The 

Refuge Water Supply 

Program
2013 Annual Work Plan

CVPIA 3406 (b)(3) & (d)(1)(2)(5)

The Refuge Water Supply 

Program
Refuge Water Supply Program 

(RWSP)

GOAL:

Provide firm water supplies 

of suitable quality to 

maintain and improve 

wetland habitat areas on 

certain Central Valley

wildlife refuges. 
Refuge Water Supply Program 

(RWSP)

Three main components:

• Facilities Construction

• Water Acquisition

• Water Conveyance
CVPIA Refuges

19 CVPIA Units

-12 Federal National Wildlife Refuges/Units

- 6 State Wildlife Areas/Units

- 1 Privately-managed complex within the Grassland Resource 

Conservation District

14 of 19 CVPIA refuge units already in place prior to passage of the Act

-Five properties acquired, restored and enhanced after 1992

5 CVPIA refuge units in the Sacramento Valley; 

14 in the San Joaquin Valley
CVPIA Refuges
Valley-wide Refuge Map(s) Central 

Valley 

Refuges
RWSP Partners

Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

California Department of Fish & Game

Grassland Resource Conservation District

Central Valley Joint Venture
RWSP Interagency 

Management Team

Bureau of Reclamation U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Tim Rust Dale Garrison

Fish & Wildlife Program Manager Refuge Water Supply Coordinator

Sonya Nechanicky CA Department of Fish & Wildlife Service

Refuge Water Conveyance Lead Paul Forsberg

Senior Environmental Scientist

Linda Colella Brian Cary

Water Acquisition Lead CVPIA Refuge Coordinator

Nate Sengsamouth Grassland Water District

Facilities Construction Lead Ricardo Ortega

General Manager

Paula Strang Central Valley Joint Venture

RWSP Support Specialist Dan Taylor
Defining Level 2, Incremental Level 4, 

and Level 4 Refuge Water Supply

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

Incremental Level 4: 133,000 AF 

For Incremental Level 4 Water Losses : 15,000 AF 

Acre Feet of Water 

Total for 

Level 4: 

570,000 AF Level 2: 422,000 AF 
RWSP Status

• 15 of 19 refuges are able to receive full level 4/ 32 of 46 construction 

projects completed

• Biggs-West Gridley Water District design & construction activities

• 9 long-term conveyance agreements

• Annual Incremental Level 4 water purchases

• Development of Technical Committees

 Development of a working long term strategy for meeting CVPIA’s 

mandate

 Augmentation of existing Level 4 water supplies south of Delta 
RWS Status

Refuges Not Able to Receive Full Level 4 Water:

• Gray Lodge WA

• Mendota WA 

• Pixley NWR

• Sutter NWR 
RWSP FY 2012 Accomplishments 

Facilities Construction

• East Bear Creek Pumping Plant/Pipeline

Completed the pumping plant platforms installation

On-going repairs to pumping plant due to mechanical and 

electrical control failures

• Volta WA

Completed construction of 2 wells

• Gray Lodge WA and Pixley NWR

On-going construction for 5 ground water 

wells (ARRA funding)
RWSP FY 2012 Accomplishments - Incremental Level 4 Water Acquisitions

Contractor Source Quantity 

(AF)

San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Surface Water 25,000

Grassland Water District Ground Water 8,200

Merced Irrigation District Surface Water 3,923

Santa Clara Valley Water District Surface Water 10,000

TOTALS $9,018,455 47,123 Acre-feet
RWSP FY 2012 Accomplishments 

Refuge Conveyance

• Delivered 403,462 AF of Level 2 Water 

o 356,193 AF -- Central Valley Project (CVP) Yield:

o 47,269 AF -- Diverse (Non-CVP) Sources

• Delivered 57,825 AF of Incremental Level 4 Water

• Continued water quality monitoring at Gray Lodge WA and Grasslands Ecological Area

• Continued work on the design for the North Grasslands Water Conservation & Water 

Quality Control Project

• Completed installation of 4 flow meters in Bear Creek to determine conveyance loss 

analysis

• Provided funding for temporary pumping, fuel, and labor at Sutter NWR
RWSP FY2013 Construction 

Activities

• East Bear Creek on-going improvement activities

• Gray Lodge WA Wells (ARRA funded)

• Pixley NWR Wells (ARRA funded)

• Volta WA Wells discharge outlet and 

flowmeter improvement plan
RWSP FY 2013 Water Acquisition 

Activities- Potential Sources

• San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors

• Grassland Water District

• Panoche Water District

• Merced Irrigation District

• New & Rehabilitated ARRA Wells

• Friant (SJRRP Recaptured water)

• Other Willing Sellers
RWSP FY2013

Conveyance Activities

• Convey new source of Incremental Level 4 from Los Banos WA for south 

of delta refuges

• Continue funding for temporary pumps at Sutter NWR

• Convey approximately 377,503 AF Level 2

• Convey 34,388 AF of Incremental Level 4, depending on Reclamation’s 

revised water supply allocations for WY2013

• Evaluate flow data at East Bear Creek NWR to determine losses in Bear 

Creek

• Complete Phase II (design) of North Grasslands Water Conservation & 

Water Quality Control Project
RWSP Monitoring Projects

• Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

o Quality of delivered groundwater and surface water

• Grassland Ecological Area (GEA)

o Real-time water quality

o Measuring volume and salt load of sources 

entering and draining the GEA

o Giant garter snake monitoring 
RWSP FY 2013 Budget

• Reclamation and U.S. Fish & Wildlife 

Service Labor = $1,378,945

• Refuge Construction = $453,215

• Water Acquisition = $7,778,836

• Water Conveyance = $7,899,004

• Water Monitoring = $74,000

Total $17,584,000 

Refuge Biological Benefits
Central Valley Wetlands

• Managed Wetlands Require Water of 

Adequate: 

– Volume

– Quality

– Timing
CVPIA Refuge Biological Benefits

• Year-around water supplies

• Long-term management planning

• Accurate habitat management evaluations

• Water for on-refuge restoration projects

• Increased hunting/birding opportunities

• Increase in diversity of habitat and wildlife 

species use
Early Fall Habitat

Benefit to early migrants such as whitefronted geese and northern pintails 

May be only quality habitat available in 

Valley
Since CVPIA, a dramatic 

increase in sandhill crane 

use at Pixley NWR:

• 200 in 1992

• 2,000 in 1993

• 5,100 in 2001

• 6,500 in 2006

• 8,000 in 2011

Early Fall Habitat
Early Fall Habitat

• Grasslands

Recognized WHSRN area of 

international importance to 

shorebirds
Mid-Winter 

Maintenance Flows

Improved Water 

Quality

Reduction in Avian 

Disease
Merced NWR – Ross’ Geese 

fattening up in March and April 

before the long flight north

Late Winter 

Staging Habitat

Critical to birds 

preparing to migrate 

north to breeding 

grounds
Riparian Habitat

Vital to Neo-tropical birds 

and colonial waterbirds 
Food Plant 

Irrigations

Critical source of 

carbohydrates for 

wintering waterfowl
Improves waterfowl 

breeding habitat and nest 

success

Spring and 

Summer Breeding 

Habitat

Cinnamon Teal Broods, Delevan NWR
White-faced 

Ibis
Spring and Summer 

Breeding Habitat

Kern NWR - Tri-colored blackbird 

habitat and nest success improved 

greatly by the management of spring 

and summer water
Spring and 

Summer Breeding 

Habitat
Year-round Waterfowl Habitat Needs

Early Fall Habitat

Mid-Winter Maintenance Flows

Late Winter Staging Habitat

Spring Riparian Habitat

Spring/Summer Irrigations

Spring/Summer Brood Habitat

Primary Fall Flood-Up

(Inc. Level 4 Supply)

(Level 2 Supply) August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

most critical
1986 North American

Waterfowl 

Management Plan:

Primary and 

Secondary Areas of 

Continental 

Importance to 

Waterfowl

Primary

Secondary
Central Valley Wetlands Decline

4 - 4.5M acres < 200K acres
Central Valley Wetland Acres

1850: 4,000,000

1920: 1,200,000

1935: 600,000

1988: 150,000

2008: 260,000

Less than 5% of the historical wetland acreage remains to 

support 20% of North America’s waterfowl population.

Tim Rust Brian Cary

Bureau of Reclamation CA Department of Fish & Game

916-978-5516 916-445-1747

trust@usbr.gov bcary@dfg.ca.gov

Dale Garrison Ricardo Ortega

US Fish & Wildlife Service Grassland Water District

916-414-6728 209-826-5188 

Dale Garrison@fws.gov rotega@gwdwater.org