we've been in years."
The authority is controlled by a six-member board, which is closely connected to Doolittle. The board consists of one supervisor from Placer, El Dorado and San Joaquin counties, and representatives of the Placer and El Dorado water agencies. A sixth at-large member is elected by the other five.
Construction of a dam has been endorsed by top Republican leaders of the House Appropriations Committee. But so far, no congressional Democrat has backed its construction, and Democrats have raised concern that the project could stall work on improvements to Folsom Dam.
"Some of those views will have to change for this to move forward," Doolittle conceded, saying that modifications to Folsom Dam would be needed regardless of whether the Auburn dam is built.
The lack of a local sponsor has been a primary criticism raised by opponents of an Auburn dam. Last week, for instance, after the dam emerged as a rallying point at a House Resources Committee hearing, Ronald Stork of Friends of the River condemned the project as "fantasy world."
"The project would need a giant multiyear engineering, environmental, seismic-safety feasibility study that would cost tens of millions of dollars, and it is uncertain whether there are any cost-sharing partners willing to sustain the multiyear study," he said.
At their April meeting Monday, authority members discussed the possibility of becoming the sponsoring agency. No decision was made and the topic was set for further consideration in May.
But Kranz, chairman of the authority, said he thinks the panel will vote to play a sponsoring role after the Bureau of Reclamation finishes a report updating costs and benefits for the project. Doolittle won a $1 million earmark in a spending bill last year for the study, due for completion in August.
Kranz said that what the authority has in mind is paying the local share of the dam with proceeds from the sale of revenue bonds that would not add to the local tax burden.
The bonds would be repaid from sales of power and surplus water.
