DWR’s System Reoperation Report & Fact Sheet

by DWR

In August 2017, DWR released “Assessment of Reoperation Strategies  (Phase III Report).”

Key findings of the report include:

1. Benefits are limited from reoperating Lake Oroville, Shasta Lake, and Lake McClure individually, and with combined reoperation of Lake Oroville and Shasta Lake, relative to the three reoperation objectives – water supply reliability, flood protection, and ecosystem protection and restoration.
2. Central Valley reservoirs are already fairly optimized to meet existing flood and regulatory requirements, and contractual commitments. Study benefits may be overstated because operators occasionally apply these reoperation strategies.
3. Operating the State Water Project and Central Valley Project as a single project provides incremental water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration benefits, and combined average annual water deliveries could increase by 100-150 thousand acre-feet per year.
4. Reoperation benefits were similar with existing or new Delta conveyance and under current and projected future climate conditions

A Fact Sheet about the report is available here.

For more information on DWR’s System Reoperation Program please visit their website.