Stockton Water Spat Nears End: City Plan to Take S.J. River Water May Affect Delta
By Warren Lutz, The Record, Stockton, Calif.
Mar. 13–STOCKTON – A dispute over a key Stockton proposal to take water from the Delta is mellowing after the city agreed to curb its thirst for drinking water slightly.
Two water agencies sued the city earlier this year, fearing its plans to take San Joaquin River water would drain water supplies for users south of the Delta. About 23million Californians depend on Delta exports for drinking and farming.
But a compromise is near after state water officials refused last week to reconsider Stockton’s permit.
“We are working cooperatively with the two entities to perfect and execute a settlement agreement,” Stockton Municipal Utilities director Mark Madison said.
The $172million project – originally proposed 30 years ago and resurrected nearly 10 years ago – involves taking water out of the San Joaquin River at Empire Tract and piping it 13 miles along Eight Mile Road to a new water treatment plant on Lower Sacramento Road.
The cleaned water would be sent into the city’s existing water system.
But in January, the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority and the Westlands Water District sued the city in Santa Clara County Superior Court over the project’s environmental documents. In the documents, the city acknowledged taking water from the river would have an effect – albeit minor – on water exports.
“Anything you do in the Delta that disrupts that balance will result in the projects having to make up or mitigate that impact,” Westlands Deputy General Manager Thad Bettner said.
Dozens of water agencies in Central and Southern California receive Delta water, which is sucked south through large pumps near Tracy.
The state Water Resources Control Board upheld the city’s water rights permit for the project last week but added a condition that allows state officials to amend the permit if the project impacts the Delta water supply.
In addition, Madison said the city is asking for only enough water for the project’s first phase – 33,000 acre-feet a year, or about enough water for a city the size of Lodi.
City officials eventually will need an environmental review for the second phase of the project, which calls for raising the city’s take to 125,000 acre-feet a year by 2050.
But there’s no rush, Madison said.
“The second phase shouldn’t be needed for 10 to 20 years,” he said. “We’re talking about a long time from now.”
The city relies on two suppliers for its water: Stockton East Water District, which provides treated surface water to residents on the north and south ends of Stockton, and California Water Service Co., which serves mostly central Stockton.
All three parties say settlement talks are continuing. Madison said city officials are working hard to address the two regional water agencies’ concerns.
Dan Nelson, general manager of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota authority, said he’s “cautiously optimistic.”
“We’d like to see Stockton move forward with their project, and we certainly don’t intend to be obstructionists,” Nelson said. “But at the same time, we want to make sure our rights aren’t undermined.”
Contact reporter Warren Lutz at (209) 546-8295 or wlutz@recordnet.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Stockton, Calif.
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