A story from the Sacramento Bee on the proposed new reservoir north of Sacramento—with a mention of other dams being considered—that will, if approved, provide vitally needed water storage for our state.
An excerpt.
“Different kind of reservoir
“Sites would be an "off-stream" reservoir. That means it would not block a river, which for environmentalists is the chief strike against most dams.
“Instead, the V-shaped valley would be turned into a bowl by building two large earthen dams on its east side and nine smaller dams on its north end.
“This bowl would be filled by pumping Sacramento River water from three different sources: the existing Tehama-Colusa and Glenn-Colusa canals, and a new pipeline running due west from the Sacramento River.
“This new pipeline would also release water from the reservoir back into the river when it can best alleviate drought and help fisheries. As much as 90 megawatts of electricity could be generated at the same time, though Sites would be a net energy consumer because of the pumping power required to fill it.
“Operated in concert with Shasta, Oroville and Folsom dams, Sites could help share Northern California's water delivery burden, allowing existing reservoirs to provide more water for fish habitat.
“For instance, Sites could meet water demand normally provided by Folsom in summer, allowing Folsom to save its limited cold water supply for fall salmon and steelhead runs in the American River. This could have a side-effect of stretching summer recreation access on Folsom Lake.
"It's not a traditional reservoir, and it irks me when people think of it as a traditional dam," said Stephen Roberts, manager of surface storage investigations at the state Department of Water Resources, which is studying the project with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. "This is really an important tool to provide benefits across California."
“Package of dams studied
“Three other new dams are being studied in California: one to enlarge Shasta Lake on the Sacramento River; another to enlarge Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County; and a new dam on the San Joaquin River above Friant Dam.”
