Vicinity map of the Canals' Intertie project

Courtesy of US Bureau of Reclamation. Click to enlarge.

California Aqueduct (left) and Delta Mendota Canal (right).

Courtesy of US Bureau of Reclamation.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation is proposing the Delta-Mendota Canal/California Aqueduct Intertie project consisting of constructing and operating a pumping plant and pipeline connection between the Delta Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct. The Intertie would be used to meet current water supply demands, allow for maintenance and repair of the Central Valley Project (CVP) Delta export and conveyance facilities, and provide operational flexibility to respond to emergencies related to both the CVP and State Water Project.

The proposed project would increase CVP pumping from the Delta at the federal Jones Pumping Plant near Tracy through construction of a physical pipeline between the two canals which would allow pumping of up to 457 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC) up to the California Aqueduct, or 900 cfs gravity flow from the California Aqueduct down to the DMC.

Alternatives for the Canals' Intertie project.

Courtesy of US Bureau of Reclamation. Click to enlarge.

The proposed project could result in an additional 250,000 AF of pumping from the Delta annually, primarily to serve Westlands Water District and other western San Joaquin Valley Central Valley Project agricultural customers.

Subsidence due to excessive groundwater pumping along the Delta Mendota Canal has reduced it's capacity, creating the need for the project.  The California Aqueduct is also subsiding for the same reason.  However, $32.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding was made available to drill or refurbish over 100 wells in this area, only making the problem worse.

C-WIN joined with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance to criticize the project proposing a way to increase Delta exports while masquerading as an emergency preparedness and maintenance project. Read our comment letter. And C-WIN also endorsed the Central Delta Water Agency's comments on the Intertie project.