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Topic: Friant Dam

	No. 99-859: Central Green Co. v. United States - Merits (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Construction of Friant Dam began in October 1939 and the dam was in partial operation by November 1942.
		Friant Dam is owned by the United States and operated by the Department of the Interior as part of the CVP.
		The history of water releases from Friant Dam, as documented by publicly-available data from the U.S. Geological Survey, also supports the conclusion that the Madera and Friant-Kern Canals are routinely used for flood releases, except in the most severe drought years.
	www.usdoj.gov /osg/briefs/2000/3mer/2mer/1999-0859.mer.aa.html (11900 words)

	World Rivers Review, February 1997
		Friant Dam has 170,000 acre-feet (AF) of flood control space in its 520,000 AF reservoir, which offers protection from a 50-year flood.
		Dam operators released 62,870 cfs from Friant during the peak of the storm's runoff, although downstream levees are only designed to handle 8,000 cfs.
		There was a ray of sunshine in the flood's aftermath: Folsom Dam upstream of the state capitol of Sacramento, which had nearly failed during a major storm ten years ago, worked very well during this event because increased public scrutiny led to improvements in its operation.
	www.irn.org /pubs/wrr/9701/caflood.html (1101 words)

	NRDC Press Archive: Friant Water Users Reject San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		If the Friant irrigation districts had accepted the compromise settlement proposal by the Chief Mediator of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, it would have marked an historic agreement between conservationists, fishing groups and farmers to restore flows and salmon populations to California's second largest river, which currently runs dry below Friant Dam.
		The dispute centers on whether the federally owned Friant Dam near Fresno is subject to the same laws that require all other dams in California to release water to sustain fish.
		Before the dam was built in the 1940s, the river supported hundreds of thousands of spawning salmon every year, the southernmost Chinook salmon run in North America.
	www.nrdc.org /media/pressreleases/030417.asp (1275 words)

	The Fresno Bee \| Rescuing the San Joaquin \East-side farming (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Friant Dam diverts the river into two canals that ship much-needed water to thirsty farmland on the Valley's east side.
		Friant Dam, just northeast of Fresno, was built between 1939 and 1947 to help sustain crops on the east side of the Valley.
		Friant Dam ensures a steady flow, capturing and diverting most of the river's water to irrigate 1 million acres of farmland.
	www.fresnobee.com /man/projects/savesjr/rush.html (1533 words)

	Specials of the Month
		Friant Dam has been releasing less than 200cfs of water into the San Joaquin River for 2 months now.
		What can only be called malicious and destructive behavior on the part of those responsible for water release from the Friant Dam, less than 150cfs of water has been discharged to the river for the past 22 days.
		Friant Dam is discharging 1450 cfs of water as of 2 pm.
	sycamorebs.tripod.com /id7.html (2289 words)

	Dam Security Project - Friant Dam in Fresno, CA (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The mandate of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically efficient manner.
		Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, power plants, and canals it constructed in the 17 western states.
		Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River.
	www.whisprwave.com /fresno-dam-security.htm (426 words)

	Griffith Company History
		Even before dam construction began, our crews commenced construction on the camp, operating shops and yards, hospital, school and office buildings that would be used by 265 workers and 130 families.
		The second largest component of the Central Valley Project, Friant Dam is located along the San Joaquin River, 20 miles northeast of Fresno.
		The dam was constructed to capture and store water as it headed toward the ocean, then deliver the water to areas that needed it most.
	www.griffithcompany.net /html/history/water.html (1166 words)

	Nos. 98-926 and 98-1018: Lower Tule River Irrigation Dist. v. Natural Resources Defense Council and Chowchilla Water ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		In remanding the case to the district court, however, the court of appeals left open the questions (a) whether Section 5937 applies to the Friant dam as a matter of California law, and (b) if so, whether application of that Section to the Friant Unit is inconsistent with the overall CVPIA scheme and therefore preempted.
		While the Friant division of the [CVP] is remote from the winter-run chinook in the Sacramento River, the interrelated export of Sacramento River water through the Delta Mendota Canal does adversely affect the winter-run of chinook salmon.
		The owner of any dam shall allow sufficient water at all times to pass through a fishway, or in the absence of a fishway, allow sufficient water to pass over, around or through the dam, to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below the dam.
	www.usdoj.gov /osg/briefs/1998/0responses/98-0926.resp.html (5082 words)

	FindLaw Legal News
		The waters of the San Joaquin River are impounded by a dam constructed at Friant, approximately 60 miles upstream from Mendota.
		Friant Dam stores the water in Millerton Lake from which it is diverted by the Madera Canal on the north to Madera County and the Friant-Kern Canal on the south to the vicinity of Bakersfield for use in those areas for irrigation and other public purposes.
		Indeed, it was obvious from the expressed purpose of the construction of the dam - to store and divert to other areas the waters of the San Joaquin - and the intention of the Government to purchase water rights along the river.
	caselaw.lp.findlaw.com /scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=us/372/609.html (4150 words)

	Fish
		Flows of the lower Merced River are regulated by the multi-purpose New Exchequer Dam, and by McSwain, Merced Falls, and Crocker-Huffman diversion dams.
		Stanislaus, Mokelumne, Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Toulumne Rivers salmon population declines are correlated with the construction of Friant Dam, but direct consequences or contributions of Friant Dam construction and water diversions to salmon population declines have not been established.
		Although the Friant Division does not contribute directly to the San Joaquin River contamination problem, the construction of the Friant Dam following acquisition of the "exchange contractors" water rights in exchange for Delta-Mendota Canal water established the link to the Friant Division's contribution to the lower San Joaquin River contamination problem.
	www.fwua.org /Restoration/Cpplfsh-wld.htm (3073 words)

	River Revival: Campaign for River Restoration and Dam Decommissioning
		The dam is the last remaining barrier between the salmon and the creek’s headwaters.
		An engineered dam was later built to contain the remaining tailings, which polluted the river and its aquatic life with their concentrations of heavy metals.
		The "low–head" dam was built in the 1940s to provide cooling water for a tire plant in Oaks, but had served no purpose in years.
	www.irn.org /revival/decom/index.php?id=bulletins/current.html (3050 words)

	[No title]
		This information is intended as a useful reference to provide the reader with some basic information regarding the physical characteristics of this project, the ongoing needs of the area it serves and the tremendous benefits being generated as a result of it.
		The majority of the water rights to the San Joaquin River allowing for the diversion of water at Friant Dam were obtained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation through purchase and exchange agreements with the individuals and entities that held those rights at the time the project was developed.
		The Friant Unit of the Central Valley Project was established incorporating the concept of conjunctive use of the groundwater reservoir which underlies a major part of its service area.
	www.fwua.org /friant_division.html (1655 words)

	The Fresno Bee \| Tragedy of the San Joaquin \ Timeline (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The government agrees to a small flow of water from the dam to Gravelly Ford, west of Fresno.
		Unlike the Friant Dam fight, the New Melones fight was not about fish: "It was about flows for white-water rafting," says George Nokes, Fish and Game director in the Friant Dam region.
		In mid-June, farmers and environmentalists announce plans to release more water from Friant Dam for one summer to restore vegetation beyond Gravelly Ford, an often dry section of the river.
	www.fresnobee.com /man/projects/savesjr/timeline.html (1394 words)

	Portsmouth Herald World/National News: River of questions flow through San Joaquin (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Friant Dam forms Millerton Lake, top right, in Friant, Calif. The San Joaquin River is split in two at Friant Dam, diverting some water southbound for agricultural irrigation.
		By 1935, Congress approved emergency funds for the Central Valley Project, with the massive Friant Dam at its concrete heart and open channels radiating north and south.
		Friant’s construction in 1944 put an end to the farmers’ concerns, reviving the economy.
	www.seacoastonline.com /news/09182005/world/63577.htm (1911 words)

	Deal to revive dammed-up San Joaquin falters / Environmentalists, farmers stop talking
		Friant attorney Dan Dooley confirmed that his organization had rejected the mediator's plan but added that "we thought it provided a sound framework for a settlement agreement."
		The San Joaquin, once California's second-largest river in annual outflow, has been dry in a 50-mile stretch for most of the last half-century, since shortly after Friant Dam was built by the federal government.
		The NRDC sued Friant water users and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 15 years ago, arguing that the dam was violating California laws that require major dams to release water to protect fish and the environment.
	www.sfgate.com /cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/18/BA119817.DTL&type=printable (511 words)

	Valley Water Contracts
		After the Friant dam was built, the San Joaquin River terminated at the dam, and water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is exported upstream to water users below the dam through a process of pumping and reverse flows.
		The Friant dam unit of the CVP was built on the San Joaquin River by the Bureau in the 1940s.
		Since the time that the dam was completed, the Friant unit has impounded the San Joaquin River water behind the Friant dam and diverted the water to surrounding irrigation districts.
	www.dailyrepublican.com /valley_water.html (525 words)

	Foresthill Bridge
		The Auburn Dam was originally authorized as part of the Central Valley Project (CVP), a system of dams, canals, pumping plants, tunnels, and power plants originally conceived in 1933 with construction of Shasta Dam and reservoir on the upper Sacramento River, and Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River.
		The Auburn Dam was to have impounded North and Middle fork American River water in a 2 million acre-foot reservoir behind an 800' high dam.
		Those in favor of the dam have little access to the engineering facts surrounding the project, and are forced, in most cases, to rely on emotional and political arguments.
	www.foothill.net /~andreaj/Bridge.htm (3321 words)

	California Floods (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		At 10:00 A.M. the Dam is regulated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
		The Dam's flood gates were opened to allow more than 96,000 FPS to spill into the narrow San Joaquin River Channel, onto farm lands, and residential areas downstream from the site.
		The Friant Dam was spilling the overflow into the San Joaquin River main channel.
	www.dailyrepublican.com /fresnoflood.html (441 words)

	Valley Voice Newspaper (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Dooley notes that Friant water recharges Visalia’s water table as it flows from the canal each year to the irrigation districts including Tulare Irrigation District, and thus the ruling impacts the City of Visalia’s as well.
		Friant’s assistant general manager Mario Santoyo says November 10th water forum in Fresno will bring state and federal representatives to come up with a plan - what clearly will be a political response to this judge’s legal ruling.
		Also on October 19th Friant will host a tour of the San Joaquin River for politicians to showcase plans for river restoration that could move forward “that are practical”.
	www.valleyvoicenewspaper.com /riverruling.htm (1073 words)

	Water Education Foundation - Western Water Magazine
		For more than 50 years, the majority of the river has been halted at Friant Dam and diverted north and south for use by farms and homes throughout parts of five counties, in the process making that part of the valley the most productive agricultural region in the world.
		The Friant Division of the Central Valley Project achieved the ends of its planners, who in the depths of the Great Depression built an irrigation system that transformed the dry landscape into an Eden for farming while preventing overburdened wells from being tapped out.
		Legal doctrines that have been the foundation of the dam’s releases have been wrangled over and argued, and an attempt to forge compromise ran aground over the debate regarding just how much water is needed to achieve a mutually satisfying result.
	www.water-ed.org /novdec04.asp (2687 words)

	San Joaquin Watershed (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Around 200 river property owners protest "the closing of the San Joaquin River." The hydroelectric part of the CVP would have allowed for sufficient flow in the river.
		Friant Dam completed storing 520,000 acre feet of water.
		The dam caused vegetation intrusion into the old channel and between that and silting the channel can no longer accommodate flows in the 7,000 cubic feet/second range.
	www.woodrow.org /teachers/esi/1998/r/freshwater/history.htm (595 words)

	SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Federal judge rules Friant Dam near Fresno violates California law
		On Friday, the U.S. District Court judge in Sacramento decided in favor of environmentalists who sued the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Friant Water Users Authority in 1988 over the Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River, one of the state's longest.
		NRDC officials said they were thrilled with Judge Karlton's decision, which could send water through the Friant Dam for the first time in more than 50 years.
		The Friant Water Users Authority, which provides Friant Dam water to Fresno, Kern, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties, was "very disappointed" in the ruling, said general manager Ron Jacobsma, adding that its attorneys were considering various legal options.
	www.signonsandiego.com /news/state/20040828-0021-ca-friantdam.html (606 words)

	[No title]
		Restoration of a salmon run to the upper San Joaquin River (Friant Dam to Merced River confluence) is a problematic concept because of widespread and severe river habitat degradation, and because the fish has a complex life cycle and is vulnerable to impacts in both freshwater and marine systems.
		Presently, a portion of these flow requirements are being met by Reclamation riparian water-right flows from Friant Dam to Gravelly Ford (approximately 100,000 acre-feet annually).
		In 1986, based on available information, it was estimated that the chinook salmon historical spawning grounds (the 13 river miles from Friant Dam downstream to Lanes Bridge) could accomodate around 4,900 or more fall-run chinook salmon redds or a spawning escapement of around 11,000 or more (based on a 2.2:1.0 escapement per adult female ratio).
	www.fwua.org /Restoration/Flowneed-sjr.htm (2966 words)

	NRDC Press Archive: NRDC Coalition Wins Ruling to Restore San Joaquin River
		Before Friant Dam's completion, the San Joaquin River supported one of the most important salmon fisheries on the Pacific coast and the southernmost Chinook salmon run in North America.
		Today, virtually all the water upstream from the dam is diverted for irrigation, and two sections of the river totaling 60 miles have completely dried up.
		Writing of the dam's damaging effects, the judge noted, "In the words of the Department of Interior, Friant Dam's operations have been a 'disaster' for Chinook salmon." Restoring the San Joaquin River could be one of the biggest, most important environmental restoration projects in California history.
	www.nrdc.org /media/pressreleases/040827.asp (830 words)

	Frequently Asked Questions
		If common sense could prevail over greed, the river would have a steady flow of 600-800 cfs from Friant Dam and would be healthy and viable to Gravelly Ford and beyond.
		The truth seems to be that if we have ANY water downstream from the Dam it is only because they couldn't get it into the canals and sell it.
		So, the short answer as to why is the water so low is because we have a dam and two canals and a handfull of bureaucrats who believe they are losing money when water escapes into the river.
	sycamorebs.tripod.com /id19.html (1929 words)

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