Costa Reacts to Draft Environmental Document for Proposed Water Storage Project on Upper San Joaquin River

Fresno, CA — Congressman Jim Costa (Fresno-D) released the following statement after the Bureau of Reclamation released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation. The DEIS describes possible benefits and impacts of increasing water storage through a proposed dam and reservoir about 25 miles northeast of Fresno in California's Central Valley.

Increasing water storage, and thereby water supply reliability, is a key part of fixing our broken water system," said Rep. Jim Costa."The proposed alternatives in the DEIS are a positive step towards developing a plan that not only solves today's water issues, but also anticipates and plans for future shortages."

The proposed dam and reservoir would be 665 feet high with a total capacity of 1.33 million acre-feet, adding 1.26 million acre-feet to the existing storage. The projects include a series of interconnected programs aimed at providing comprehensive solutions to the problems of water supply, reliability and quality.

"Clearly, the details on how to make this project financially feasible must still be studied," said Rep. Costa. "As the DEIS moves forward in the vetting process, I encourage the community to participate in the public comment period."

A public hearing on the Draft EIS will be held in Fresno on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 6 p.m. The hearing will be at the Piccadilly Inn, located at 2305 West Shaw Avenue, Fresno, CA 93711.

The Draft EIS, which addresses the impacts of five action alternatives and one no-action alternative, is available on Reclamation's website: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/storage/

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