Gray Lodge Water Supply Project

Project Components

Miles of canal (approximately): 20 miles

Number of county road crossings: 5

Number of farm crossings: 11

Number of Flumes: 3

New system capacity: 40 - 850 cfs

Capacity increase: 10 - 120 cfs

Project cost: $29.1M

Project Description

In 1992, Congress passed the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). In accordance with the CVPIA, Reclamation is required to provide specific quantities of water to various refuges in the Central Valley of California, including Gray Lodge. Through an agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the District conveys CVPIA water supplies through a series of District maintained canals and ditches to three delivery points at the boundary of Gray Lodge. The water is then distributed through a series of CDFG maintained canals and ditches to the seasonal wetlands and irrigated pasture and crop lands of Gray Lodge.

Currently, the District’s facilities lack sufficient capacity (temporal and/or quantitative) to deliver the full amount of CVPIA water supplies to Gray Lodge. The District, through a cooperative agreement with Reclamation, has embarked upon a conveyance facilities improvement project (Project). The scope of the Project is to design and construct improvements necessary to convey the full amount of CVPIA water supply to Gray Lodge, which is in addition to the annual allocations from the District to the primary and secondary lands of Gray Lodge, as a District member. Upon completion of the Project, the District will be capable of conveying up to the 44,000 acre-feet of water required for optimal wildlife management at Gray Lodge, as identified by CVPIA. Any water, in addition to the District’s allocations, up to the 44,000 acre-feet, will be supplied by Reclamation to meet goals and objectives for implementation of CVPIA.

To get the necessary capacity through the existing system, canals will be improved and structures will be upgraded and/or replaced. Increasing the capacity of the District’s water conveyance system will require the replacement of nearly 60 structures including checks, siphons, weirs, culverts, and bridges for railroad, county, and road crossings. Additionally, some of the 20 miles of canals and laterals will be raised and/or widened. The expenses for the Project’s design and construction are completely funded through a cooperative agreement between Reclamation and the District, with the funds for the Project coming from both Reclamation and CDFG. The resulting conveyance facilities improvements will not only meet the mandates of CVPIA, but will greatly enhance the ability of the District to meet all members’ needs through increased operational flexibility. Additionally, the updated facilities may assist the District in meeting current and future water measurement and conservation measures.