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Watermaster Pete Weinzheimer of the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District checks out a pumping station above the Mokelumne River west of Bruella Road on Sunday. (Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel)
Water on the way
Two North San Joaquin District projects nearly done, will get more water flowing in area
Both sides of the Mokelumne River now sport some fancy new pumps to get some extra water from the Mokelumne River to irrigate farmland and recharge the parched groundwater basin.
But before the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District can pump that extra water, it needs one more thing.
Rain — and lots of it.
The district is completing two projects — one funded through a CalFed grant on the north side of the river, and one south of the river that is funded through the district's groundwater charge assessed on property owners who use well water.
The groundwater charge is for property owners in the North San Joaquin boundaries — Lodi generally east of Ham Lane, plus Acampo, Victor, Lockeford, Clements and the Micke Grove Park area south of Lodi.
The CalFed-funded project calls for flooding a vineyard owned by Al Costa that is full of sand, between Woodbridge Road and the Mokelumne River near the eastern end of Woodbridge Road.
North San Joaquin contracted with Lodi Irrigation to construct an electrical pump that is above ground to keep the motor and electrical system from flooding during heavy rain, district Manager Ed Steffani said. CalFed also paid for a fish screen to prevent salmon and other fish from swimming into the pump.
A pumping station lies just above the north shore of the Mokelumne River west of Bruella Road. If the Lodi area gets enough rain, the pump will transport Mokelumne River water about a half-mile to a sandy vineyard owned by Al Costa. The Cal-Fed-funded project will be a demonstration groundwater recharge project. (Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel)
Once there is some heavy rain for North San Joaquin to use, the water will travel a half-mile through a 20-inch pipe to the vineyard, Steffani said.
Across the river west of Tretheway Road, North San Joaquin is ready to complete a system today that will allow water to be pumped during wet winters generally in the Victor area south to Pixley Creek, which is south of Harney Lane, Steffani said.
The pump will also send Mokelumne River water to a recharge basin — owned by John Tecklenburg — near Kettleman Lane and Alpine Road. The soil was tested to make sure it was good enough soil to absorb the water, and North San Joaquin will use an irrigation pipeline owned by a farmer to see if the water can be transported to the property, Steffani said. If that test is successful, revenue from the groundwater charge will finance a pipe from the south-side pump off Tretheway Road, he added.
The North San Joaquin board of directors has approved a groundwater charge for property owners using wells for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 fiscal years. The groundwater charge was approved to construct pipelines and other infrastructure to allow the district to collect up to 20,000 acre-feet of water from the Mokelumne River during wet winters. The district has no water rights during dry winters.
North San Joaquin projects at a glance
Groundwater charge revenue: About $600,000.South pumping station fish screen: $170,000.
South pipeline rehabilitation: $120,000.
Rent for Tecklenburg and Hammer basins: $20,000.
Borings and engineering: $40,000.
Pipeline to Tecklenburg property: $276,000.
Election cost for Measure V: About $100,000.
Administration: $40,000.
Some of the projects will be funded by money to be collected from the 2008-09 groundwater charge, which hasn't been collected yet.
Source: North San Joaquin Water Conservation District
With the limited infrastructure the district owned prior to assessing the groundwater charge, the district had the ability to collect only 3,000 acre-feet during wet winters. The CalFed project will add the capability to pump an additional 1,000 to 3,000 acre-feet of river water, but again, during rainy winters.
Future plans call for a new pumping station to be constructed near Camanche Dam, which will deliver water into Bear Creek that will serve farmers in the Lockeford-Clements area, Steffani said.
The pumping station off Tretheway Road couldn't be completed until a fish screen was constructed to divert fish out of the pipeline. The fish screen is a requirement of the California Department of Fish and Game.
The river has what is known as a metal "cone screen" that is 12 feet in diameter to divert the fish. River water will then go through a pipe going underground to the pumping station 1,000 feet away, Steffani said.
What remains to be done today is to install a solar panel and control panel. It could be in operation as early as Dec. 1 if it rains enough in November, Steffani said.
"It's got to rain like crazy between now and Dec. 1 for this to happen," Steffani said.
However, rain isn't in the forecast for at least a week.
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
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