A good example of public/private partnership, increasing the water supply, and advancing environmental goals in Davis.
A good thing all around.
An excerpt.
Land purchase may lead to new reservoir
By Beth Curda/Enterprise staff writer , 8/27/06
Two organizations have purchased 320 acres in the Dunnigan Hills northwest of Woodland in the hopes of creating a reservoir and habitat area.
Tim O'Halloran, general manager of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Quality District, said the reservoir could help with the quality of the water in nearby canals, the level of water used by the Cache Creek commercial rafting industry and flood control around County Road 95, where water collects during winter storms.
Those uses of the land would be in addition to providing storage space for an estimated 8,000 acre-feet of water, and a habitat area for birds and other species, O'Halloran said. The land, which the district and the California Conservation Fund bought for about $1 million, is in the Dunnigan Hills northwest of Woodland.
The district normally moves about 150,000-acre-feet of water through its system annually, he said.
In helping with water quality in nearby canals, the reservoir could act as a settling basin for water that normally rushes through, along with sediment. The project could slow the flow of the water and allow sediment to drop into the basin.
On weekends, the project could help with the water level for rafting and take advantage of water that otherwise would just run through the district's system, O'Halloran said. Other ideas could emerge in the future, such as helping area communities with water supply.
