Pilot project flows into the river are being gradually but steadily decreased as planned under the pilot project's schedule, mimicking natural summertime declines in flows. Within weeks, the flows will be history. The one-time release of limited flows below Friant Dam is being sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations, Friant Water Users Authority and other environmental, conservation and irrigation interests. The program's field study work will continue until February 29. FWUA water operations staff members, FWUA biologist Marcia Wolfe and others have been conducting regular field measurements and monitoring at many locations along the river since the pilot project began.
Important data continues to be gathered on flows, groundwater effects and riparian vegetation.
We'd like to see it move ahead in a progressive direction. It is a pilot project and we hope to learn as much as we can. The pilot project is not affecting the Friant Division's water supply declaration, said Tony Buelna, the Bureau's operations chief in Fresno, and Friant Water Users Authority General Manager Richard M. Moss. Millerton Lake operations under the pilot project will be analyzed and compared with projections of reservoir storage and releases as they might have occurred had the pilot project not been in effect, Moss said. None of the water being released into the river is being permitted to flow below Mendota Dam, but it is being used by the Bureau to satisfy CVP water delivery obligations in the western San Joaquin Valley.