Introduction of the Non-Federal Reservoir Operations Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, as we in the San Joaquin Valley know, ``food grows where water flows.''

We also know the ravages of drought and are the first communities in California to experience drought's harmful effects.

For over 30 years, I have worked to strengthen water supply reliability for the San Joaquin Valley and throughout California.

While I was in the California Legislature, I authored the legislation to create the Kern County Water Bank, led 2 water bonds and helped to pass 2 others, providing more than $2 billion dollars to improve California's water system and provide for safe, reliable drinking water.

In Congress, I have secured approval of the Madera Irrigation District Water Bank, the San Luis Intertie, and the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Project, bringing hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of more secure water to the San Joaquin Valley.

I also worked on a bipartisan basis to pass the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation, or WIIN Act, which was signed into law in December of 2016 and increased pumping flexibility to move water throughout the state and provided over $355 million dollars for water infrastructure projects, including matching federal funds for new surface storage in California.

In all of my time working to improve the lives of the people of the Valley, rarely have I been presented with a project with such obvious potential as raising the spillway gates at New Exchequer Dam.

Water impounded behind New Exchequer Dam provides irrigation water for agriculture in Merced County, groundwater replenishment for several nearby communities, and environmental benefits for fisheries and wildlife refuges downstream of the dam.

Recently, Merced Irrigation District performed a detailed analysis of the hydrology of the watershed upstream of New Exchequer Dam and found that by raising the spillway gates 8 feet, Lake McClure could hold an additional 57,000 acre-feet without impeding the Merced River's Wild and Scenic River designation.

However, in order to move forward with raising the spillway gates, the flood control and operations manual for New Exchequer Dam must be updated, a responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Unfortunately, this manual is based on data that dates back to 1959, when New Exchequer Dam was being constructed.

Army Corps of Engineers policy requires that flood control manuals be updated to reflect new data and changes to a project.

In 2017, Merced Irrigation District wrote to the Army Corps requesting a revision of the flood control manual, which was last updated in 1981.

The Army Corps indicated that it could not update the manual at this time, citing budgetary constraints.

Merced Irrigation District proposed to pay for the public process to update the flood control manual to incorporate the new hydrologic data.

The Army Corps responded by saying that it didn't have the legal authority to accept funds for this purpose for a non-federal Section 7 project like New Exchequer, despite being able to do so for Corps facilities.

The Non-Federal Reservoir Operations Improvement Act would resolve this disparity by allowing the owners of non-federal reservoirs that are regulated by the Army Corps to contribute funds to update their flood control manuals.

It's a very commonsense, targeted change to law that will improve the water supply reliability in Merced County.

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