Orestimba Creek threatened Newman last winter. This project will ease risk, and boost aquifer
Officials broke ground near Newman on a $9.9 million project aimed at easing the flood threat on Orestimba Creek.
It will divert some of the high flows to about 80 acres of new ponds that will percolate into groundwater. They are scheduled to be ready by June 2024, funded by the State Water Resources Control Board and other sources.
Orestimba is often barely a trickle as it runs out of Stanislaus County’s western hills to the San Joaquin River. Last winter, massive rainstorms caused the creek to flood several roads. The city of Newman was not damaged, but a nursing home was evacuated for few weeks as a precaution.
The June 29 ground-breaking was along Orestimba Creek Road about two miles west of Newman. The project is being built by the Del Puerto Water District and the Central California Irrigation District. Together, they serve about 190,000 acres of farmland on the West Side.
The districts have a permit from the board to capture up to 3,500 acre-feet of water annually. An acre-foot is enough to cover an acre a foot deep.
The districts get their main supplies from the San Joaquin, delivered via the federal Delta-Mendota Canal. In future years with abundant water, they will send some to the percolation ponds for use in future droughts.
The state provided a total of $6.4 million from two programs funded by Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond issue approved by voters in 2014.
The project also got $1.5 million from CCID, $1 million from Del Puerto and another $1 million from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
“It is amazing to see the collaboration on this project,” CCID General Manager Jarrett Martin said in a news release. “Not only are we providing water resiliency per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, we are providing some flood protection to our community and improving the water quality of the domestic water supply. Everyone wins.”
Anthea Hansen, general manager at Del Puerto, said the districts spent nine years planning the project. This included engineering, funding, environmental study, water rights and permits.
“This locally owned groundwater storage is a first for the Del Puerto District and its landowners,” Hansen said, “and I hope we can take what we learned and use it as a model for other potential groundwater storage partnership opportunities in the region.”
Recharge has gained wide support because it is quicker and cheaper than building dams to reduce flooding. The Turlock Irrigation District is in the midst of a pilot project that spreads city storm runoff onto farms. Several districts are urging farmers to take extra water this year so it seeps into the ground.
The winter storms prompted other state investments in groundwater recharge in the new fiscal year. This includes $40 million to the nonprofit River Partners for floodplain restoration in the San Joaquin Valley. It will enhance wildlife habitat while letting water spread far from homes.
A notable model is Dos Rios Ranch, a 2,100-acre expanse where the San Joaquin meets the Tuolumne River southwest of Modesto. River Partners has worked on it with the Tuolumne River Trust and several public agencies.
