Restoring the Delta
One Island at a Time
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Thanks to action by Metropolitan’s board earlier this month, 243 acres in the Suisun Marsh area of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will become available for important habitat programs, including work to help migrating Chinook salmon and Longfin smelt.
The land is part of Chipps Island which was purchased by Metropolitan in 2016 along with all or part of four other Delta islands.
The board authorized the General Manager to sell the land on Chipps Island to the California Department of Water Resources, which owns the rest of the island. DWR plans to use the land to meet mitigation requirements of the State Water Project.
“Having one owner of this land will streamline planning, permitting and mitigation crediting,” says Real Estate Representative
Jennifer Ryan
. “It’s a unique opportunity to help meet some of our objectives to restore ecosystems and sensitive species in the Delta, and contribute to water supply reliability.”
The property consists of mostly marsh. Unlike most Delta islands that are subsided, this land is at tidal to slightly sub-tidal level. That, and its location in the western part of the Delta, make it perfectly suited for tidal wetlands restoration, providing both food and shelter for native migrating fish.
For an aerial tour of Chipps Island, watch the video below.
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Another Year, Another Exceptional Report
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Though the report is a team effort across all Metropolitan groups and offices, special thanks go to
Thair Peterson
of External Affairs and
Marva Farrar
from the Chief Administrative Services Section for their hard work to compile, organize and publish the report.
Among the big stories are the board's once-in-a-generation decision to support California WaterFix, the groundbreaking for a regional water recycling demonstration facility, and the record-breaking addition of 1.2 million acre-feet of water to Southern California's storage reserves.
You can also read how Metropolitan completed the switch to ozone at all five of its water treatment plants, dealt with cyanobacterial blooms, unveiled new conservation programs and saw the State Supreme Court let stand a decline to review a major appellate court decision in a rate litigation case. Met also began new long-term Hoover Dam power agreements for the Colorado River Aqueduct.
You can get the lowdown on shutdowns and water transactions, follow banking and exchange programs, and learn about board members. Other topics include:
- Breakdown on the Capital Investment Plan
- Overview of the design, construction and completion of dozens of engineering and construction projects
- Charts and graphs on the budget, bonds and other financial matters
- Information on how Met is leading in innovation and technology, real property management, workforce issues and outreach projects
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Living the Life at
Diamond Valley Lake
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Scott Reierson
has seen the lake increase by more than 250,000 acre-feet during his three years as Diamond Valley Lake's Team Manager. This has kept
Scott
and the 18 mechanics and electricians who are responsible for DVL conveyance and distribution quite busy.
DVL, which is owned and operated by Metropolitan, is Southern California's largest reservoir. It supplies water for millions of homes and businesses, and holds enough water to meet the region's emergency and drought needs for about six months.
Scott
and his team tackle the long days that accompany Metropolitan’s shutdown season and have overseen numerous DVL projects including an ongoing control and safety system upgrade and the Lakeview/Inland Feeder Intertie.
Currently, the team is wrapping up the Yard Pipe Relining project which took DVL offline for two months while the interior of the pipes that connect the lake to the distribution system were recoated.
Scott
has been with Met for six years. He previously worked with the city of Huntington Beach. “The thing I like best about working for MWD is the chance to work on the classic infrastructure of the Colorado River Aqueduct," he says. "The craftsmanship and quality of the concrete work is remarkable.”
“I used to have hobbies,”
Scott
says, as he talks about dirt biking, snowboarding and playing defense on soccer teams in the past tense. These days,
Scott
he enjoys the challenge of raising two teenagers. Their family can often be found camping in Yosemite, Mammoth and Ocotillo, California.
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