Temperance Flat dam gets $171 million. Project just needs another $2.6 billion

The proposed Temperance Flat dam east of Fresno on the upper San Joaquin River has been awarded $171 million by the California Water Commission, which doled out $2.5 billion Wednesday for water storage projects around the state.

The amount for Temperance Flat is far less than the $1 billion that proponents had asked for. The cost of building the dam is estimated at $2.83 billion.

But the project is not dead, said Tulare County Supervisor Steve Worthley, president of the San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority.

“We’re still moving forward and are not giving up,” he said.

The funds are an important part of the project’s financing, said Mario Santoyo, executive director of the authority.

To make up the shortfall, the authority will seek more federal funding and contributions from “investors,” meaning the cities and irrigation districts that would most directly benefit from a new reservoir, Santoya said.

In another setback for the authority, the Commission also ruled Wednesday that Temperance Flat does not qualify for early funding for pre-development environmental and permitting work.

The proposed Temperance Flat reservoir in the river gorge above Millerton Lake would hold 1.3 million acre-feet of water, which is two and a half times the capacity of Millerton Lake. The proposed dam would capture and store water in wet years and help the area survive droughts, proponents say.

“We’re pushing ahead because this project would be a major valley tool in complying with the state’s new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act along with improving water supply availability and reliability and flood control, “ Worthley said. “Temperance Flat would improve water supplies for disadvantaged communities and urban areas, and create tremendous water management flexibility, not to mention significant benefits for the environment.”

The Commission also awarded $816 million for the Sites Reservoir project near Sacramento, and $459 million for the Los Vaqueros reservoir expansion project in the Bay Area.

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 2:01 PM.