Facts and text by John Brennan, Carmel River Watershed Council
Click here to view summary of alternatives that have been identified so far through the Plan B process.
Click here for glossary of water terms
Water Over The Dam
There are many alternatives to a dam on the River.
In order to make sense of the alternatives, they must be taken together. Each one on its own will not equivalate to the massive dam project. When they are viewed as a collective solution they will do the same at lower cost. It is like looking at a size 16 problem. You can resolve it with one size 16 solution or 8 size twos.
One has to assume the size of the problem first. I will define it as responding to Cal-Am's illegal taking of River water, 10,780 AFA, plus water for legal lots of record, 800 AFA, plus a drought reserve of 1,200 AFA (1/2 of the current 2 reservoir's capacity) about 12,780 AFA.
Cal-Am can apply for and can obtain about 3,300 AFA from the River as already provided for in Table 13 of the State Water Board Decision 1632. The remaining 9,480 AFA can be obtained as follows:
| 4,100 AFA | storage of excess winter runoff in existing underground aquifers and/or above ground ponds or smaller reservoirs |
| 1,200 AFA | retrofit of all local, state and federal buildings |
| 600 AFA | application of tiered water rate structures to commercial and hospitality industry users |
| 1,200 AFA | requirement for all golf courses to use reclaimed water for irrigation |
| 2,400 AFA | small de-sal plant for drought reserve use only |
If these alternates cannot be assembled by the Water Board, practical alternatives include:
| 1 | connecting to the existing Central Valley Water Project pipeline from San Luis Reservoir. MPWMD would have to buy excess water from a water district in the Central Valley which wants to sell (there are many) 9480 AFA |
| 2 | constructing a pipeline to San Luis, pumping our excess winter runoff there, storing it, returning the water to us in periods of low flow and high use 9,480 AFA |
| 3 | removing the silt from the current dams by washing it down the river during periods of high winter flows, obtaining 2,400 AFA |
| 4 | fracturing deep rock strata, a la SAMDA, about 1,200 AFA |
| 5 | storing in cisterns, about 1,200 AFA |
Facts and text by John Brennan, Carmel River Watershed Council
Click here to view summary of alternatives that have been identified so far through the Plan B process.
Click here for glossary of water terms
Water Over The Dam