Enlarging Shasta Lake feasible, U.S. report says
sfgate.com / 2-6-2012
The billion dollars it would cost to raise the dam holding back the largest reservoir in California would, at least on the surface, be money well spent, a federal study concluded this week.
A study by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation found that the maximum possible enlargement of Lake Shasta near Redding - a scheme that would add 18.5 feet to the top of the dam - would be both feasible and "economically justified."
The report is part of an ongoing effort by the department to find ways to increase the state's water supply, and it provides the first comprehensive analysis of the proposed expansion of a reservoir that provides drinking water to some 2 million people and irrigates about 3 million acres of farmland.
"This planning process is crucial in trying to balance water supply stability with ecosystem improvements," said Pete Lucero, spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation. "The water supply in California was built for 20 million people 50 years ago and now there are 38 million people, so we're going to have to do something to fix the aging infrastructure we have in the state."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/09/MNAF1N4A4P.DTL
The report includes mention that increased capacity would allow for the release of more cold, fresh water into the Sacramento River that aid in salmon and steelhead spawning.
If the report is accurate I'm all for it. California's aging/antiquated water supply infrastructure needs serious attention.
