Temporary Water Transfers from 2026 to 2030 Project

Temporary Water Transfers from 2026 to 2030 Project

Project Description: District Background The Butte Water District (District or BWD) was formed in 1956 and may divert up to 133,200 acre-feet (AF) of water during the defined irrigation season under the terms of a 1969 Agreement on Diversion from the Feather River with the State of California, acting by and through the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and allocated through a 1970 Joint Operating Agreement with Butte Water District, Richvale Irrigation District, Biggs-West Gridley Water District, and Sutter Extension Water District, known collectively as the Joint Water Districts. As a result of these agreements, BWD's water is diverted from the Thermalito Afterbay, part of the Oroville Complex. The 1969 Diversion of Water agreement requires written approval from DWR before any of the districts can transfer water outside the service areas of the Joint Board. An agreement between DWR and the proposed water purchasers to store or transport the water through the State Water Project (SWP) or Central Valley Project (CVP) facilities may also be required to implement a water transfer. Water Transfers The District is preparing for potential one-year water transfers over a five-year period from 2026 through 2030. The transfers may be for environmental enhancement or for one or more buyers with temporary unmet consumptive water demands. Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) would have the first right of refusal for the water transfers from BWD. A water transfer temporarily moves water from a willing seller (BWD) to an environmental purpose or willing buyer. To make new water available, the seller must take an action to reduce consumptive use, use a substitute water supply such as groundwater, or use water in storage. Additionally, water transfers must comply with all applicable State and federal law. Moreover, under the 1969 Diversion of Water Agreement with the State of California, BWD’s water entitlement is subject to a drought reduction under certain circumstances related to dry hydrologic conditions. If BWD’s entitlement is curtailed 50 percent for an irrigation season, pursuant to the 1969 Agreement, BWD has not historically participated in a land idling transfer. However, in the event of a lesser reduction, the District may still participate in a land idling transfer. BWD may participate in a groundwater substitution transfer for its lands located in Sutter County under any drought reduction scenario. This EIR analyzes water transfers as if the full amount would be transferred every year during the five-year transfer period; however, transfers may be less frequent and smaller in volume over this period. Annual approval of transfers is required by BWD, the end user, and DWR, regardless of the EIR term or the duration of a water transfer contract. Additionally, if the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program is adopted and implemented during the five-year period from 2026 to 2030, BWD’s available transfer supplies may be reduced during “Above Normal”, “Below Normal”, and “Dry” year types. Water Transfer Availability The Project water transfers would include short-term transfers of up to 21,000 AF in any year. This includes up to 14,000 AF from crop idling transfers and up to of 6,500 AF from groundwater substitution transfers. These volumes may increase if BWD develops additional groundwater substitution capacity during the five-year period of analysis. The Project area, from which the water for the potential transfers would be made available, is defined by the District boundaries, which encompass approximately 32,505 acres in the northern Sacramento Valley in both Butte and Sutter Counties. Land idled for the purpose of the potential transfers would be drawn from the rice acreage within the District to the exclusion of irrigable acreage dedicated to other crops and to habitat of the Giant Garter Snake. Adjoining areas, non-rice land, other irrigated lands, drains, wetlands, and waterfowl habitat would not be affected, as those areas would receive their normal entitlement, and canals and drains would operate at normal operating capacity. Water would be available on the same pattern during the growing season as it would have been consumed had a crop been planted. The irrigation season for rice generally lasts from April or May through September. Water made available by crop idling and/or groundwater substitution within the boundaries of the District would be retained and stored by the DWR at Lake Oroville for delivery to Valley Water (or a different buyer if Valley Water refuses, as further discussed below), pending approval from DWR. If the HRL program were approved, DWR would contribute 60,000 AF in the defined call years. BWD would undertake similar transfer actions to replenish a portion of the 60,000 AF advanced by DWR for environmental enhancement under the HRL program. For the Feather River, environmental enhancement would include restoration of the following amounts of habitat by the end of year eight: 15 acres of spawning habitat, 5.25 acres of instream rearing habitat, and 1,655 acres of floodplain rearing habitat. For the HRL program, a portion of Feather River flow commitments may be provided through groundwater substitution and may only be provided in a manner that does not have redirected impacts on fish and wildlife and is consistent with SGMA. Any reduction in instream flows that result from groundwater substitution shall be accounted for and deducted from flow contributions. Water Transfer Type Cropland idling water transfers make water available by reducing the consumptive use of surface water applied for irrigation. In a groundwater substitution program, groundwater is pumped and used for agricultural purposes in lieu of surface water supplies. The equivalent surface water supplies are then not diverted and are made available for transfer. Groundwater pumping, if applicable, would only occur within that portion of the District boundaries that lie within Sutter County and in a manner consistent with the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) developed under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and would only utilize BWD wells. The District’s proposed water transfers would fully comply with DWR’s DRAFT Technical Information for Preparing Water Transfer Proposals in 2019 where applicable regarding land idling and groundwater substitution transfers as well as monitoring and reporting for groundwater conditions before, during, and after the transfer period. The quantity of transfer water made available through crop idling is currently calculated based on the pattern of Evapotranspiration Rate of Applied Water (ETAW). In the absence of technical information supporting an alternate method, the quantity of transfer water will continue to be calculated based on ETAW for any rice acreage idling. Acreage eligible for inclusion in a rice idling program is limited to that acreage that would have been planted to rice in the absence of the proposed transfer. Consistent with the provisions contained in California Water Code Section 1018, potential participating landowners would be encouraged to cultivate or retain non-irrigated cover crops or natural vegetation into their cropland idling transfer to protect habitat value in the area to be idled. For the groundwater substitution transfers, the Project would extract up to 6,500 AF of groundwater from two BWD production wells. These wells have approximate production capacities of 3,500 gallons per minute (GPM) and 4,000 GPM, respectively. BWD is also in the process of purchasing land for the future installation of a third production well that would also be used if completed within the five-year project duration. BWD also owns three groundwater monitoring wells and uses these wells, among others that are not owned by the District (such as those defined in transfer agreements and DWR’s Water Transfer Information Management System, among others), to monitor groundwater levels in the vicinity of the production wells to ensure that no substantial depletion of groundwater supplies occurs as a result of groundwater production. The District has operated these wells in the past at similar production rates and, consistent with extensive monitoring and reporting for such past usage, BWD has not observed any substantial impacts on groundwater levels, groundwater supplies, or to third parties or other environmental resources. Water Transfer Operations No new construction or improvements by BWD, Valley Water or other potential buyers, or DWR would be necessary for the production and transfer of water resulting from the Project. However, the aforementioned third production well could be installed during the five-year Project duration and would likely be used for Project activities if completed. As mentioned above, BWD receives water from Oroville Reservoir under a Diversion Agreement with the State of California. Normal operations involve DWR releasing water from the Oroville Reservoir to the Thermalito Afterbay to be diverted by BWD. For water transfers, DWR reduces what it releases, and, as a result, BWD also reduces its water diversions. Water would be stored in the Oroville Reservoir if capacity is available and stored water follows DWR’s applicable policies and regulations. Storing transfer water could not affect the ability of DWR to meet environmental commitments or water deliveries and would not be possible if flood releases were being made from the Oroville Reservoir as no capacity would be available. Water would become available for transfer on the same schedule that it would have been delivered to BWD. In most cases, this would involve water accruing in storage at the Oroville Reservoir in May and June before being conveyed downstream in July through September. Santa Clara Valley Water District It is anticipated that a key recipient of BWD’s transfer supplies will be Valley Water, who has the first right of refusal of water transfers as a part of the Project. In the event that Valley Water does not elect to receive the transferred water, the District may pursue transfers to the environment or other buyers where BWD can utilize its existing water infrastructure to convey transfer water. If both Valley Water and direct conveyance route for the transfer water are not available, BWD may pursue a simultaneous water exchange to convey water to the environment or other buyers. Valley Water has contracts for 100,000 AF per year (AFY) of SWP water and 152,500 AFY of CVP water. However, water availability and environmental conditions impact the actual amount of water delivered. As a result, Valley Water receives an average of approximately 170,000 AFY from the two sources combined. During periods of water shortage in contract allocations, Valley Water has historically participated in water transfers with other SWP and CVP contractors as well as in transfer and banking projects involving other types of contractors. In addition, Valley Water’s Anderson Reservoir is currently limited to approximately 3% of its capacity due to seismic concerns, which, in turn, takes away substantial drinking water resources for Santa Clara County. The Anderson Dam is presently undergoing a seismic retrofit, but the project is not anticipated to be completed until 2033. As such, Valley Water’s dependence on water transfers is expected to be higher until project completion. Since 1996, Valley Water has participated in a water banking and exchange program with the Semitropic Water Storage District located in Kern County. In wet years, Valley Water stores excess Delta-conveyed water in the Semitropic Groundwater Bank for later use, such as during dry years. Valley Water can also store imported water supplies for shorter periods of time in the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County and locally in Calero Reservoir in Santa Clara County. To meet current and future demands, Valley Water has also implemented a long-term water conservation program. With a target of saving 100,000 AFY by 2030, the long-term program offers a variety of incentives and rebates that achieve sustainable water savings. The program saved approximately 86,000 AF in 2024.

Gridley

Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba

Northern California, Southern California

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northern and Eureka Region 1 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 1 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 2 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 3 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Fish and Game Commission (CDFGC), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Redding Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California San Joaquin River Conservancy (SJRC), California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Delta Protection Commission, Delta Stewardship Council, Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 1, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 10, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 11, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 17, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 18, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 21, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 25 (SWRCB), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 28, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 3, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 4, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 9, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW)

Other (Temporary Water Transfers from 2026 to 2030)

Temporary Water Transfers from 2026 to 2030

Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Geology/Soils, Hydrology/Water Quality