Opinion: Remove Salinas River dam?
The Salinas River Dam should be managed for the benefit of water availability in the valley, or it should be removed. 70 years of exporting Salinas River Water has taken it’s toll.
The Nacimiento River Dam has been a “God send” as far as water conservation. Until this recent SLO County water project, every drop of Nacimiento water has been available for use in the valley. San Luis County should have been building the Jack Creek Dam at the same time.
Recharge of the Paso Robles aquifer has been from two main sources. The first is rain fall percolating through the soil structures and finally reaching the aquifer. This is a very slow process and has been ongoing. The other main source has been the water flow in the Salinas and Estrella rivers passing through the gravel below the river bed and entering the aquifer. This is a much more rapid recharge but doesn’t happen any more. In the past these rivers served as a year round recharging of the aquifer. The Estrella river use to run all year and was spring fed. Now it rarely runs, and when it does is strictly rain run off. The Salinas River (use to be known as an underground river) just runs in the winter when there is enough rain fall. The underground river no longer exists because water flow is blocked by the Salinas River Dam.
We were always told that the State Water Contract (although not as much water) was to replace the water being exported from this water shed. It was done to prevent Barney Schwartz from splitting San Luis County (although it should have happened) into two counties over water. The interesting thing is that even though the delivery system has been completed to deliver the State Water to San Luis Obispo County, and the property tax payers have been paying for the water since the 60’s, SLO County has not seen one drop of that water. That is thanks to The Board of Supervisors selling this contracted water for delivery to other locations.
A new water district is a step in the right direction, but if they can’t secure new water for the vineyards, they are going to have to use less water per acre. The Sauret model is good.
The City of Paso Robles must stop pumping from the aquifer, and those wells used only in emergency situations and only after the aquifer has recovered.
The result of the over pumping and the exporting of Salinas River Water, there is a serious water supply problem in this basin.
Walter Heer
Paso Robles
