| History
Introduction (Continuation from Home Page)
worth of foodstuffs. SEWD also supplies wholesale treated surface water, which is retailed to Stockton area customers
by the California Water Service Company, the City of Stockton, and San Joaquin County. Since 1978, the SEWD drinking water
treatment plant has produced nearly a million acre-feet of water for uban use; enough to cover the City of Stockton' s 56.5 square mile
area with over 25-feet deep in water.
Formation of the District
The Stockton East Water District, as currently structured, was formed in
1948 under the 1931 Water Conservation Act of the State of California. The
district was originally organized as the Stockton and East San Joaquin
Water Conservation District, an independent political subdivision of the
state government. As such, SEWD was deemed responsible for acquiring a
supplemental water supply and developing water use practices that would
secure a balance between the district’s surface and its customer’s
groundwater supplies. Read the District Act Establishing Water Supply and Financial
Structure
From 1948 to 1963, the district focused its efforts on water resource
planning by evaluating groundwater conditions and determining requirements
for supplemental water. These intensive efforts on the part of the
district and other local agencies resulted in the construction of New
Hogan Dam in 1964. The district’s first supply of supplemental surface
water was obtained through a contract with the United States Bureau of
Reclamation (USBR), and a final agreement in 1970, which guaranteed 56.5%
of New Hogan Reservoir’s yield to the district, was put in place between
SEWD and the Calaveras County Water District. From its inception until
1962, the district’s basic financial structure was dependent upon property
taxes. In 1963, the Governor of California signed a bill establishing the
district’s right to levy groundwater use fees and surface water charges.
The district used the additional revenue to contract for New Hogan water.
About this time, SEWD began registering wells within the district, while
check dams were built on the Calaveras River and Mormon and Mosher Sloughs
to control surface irrigation water and promote groundwater recharge. The
district also became actively involved in the pursuit of projects to
mitigate significant groundwater issues, which included declining aquifer
levels, pumping depressions under urban Stockton, and the continuing
threat of saline intrusion in wells near the Delta.
Boundary Expansion and Drinking Water Treatment Plant Construction
In 1971, district boundaries were expanded to include the entire Stockton
urban area, and plans were initiated for a 30 million gallon per day (MGD)
drinking water treatment plant. In 1975, a district-wide election resulted
in the approval of a $25 million bond to fund the new plant. The Dr. Joe
Waidhofer drinking water treatment plant, located at 6767 East Main
Street, was constructed in 1977 and began operation in 1978. In 1979, the
Independent Benefit Commission concluded that the new drinking water
treatment plant was a benefit to Stockton’s planning areas. Thereafter,
SEWD assessed 14,000 acre-feet of additional agricultural acres, and, in
2005, annexed an additional 27,000 acres into the district. Today, SEWD’s
area encompasses approximately 143,300 acres. Pursuit of Supplemental
Water Supplies
SEWD has actively sought supplemental surface water from the American
River via the Folsom South Canal and from the New Melones Reservoir.
Efforts to obtain the American River supply have been thwarted by the
Environmental Defense Fund (EFD), and litigation by the East Bay Municipal
Utility District (EBMUD) and the Freeport Regional Diversion Project. In
1983, SEWD and the Central San Joaquin Water Conservation District (CSJWCD)
contracted with USBR for annual allocations of 75,000 and 80,000
acre-feet, respectively, from New Melones Reservoir. Also in 1983, the
district expanded its surface water irrigation capabilities by
constructing the 12,000 gallon-per-minute (GPM) Potter Creek Pump
Facility. Plant Expansion and New Melones Conveyance Construction
In 1991, the SEWD drinking water treatment plant was expanded to 40
MGD to accommodate increased demand from Stockton’s urban areas.
Construction on the New Melones Conveyance System, in anticipation of a
new water supply, was completed in 1994; however, under the Central Valley
Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), USBR did not supply water for the project
in 1993-1994. In 1995, SEWD began receiving New Melones water, but the
amount received was less than the contracted amount due to requirements of
the Miller-Bradley bill, which regulated flows on the San Joaquin River to
address water quality and fishery issues. Legal action in this matter is
ongoing. Under current USBR operation of New Melones, SEWD and CSJWCD
are provided with up to its total contract amount of 155,000 acre-feet of
water from New Melones annually. Adoption of AB 3030 Groundwater
Management Plan
SEWD adopted a Groundwater Management Plan in accordance with Assembly
Bill 3030 (AB3030). The goal of the SEWD AB 3030 Groundwater Management
Plan is to continue the district’s efforts to protect existing water
supplies, to relieve pressure on the groundwater basin by seeking
supplemental surface water supplies for conjunctive use, and to maintain
pressure on USBR to meet the contracted delivery amounts for New Melones
water. In 2006, the district adopted a Groundwater Management Plan
pursuant to Senate Bill 1938 (SB 1938). The Northeastern San Joaquin
County Groundwater Banking Authority (GBA) facilitated adoption of this
plan, which is required as a prerequisite for Proposition 50 grant
funding.
Link to the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Basin Groundwater
Management Plan:
http://www.sjgov.org/pubworks/Docs/Final%20Eastern%20San%20Joaquin%20Groundwater%20Basin%20Groundwater%20Management%20Plan.pdf
OID/SSJID Water Transfer Agreement
In 1997, SEWD entered into a water transfer agreement with Oakdale
Irrigation District and South San Joaquin Irrigation District (OID/SSJID).
This agreement allocates 8,000 to 30,000 acre-feet annually, based on New
Melones storage and inflow as of April 1 of each year. The contract period
for the allocation ends in 2009, with a 10-year extension, pending further
negotiations between the parties.
Managing the Calaveras Resource
In March 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed the
central valley steelhead as a threatened species evolutionarily
significant unit (ESU) under the Endangered Species Act. In March 2000,
NMFS designated the Calaveras River and Mormon Slough as critical Central
Valley steelhead ESUs. Any actions that might harm the ESU or its habitat
are restricted. Because this brought the entire management of the
Calaveras River under review, SEWD immediately entered into a pre-informal
consultation with federal and state regulators to begin discussing
possible changes in the operation of New Hogan Dam and the Calaveras water
supply system. Although the original listing was withdrawn by NMFS, the
district expects a future relisting. Therefore, consultation between the
district and NMFS continues.
SEWD began work with their fishery scientists and NMFS to develop a
plan to manage resident and steelhead trout in the Calaveras River. This
plan is called a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and will provide SEWD and
its water users with legal permission to continue using the water
resources of the Calaveras River for agricultural, municipal, and
industrial purposes.
SEWD also supports various research projects funded by the CALFED
Bay-Delta Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help learn
more about rainbow and steelhead trout in the river. At the request of
SEWD, the California Department of Water Resources continues to study ways
to improve fish passage in Mormon Slough and the Old Calaveras River.
Recently, SEWD concluded a CALFED Bay-Delta funded study to evaluate fish
screen alternatives for water diversions on the Calaveras River. The HCP
will be available in 2006 for public review. While the ESA hurdles
threaten the Calaveras River water supply for all users, SEWD is dedicated
to creating a balance between environmental and water supply needs.
The Farmington Project
In 2001, SEWD completed the Farmington Groundwater Recharge and
Seasonal Habitat Study (Farmington Study) in conjunction with the United
States Army Corps of Engineers and other local agencies. The Farmington
Study identified areas suitable for recharge and seasonal habitat
development, evaluated recharge techniques, conducted pilot recharge
tests, developed a final report and recharge guide, and recommended an
implementation strategy for the phased Farmington Program. In 2003, the
district completed the Pilot Phase of the Farmington Program, which
consists of 60 acres of recharge ponds and fields adjacent to the Joe
Waidhofer Drinking Water Treatment Plant. This project was awarded the
American Society of Civil Engineers Water/Environmental Project of the
Year in 2003 and the San Joaquin Council of Government Regional Excellence
award in 2004. The Demonstration Phase, which began in 2003, will
investigate and construct up to 1,200 acres of recharge ponds and fields.
To date, over 10 sites have been investigated and two sites are moving
forward to a demonstration study. In 2006, construction began on another
30-acre recharge site at the drinking water treatment plant. The district
estimates a recharge rate of 0.5 feet per day for this site. For more
information on the Farmington Program, see the Farmington Groundwater
Recharge Site links at
http://www.farmingtonprogram.org/. Peters Pipeline Project
In 2003, SEWD applied for and received a Proposition 13 Groundwater
Recharge Storage Construction Grant for the Peters Pipeline portion of the
Farmington Program. This conjunctive use project consists of a six-mile
long, 60-inch diameter pipeline, which will provide water for agricultural
irrigation, groundwater recharge, and drinking water treatment. In dry
years, well water resulting from wet year recharge will be pumped into the
pipeline for use in the Stockton urban area. Construction on the Peter’s
Pipeline began in April 2005 and will begin delivering water in the summer
of 2006. Efficiency Enhancement Project
In September 2005, construction began on the district’s $12 million
Efficiency Enhancement Project, which will provide 11 percent more
drinking water to the Stockton urban area. Pretreatment system efficiency
improvements include the engineering study, design, construction,
construction management, and start up of a new sedimentation basin and
chemical feed system. Finished water pump station and electrical system
efficiency improvements include the engineering study, design,
construction, construction management, and startup of a retrofit to an
existing pumping station and electronic control system. Affiliations
At the regional level, SEWD is an active member agency of the East San
Joaquin Water Users Association, the East San Joaquin Parities Joint
Powers Authority, the Northeastern Groundwater Banking Authority, and the
Eastern Water Alliance.
Contact Information Please direct questions and requests for
further information to the SEWD district office at (209) 948-0333 or
sewd@sewd.net. back to the top |
