Murky Water

Studies continue on reservoir proposal By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat - 2011-07-26 22:58:21 A reservoir east of Camp Far West Lake on the border between Placer and Nevada counties is still under discussion, with the South Sutter Water District hoping other partners join in to make it happen. Garden Bar Reservoir, which would serve both as a boost to water supply and aid flood protection, is still at least a decade from reality, said Kim Floyd, a spokeswoman for the project partners. But after the district and other partners finished a preliminary study of the plan and a round of presentations to other agencies, the next step is to consider whether further steps are worth taking, she said. In addition to South Sutter, Napa, American Canyon and water agencies from Palmdale, Castaic Lake and San Bernardino Valley are partners in the plan. For locals, the primary benefit from the reservoir would be for recreation and hydropower as well as flood control. If built, Garden Bar would provide as much as 150,000 acre-feet of additional water supply. The preliminary study considered a reservoir between 245,000 and 400,000 acre-feet. Floyd said the partners, including the Trowbridge-based South Sutter Water District, also hope more will join to make the project economically feasible. However, one potential partner said he thinks the reservoir has too many hurdles. "It has huge environmental problems," said Einar Maisch, director of strategic affairs with the Placer County Water Agency, which heard a presentation on the preliminary study last week. "And the costs in terms of dollars per acre feet are really large." A full environmental review would also be needed before the reservoir could happen. "We think there's multiple benefits here," Floyd said, pointing out the preliminary study didn't look at potential positive impacts from recreation and economic development if the reservoir is built. Garden Bar would be 4.5 miles upstream from Camp Far West Lake, and downstream of another Bear River reservoir, Lake Combie, which is also on the Nevada/Placer border, near Lake of the Pines.