EBMUD’s new emergency water supply arrives from Sacramento River
An emergency supply of Sacramento River water arrived at the East Bay’s largest water district Wednesday, culminating a mission sidetracked for decades by a regional water war. East Bay Municipal Utility District leaders welcomed the water gushing into San Pablo Reservoir as drought insurance for 1.3 million people in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
The 32-day supply of water — enough to fill the Oakland Coliseum 24 times — will allow the district to stick with voluntary rationing this year instead of requiring mandatory rationing and raising rates.
“Having this backup supply delivered in a dry year is very timely,” William Patterson, a water board member, said in a news conference near where the new supply poured into the reservoir. “This is monumental for us. It allows us to get through the worst of times and provide a hedge if next year is dry and the next year as well.”
EBMUD will take 16,000 acre-feet of Sacramento River water to fill up San Pablo and Upper San Leandro reservoirs in May and June.
In normal years, the district relies on Mokelumne River water piped in from the Central Sierra, but runoff is below normal this year. The district serves an area from Crockett on the north to San Lorenzo on the south, including Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Orinda, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, much of Walnut Creek, and other communities.
The Sacramento River water travels 130 miles through pipelines and a canal to reach the East Bay.
“It’s high quality water like our Mokelumne supplies,” EBMUD Director Katy Foulkes, of Piedmont, said as she sipped a cup of the new river water. “I can’t tell the difference.”
TIMELINE FOR EBMUD’s SACRAMENTO RIVER WATER SUPPLY
1970 — EBMUD signs federal contract to divert water from American River but has no way to deliver it.
1972 — EBMUD is sued to block the diversion.
1990 — EBMUD and Sacramento County Water Agency begin water negotiations.
2002 — Deal is struck for EBMUD and Sacramento County Water Agency to build joint project at Freeport to divert Sacramento River water for both regions
2011 — Joint water project is finished, and Sacramento County takes first water.
2014 — EBMUD begins pumping Sacramento River water to East Bay.