View File - Development Services - City of Oxnard

WATER RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT2.4.2 Imported Surface WaterThe Department of Water Resources transports surface water, largely from the Feather andSacramento Rivers in northern California, through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta toSouthern California via the California Aqueduct, or State Water Project. In SouthernCalifornia, the aqueduct splits into east and west branches terminating at Perris and CastaicReservoirs, respectively. Water from the State Water Project is imported to users within theSanta Clara-Calleguas Basin as follows:• UWCD Conservation District. UWCD imports water from northern California toPyramid Lake and Lake Piru where it is periodically released into Piru Creek and theSanta Clara River.• Calleguas Municipal Water District. CMWD imports water from northern Californiamostly for municipal supplies.• Los Angeles County Area. Water from northern California is imported by Castaic LakeWater Agency located in the headwaters of the Santa Clara River watershed.This imported water supplements the local supplies and is ultimately a source of recharge tothe surface water and groundwater system of the region, either directly from direct releasesor indirectly from wastewater effluent and irrigation return flows.2.4.3 Water Conservation FacilitiesUWCD operates several water conservation facilities within the Santa Clara-CalleguasHydrologic Unit (Figure 2-3). These include the following surface water facilities, which arefurther described in Section 3.0.• Santa Felicia Dam. Santa Felicia Dam (1955) captures and stores winter runoff from PiruCreek for later release in controlled amounts to replenish the Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula,and Oxnard Plain groundwater basins, and supply surface water for irrigation.• Freeman Diversion. The Freeman Diversion (1991), located near Saticoy, diverts surfacewater from the Santa Clara River for enhanced groundwater recharge at the spreadinggrounds in the Oxnard Forebay and distribution to the southern Oxnard Plain foragricultural irrigation.• Spreading Grounds and Wellfields. Surface water from the Freeman diversion isconveyed into spreading grounds to enhance groundwater recharge in the OxnardForebay area, which is the most important source of regional recharge to the OxnardPlain. These spreading grounds consist of the Saticoy Recharge ponds, the Noble Pit,and El Rio recharge ponds. Wellfields at the Saticoy and El Rio spreading groundsrecover groundwater for potable and agricultural use.• Oxnard-Hueneme Delivery System. The Oxnard-Hueneme (O-H) pipeline (1954)moves municipal groundwater extraction away from coastal areas subject to seawaterintrusion. The O-H system consists of wells located at the El Rio spreading grounds,three wells along Rose Avenue, a water treatment plant, booster plant, and 12 miles ofdistribution pipeline. The O-H pipeline delivers potable water to wholesale customerson the Oxnard Plain.W112003002SCO LW1458.DOC/ 033390002 11