HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02281995 - S.4 S. 41
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS : Contra
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FROM: SUPERVISOR TOM TORLAKSON - Costa
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DATE: February 28, 1995
SUBJECT: SAN LUIS DRAIN
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
DIRECT Water Agency Staff to work with other involved agencies in a letter campaign to express
opposition to reinstatement of the San Luis Drain proposal, and refer this issue to the Board's Water
Committee.
REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND
The San Luis Unit was authorized under The San Luis Act (1960), allowing initial deliveries of water
to the Westlands Water District in the western San Joaquin Valley in the late 1960's. Water service
was predicated on the ability to dispose of water due to shallow groundwater accumulation. An
interceptor drain was proposed as part of the project. The drain was built as far as the Kesterson
Wildlife Refuge, where, in 1987, drainwater containing selenium was attributed to the death and
deformation of waterfowl. Extension of the drain, although planned, was never carried out.
A number of alternatives were considered in the San Luis Unit Drainage Program planning process,
although the only alternative deemed implementable within court-prescribed timeframes is the delta
disposal alternative, which called for extension of the drain from the San Joaquin Valley area through
Contra Costa County to the delta, near Pittsburg.
Recently, Westlands Water District sued the Bureau of Reclamation to provide this drainage service,
consistent with Public Law 86-488.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
ACTION OF BOARD ON EFB 2 h fflb APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
_✓ UNANIMOUS (ABSENT I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND
AYES: NOES: CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact: Roberta Goulart (510) 646-2071 ATTESTED FEB 2 8 9995
cc: Community Development Department PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY: , DEPUTY
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