Don’t destroy river gorge by building Temperance Flat dam

I have seen many articles pertaining to why we need Temperance Flat dam. I don’t understand why people are interested in building a dam that will provide the Valley with little water.

The Bureau of Reclamation estimates that the dam would yield between 19,000 and 87,000 acre-feet of of additional water depending on the year. This amounts to just 1 percent of the Central Valley Project supply. This is because the San Joaquin River already has eight dams capturing and diverting most of the river’s flow.

Instead of spending $2.8 billion to create this dam, we can produce more water for less money by increasing groundwater storage, recycling water and capturing flood flows.

Not only is this a bad idea economically, it’s a terrible idea for the environment. My husband and I have hiked and biked this area for many years and I can tell you the loss of plants and animals specific to this area would be a huge mistake, including the loss of a unique granite cave system.

In fact, the section of the gorge that is threatened was recommended for National Wild and Scenic River protection by the BLM due to its incredible scenery.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Don’t destroy river gorge by building Temperance Flat dam."