Refuge Water Supply Program

2011 Annual Work Plan 

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

1
CVPIA Refuges 2
3

RWSP Partners 

Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

California Department of Fish & Game

Grassland Resource Conservation District

Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture
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RWSP Interagency Management Team

Bureau of Reclamation

Tim Rust

Fish & Wildlife Program Manager

Sonya Nechanicky

Refuge Water Conveyance Lead

Linda Colella

Water Acquisitions Lead

Vacant

Facilities Construction Lead

Paula Strang

RWSP Support Specialist

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Dale Garrison

Refuge Water Supply Coordinator

CA Department of Fish & Game

Paul Forsberg

Senior Environmental Scientist

Brian Cary

CVPIA Refuge Coordinator

Grassland Resource Conservation District

David Widell

General Manager

Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture

Greg Yarris
5

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

Defining Level 2, Incremental Level 4, and Level 4 

Refuge Water Supply 

Level 2: 422,000 AF 
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RWSP Status

• 14 of 19 refuges are able to receive full Level 4

• 32 of 46 construction projects completed

• Biggs-West Gridley Water District design & 

construction activities ongoing

• 9 long-term conveyance agreements

• Incremental Level 4 water purchased annually

• Gray Lodge and Volta Wildlife Areas (WA) and 

Pixley National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) new 

groundwater wells under construction
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RWS Status 

Refuges Not Able to Receive Full Level 4 Water:

• Gray Lodge WA

• Mendota WA

• Pixley NWR

• Sutter NWR

• East Bear Creek NWR

(Phase II)
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RWSP 2010 Accomplishments

Facilities Construction

• East Bear Creek Phase 1 Pumping Plant/Pipeline

o Completed testing and additional training

o Completed emergency repairs to pumping plant 

damaged by lightning

• Volta WA

o Initiated construction of 2 wells (ARRA funding)

• Gray Lodge WA and Pixley NWR

o Awarded construction contracts for 

5 groundwater wells (ARRA funding)
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RWSP 2010 Accomplishments

Water Acquisitions – Incremental Level 4

Contractor Source Quantity

(AF) Unit Cost Total Cost 

San Joaquin River Exchange 

Contractors

Surface Water 35,714 7,500 AF @ 150/AF

9,750 AF @ 175/AF

18,464 AF @ 215/AF

$6,805,441

Grassland Water District Groundwater 4,944 $75/AF $370,800

Kern-Tulare Water District Surface Water 7,000 $150/AF $1,050,000

Panoche Water District Surface Water 10,000 $60/AF $600,000

Merced Irrigation District Surface Water 500 $100/AF $50,000

Stevinson Water District Surface Water 4,080 $100/AF $408,000

TOTALS 62,238 $9,284,241 
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RWSP 2010 Accomplishments

Refuge Conveyance

• Delivered 390,546 AF Level 2 Water

o 334,524 AF -- Central Valley Project (CVP) Yield:

o 56,022 AF -- Diverse (Non-CVP) Sources

• Delivered 58,021 AF Incremental Level 4 Water

• Continued water quality monitoring at Gray Lodge WA 

and Grasslands Ecological Area

• Awarded cooperative agreement for the North 

Grasslands Water Conservation & Water Quality Control 

Project

• Awarded contract for installation of flow meters in Bear 

Creek to determine conveyance losses
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RWSP 2011 

Construction Activities

• North Grasslands Water Conservation & Water 

Quality Control Project Value Engineering Study

• East Bear Creek Phase II Planning Activities

• Pilot Aquifer Pump Testing South of Delta

• Gray Lodge WA Wells (ARRA funded)

• Pixley NWR Wells (ARRA funded)

• Volta WA Wells (ARRA funded)
RWSP 2011

Water Acquisition Activities

Acquire Incremental Level 4 Water from:

• San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors

• Grassland Water District

• Eastside Canal & Irrigation Company

• Merced Irrigation District

• Willing Sellers

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RWSP 2011

Conveyance Activities

• Convey approximately 400,000 AF Level 2

• Convey approximately 46,000 AF Incremental Level 4

• Evaluate flow data at East Bear Creek NWR to 

determine losses in Bear Creek

• Complete Phase I (feasibility) of North Grasslands 

Water Conservation & Water Quality Control Project
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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
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RWSP FY2011 Budget

• Reclamation and U.S. Fish & Wildlife 

Service Labor = $1,868,767

• Facilities Construction = $1,856,569

• Water Acquisition = $7,004,840

• Water Conveyance = $8,705,481

• Water Quality Monitoring = $514,343

Total $19,950,000
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RWSP Three-Year Budget

($ amounts in thousands)

2012 2013 2014

Labor 2,280 2,331 2,385

Water Acquisition 20,253 22,500 25,000

Planning 1,804 608 1,112

Construction 3,000 10,500 25,200

Monitoring 541 543 565

Conveyance 8,662 9,008 9,369

Total $36,540 $45,490 $63,631
QUESTIONS?

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RWSP Contacts

Tim Rust

Bureau of Reclamation

916-978-5516

trust@usbr.gov

Dale Garrison

US Fish & Wildlife Service

916-414-6728

Dale_Garrison@fws.gov

Brian Cary

CA Department of Fish & Game

916-445-1747

bcary@dfg.ca.gov

David Widell

Grassland Water District

209-826-5188

dwidell@grasslandwetlands.org

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