Folsom Lake water limits lifted
- Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, November 18, 2006
The state Water Resources Control Board has agreed to drop conditions restricting El Dorado Irrigation District's access to Folsom Lake water during certain periods.
The district announced Friday that the board has withdrawn conditions on the federal operating license for the district's Project 184 hydroelectric system, which required the district to stop drawing water from Folsom Lake when the state released water from storage facilities to protect water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The limitation was imposed as part of the board's 2001 decision allowing the district to appropriate 17,000 acre-feet of water annually from the south fork of the American River.
The district challenged the conditions, arguing its access to the water should not be restricted without similar restrictions on downstream users. The 3rd District Court of Appeal agreed in September that water rights the Legislature reserved for El Dorado County in 1927 have priority over water rights granted more recently to downstream users.
On Oct. 18, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted the district a 40-year operating license for Project 184 -- a system of lakes, canals and a powerhouse -- that included the restrictions. With the state board's decision to withdraw the conditions, district officials said they will ask FERC to remove the conditions from the license.
