Memorandum
Date: May 11, 2021
To: The Honorable Bruno Sabatier, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Scott De Leon, Public Works/Water Resources Director
Subject: Consideration of Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District's request for emergency lake water diversion
Executive Summary: (include fiscal and staffing impact narrative):
Staff was recently contacted by the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (YCFLWCD) following a request by the Cal Pine Corporation for an emergency water diversion from Clear Lake. As your Board is aware, Cal Pine utilizes water injection for the purpose of steam generation within their Geysers operations. The injected water consists of treated effluent from Lake and Sonoma Counties, as well as water diverted directly from Clear Lake. Cal Pine has notified YCFLWCD that the Sonoma County portion of injection water will be interrupted due to a construction project that will temporarily stop all flows from that region, and they have requested approval for an emergency water diversion from Clear Lake to replace the lost volume. According to Cal Pine officials, the amount of water being requested is 250 acre-feet of water, and they have requested an emergency Diversion and Use Agreement from YCFLWCD. Under normal circumstances this request would not be problematic, however with the certainty of drought conditions looming for Lake County, any intentional removal of water from the lake should be closely considered. YCFLWCD staff have respectively requested support for the diversion from Lake County, and due to the complexity of issues surrounding the request, staff is deferring to the Board of Supervisors for the decision. Staff offers the following information for your Board's consideration:
* The requested amount (250 acre-feet) equals approximately 1/16" of water over the surface area of the lake;
* During the peak summer months, the lake loses approximately 900 acre-feet of wa...
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