The San Joaquin River's first pulse of restoration water -- moving slowly about 45 miles downstream of Friant Dam -- soon may hit a temporary block. Except this barrier is legal, not physical.
So far, the water flow to reconnect the dried river with the Pacific Ocean has gone without a hitch. The first release of water on Oct. 1 went nearly 40 miles in less than three days, passing north of Fresno in a part of the river that still has water.
The flow dropped to a crawl, as expected, beyond Gravelly Ford where water has not flowed regularly for several decades, said federal officials. They estimate it will reach the Mendota Dam late this month.
But owners of the dam, the Central California Irrigation District, want an agreement spelling out the details of operating it as new water flows through.
Water officials, who say talks are going slowly, say they may ask state officials to stop any water releases from Mendota Dam until federal officials complete the agreement discussions.
New flows of the San Joaquin River, seen trickling along between Kerman and Mendota, is projected to arrive at Mentota Pool around the end of the month.
Downstream landowners and the Central California Irrigation District do not want the extra water to unexpectedly raise or lower the level of the Mendota Pool, making it more difficult to get irrigation water into delivery canals in the future.
They also are worried about nearby crops being saturated and damaged by river seepage. Federal officials have not yet installed wells to monitor such problems, water officials said. The landowners want to know how quickly the flow will be reduced if such damage is discovered.
"We're going to make sure our landowners and our facilities are protected," said Steve Chedester, executive director of the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Authority, which represents four irrigation districts including the Central California Irrigation District.
The discussion includes similar issues for Sack Dam, owned by San Luis Canal Co., more than 20 miles downstream of Mendota Dam.
Once the water passes the two dams, it will be routed through the Eastside Bypass and eventually connect with the Merced River, which flows 118 miles to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Federal officials are optimistic about agreement talks, but they add that a formal agreement is not required to continue the flow of water through Mendota Dam.
Still, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials say they want to settle all issues to the satisfaction of everyone involved.
"A clear understanding by all parties of how the flows will be coordinated in and out of the Mendota Pool and the possible side effects is very important," said Jason Phillips, bureau restoration program manager. "We are hoping we can have an agreement and get the monitoring wells in soon."
The next step for the restoration is an increase in water flow during the first two weeks of November. The river flow will double from 350 cubic feet per second to 700 cfs, Phillips said.
By mid-November, the restoration flows will stop so maintenance work can be performed at the Mendota Pool. The flows will start up again in early February.
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