According to an editorial by Evert Palmer in the Telegraph back in February, the Bureau of Reclamation releases an average of 2.7 million acre-feet of water from Folsom Lake each year. The same article also says that Folsom has water rights to 34,000 acre-feet of water per year and currently uses about 24,000. That means in one year we currently use less than 1% of what is released. If we were using our full 34,000 that would still be less than 2% of what is released. Is the bigger problem the amount of water being released?
City is full of misstatements, eh? The city has Pre 1914 Water rights during Multi Year Drought, of HALF that amount.
City "rights" are now about 17,000 Acre feet. But, city rights COULD BE LOWER tomorrow because there might NOT be enough water for the 17,000 AF to matter at all.
Source: Water Forum Agreement.
The last Folsom Water Management Report to Reclamation which bears an Engineering Seal was 2005. The engineer noted the city reached full 34,000 AF usage in at that time and needed to conserve IMMEDIATELY.
As for releases, they are at a bare minimum now, to keep the river alive. When salmon and trout ran, Reclamation refused to accommodate our fish who are food-supply for humans. In fact, during June, Reclamation made releases which dropped Folsom Reservoir so drastically it went down 6 to 8 feet vertically. That was not for fish, it was for So Cal/LA.
I sent them a 4sewerdogs channel video from www.youtube.com
showing the drop "to combat Delta salinity." Well, folks that is another way of saying: sending Folsom water down to So Cal, especially to LA water department. Clearly we up here were NOT included in protections, because Folsom water disappeared like into a rathole. That is what the Delta tunnels are all about.
If that is not enough, the owner of south of 50 FPA (Folsom Plan Area) bought Conaway Ranch (largest water rights around), and many Sacramento River rice farms. But the city gave him free engineering support, which showed the pipelines would cost $1/4 Billion --- with a B. So, Jan 2013, our water rights to non-existent water went to enhance the price of FPA land. The council gave it away in "closed session." Or is that "secret?" Worst of all, the Sac river water can be sold to LA MWD. Two weeks ago one acre foot of water sold in the southland for $1.1 million per acre foot. Selling that alternate water supply instead of constructing pipes to FPA, certainly filled someone's pocket?
Did you know the city council approved and is spending OUR money to dig two huge water tunnels under highway 50, to send our water to FPA? They also are spending $3 million to construct two huge tunnels to bring the FPA sewage north, under 50, to enter the jammed-up 27" sewage mainline.
Did you know the city filed a lawsuit, suing the rest of the world, Superior Ct. Sac County 34-2013-00138798, to prevent anyone from suing the city because it violated the terms of Measure W, our water law. In other words, the city council told the judge: here's the announcements, the hearings, and the public meetings where we passed our laws giving away water which does not exist. See, no one can sue us. Slick as sewage.
If you want evidence, read the 2005 Folsom Water Management Plan at www.usbr.gov or Google that.
Also look at current Budget under Sanitary Sewer spending, Resolutions 9096, 9097, and of course the Brown & Caldwell Technical Memo to Todd Eisling, stating the FPA will immediately consume at least 20,600 acre feet of water. (That exceeds the ENTIRE drought water rights of 17,000 AF for Folsom, CA.) That estimate does not consider how much more dense the FPA land zoning is than north of 50.
Don't forget the East Area water being given over to FPA as well by our council. The East Area will pay less, because their water is going to FPA.
Why is this not in the media? No agency has spoken the magic words: "all wrong." But the Op-Ed pages are full of anger.