Modesto-area, valley reservoir supporters will rally at state Capitol

Farmers and other water users will head Monday to the state Capitol to show support for two bills that are important to their cause.

One of them, co-authored by Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, would streamline the environmental review for reservoirs that could be funded in part by a bond measure approved by state voters in November.

The other, introduced by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, aims to slow a state effort to increase flows for fish on the lower Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers.

The first bill will be the subject of an 11 a.m. rally on the Capitol steps. It calls for state agencies to speed up their review of Temperance Flat Reservoir, on the San Joaquin River northeast of Fresno, and Sites Reservoir, which would store Sacramento River water near Colusa.

Supporters say the projects are needed to capture strong river flows and help California through its recurring droughts. It is in the fourth year of an especially bad one, and parts of the San Joaquin Valley are getting zero surface water this year.

“Californians across the whole state are demanding that government take action to increase the water supply,” Olsen said Thursday.

Tom Orvis, governmental affairs director for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, said the drought has shown the need for the reservoirs but the urgency could wane if the weather turns wet again.

The projects have been questioned by environmental groups on the grounds that they would yield little new water while saddling taxpayers with substantial costs.

The measure, Assembly Bill 311, was introduced by Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City. It will be considered at a Monday afternoon hearing of that chamber’s Natural Resources Committee.

The panel also will discuss Gray’s proposal, AB 1242. It directs the State Water Resources Control Board to address “significant adverse impacts” resulting from the proposed river flow changes, including increased groundwater pumping.

The bill narrowly passed the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee last week over objections by several environmental groups. A day later, Gray and another supporter were removed from the committee by Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Modesto-area, valley reservoir supporters will rally at state Capitol."