Talk:Pacheco Reservoir

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This new information does not mention that the proposed new dam would be built in a state park, which is illegal. It talks about benefits to wildlife areas, and presumably wildlife, without discussing environmental damages projects like these always bring. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:647:CB03:44A0:F5AD:55AB:6B8E:A8AD (talk) 06:47, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Possibly should mention Spillway failure, January 4-5 2023, and subsequent flooding. --SallyTheodora (talk) 12:26, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

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I am an employee of Santa Clara Valley Water District. I will not edit the article directly, in accordance with Wikipedia’s conflict of interest policy.

Information to be added: New section on Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project

Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project
In 2018, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (known as "Valley Water"), Pacheco Pass Water District, and San Benito County Water District were awarded $484.5 million from California’s Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 to expand Pacheco Reservoir from its current operational capacity of 5,500 Acre-foot to 140,000 acre-feet.[1][4] The expansion project involves building an earthen dam made of rock and soil upstream of the existing dam, a pump station, a pipeline, and other related infrastructure. The total project cost is projected to be $969,000,000.[2]

In addition to runoff from the North Fork Pacheco Creek watershed, the reservoir will store imported water pumped from the San Luis Reservoir, which is located to the east along Highway 152 and is part of the Central Valley Project (CVP) San Felipe Division in Merced and Santa Clara counties. The imported water would be supplied by the United States Bureau of Reclamation under contract to Valley Water and the San Benito County Water District.[2]

In a drought or other emergency, the increased storage capacity will supply up to 1.4 million residents with water for a year.[3] Water flow from the reservoir into Pacheco Creek will be managed to keep the creek flowing and improve the quality of habitat for South Central California Coast steelhead trout. Eight wildlife refuges in Central California will also be supplied with water.[2][5]

Valley Water is currently exploring the project design and evaluating environmental impacts under a cost-sharing agreement with the California Water Commission. The draft environmental impact report is expected by 2022, with construction expected to begin in 2024.[3][2]

References supporting change:

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