DWR petitions to extend State Water Project permits

Lake Oroville. Courtesy of DWR.

The Department of Water Resources, which holds permits to appropriate water for the State Water Project, has petitioned the State Water Resources Control Board to extend several of those permits for five years to December 31, 2015.  Last week, SWRCB noticed the petitions (PDF), allowing protest until September 20.  The relevant permits authorize diversions from the Feather River and the Delta, storage at Lake Oroville and San Luis Reservoir, and power generation at Oroville and Thermalito.

SWP water has not always been appropriated to the full extent authorized by permit, in part because of operational restrictions in the Delta.  In defense of the petition, DWR argues that its permits ought to be extended because (1) sufficient demand exists to put the full authorized volume of water to beneficial use, despite any operational restrictions; (2) the SWP, as it was originally conceived, remains incomplete without a Peripheral Canal or similar conveyance; and (3) current project operations should continue until otherwise altered by the BDCP and Delta Plan.

These are the permits that DWR petitioned for extension:

• Permit 16477: Authorizes 7,600 cfs diversion from Feather River at Oroville Dam (January 1 to December 31) and 380,000 afa storage (September 1 to July 31).  Purposes: hydropower generation at Oroville and Thermalito, incidental recreational and fish and wildlife.
• Permit 16478: Authorizes 1,400 cfs diversion from Feather River at Oroville Dam (January 1 to December 31) and 380,000 afa storage (September 1 to July 31).  Purposes: M&I, domestic, irrigation, salinity control, fish and wildlife, recreational, incidental hydropower generation at various power plants.
• Permit 16479: Authorizes 1,360 cfs diversion from Feather River at Oroville Dam (January 1 to December 31) and 3.5 million afa storage (September 1 to July 31).  Also authorizes 6,185 cfs diversion from Delta channels (January 1 to December 31) and 42,100 afa storage (January 1 to December 31).  Purposes: M&I, domestic, irrigation, salinity control, fish and wildlife, recreational, incidental hydropower generation at various power plants.
• Permit 16480: Authorizes 11,000 cfs diversion from Feather River at Oroville Dam (January 1 to December 31) and 3.5 million afa storage (September 1 to July 31).  Purposes: hydropower generation at Oroville and Thermalito, incidental recreational and fish and wildlife.
• Permit 16481: Authorizes 2,115 cfs diversion from Italian Slough (January 1 to December 31) and 44,000 afa storage (January 1 to December 31).  Purposes: M&I, domestic, irrigation, salinity control, fish and wildlife, recreational, incidental hydropower generation at various power plants.
• Permit 16482: Authorizes 1.1 million afa storage (January 1 to December 31) of water diverted from Italian Slough, Delta channels, and San Luis Creek.  Purposes: M&I, domestic, irrigation, salinity control, fish and wildlife, recreational, incidental hydropower generation at various power plants.