Colusa County Dam Field Trip

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Water Justice Team Visits Colusa County Dam Site

Twenty-six members and friends of the UULM Climate & Water Justice Team toured the proposed Colusa County Dam site over the summer to better understand the environmental implications of building additional water storage facilities in the area.

The tour was led by the Eldridge Moores, a new UULM Climate & Water Justice Team member and a world renowned professor emiritus of geology from UC Davis. He briefed the group on how this proposed project relates to larger issues of earthquake zones, ground water basins, declining watershed, and the effects of climate change on California’s water supply.

“The Sierra snow pack (the state’s largest natural reservoir) is threatened by global climate change,” said Eldridge. “Some argue that the solution is more water storage in reservoirs, and others that we need to replenish water tables and reduce use through recycling and conservation. Either way, given how severely threatened the delta is with collapse during an earthquake, with the subsequent saltwater intrusion, it makes little sense to add another large water storage facility north of the delta.”

The proposed project would include four main dams and 16 smaller dams. The resulting reservoir would be used for off-stream water storage from the Sacramento River. Due to the location of the dam, with no natural water flow feeding the reservoir and no traditional spillway, water would have to be pumped in and out of the reservoir.

Eldridge noted that although most of the state’s water supply is in the north, most of the population using the water is in the south. “Rather than dwell on this ‘us versus them’ scenario, all Californians need to work together to address the impact of climate change on California's water supply,” he said.

For some cogent arguments against spending billions on additional dams, see the the blog of Sierra Club California  For an argument in favor of additional above ground water storage, see the recent op ed from Lester Snow, Director of CA State Water Department.

To learn more about California water issues, visit Protecting California's Water Supply on the Governor's web site, or listen to the archived Cool Clear Water series from the Commonwealth Club broadcasts. (Do a search on "water."

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