Source of California North Coast Water

              SOURCE OF CALIFORNIA NORTH COAST WATER 
 
Consideration has been given to alternates to the Trinity reservoirs as a source of the annual supply of 1,200,000 acre-feet of water for the Pacific Southwest. (The Helena Reservoir on Trinity River, with associated conveyance facilities, can supply 600,000 acre-feet; and the Eltapom Reservoir on South Fork Trinity River another 600,000 acre-feet). 
 
The Eel River has been considered as the most practical alternative to the South Fork Trinity source, and this has been explored with California State Resources officials. The State is currently planning on constructing the Middle Fork Eel River Unit as part of its own active water program. Next most favorable unit in the Eel basin is the English Ridge Reservoir on the Upper Eel. The State and the Bureau have tentatively been talking of this possibly being built by the Bureau. However, English Ridge can develop only 340,000 acre-feet of water. In discussions with the State officials it was disclosed that this probably could be supplemented to the needed 600,000 acre-foot level by use of an interim surplus from the State's Middle Fork Eel Unit for ten to twenty years; however, there is not sufficient time available now to work out any such arrangements for the Pacific Southwest Water Plan Report. The Lower Eel is excessively costly, due to enormous cost of relocating a railroad and high pumping heads. 
 
Accordingly, it has been agreed that the Pacific Southwest Water Plan Report should be prepared on the basis of the 1,200,000 acre-feet of water being supplied from the Helena and Eltapom Reservoirs, (Trinity and South Fork Trinity) but with language indicating further consideration may be given before actual construction, to substitution of the Eel River source, in a joint arrangement with the State, instead of the South Fork Trinity source. 
 
The State officials also suggested that there might be substantial mutual advantages in "pooling" water supplies (through proper sequencing of reservoir construction and exchange of interim surpluses). It appears that this might be quite advantageous to all concerned, and that the Pacific Southwest Water Plan Report should have the door open to such source water "pooling" between the Pacific Southwest Water Plan, Central Valley Project, and State Water Project. 
 
During current reviews of Eltapom design and costs, it appears that a serious fault at the dam site will require (1) a shift of the high Eltapom dam site, at increased cost of roughly $100,000,000, or (2) a shift to a low Eltapom dam and addition of Burnt Ranch Reservoir (on Trinity River just below Helena Reservoir) at somewhat lower construction cost, but $2 million a year higher pumping costs. For the current report, alternative (1) has been adopted; but language of the report should have the door open for a switch to alternative (2), which would result in a 3-reservoir (low Eltapom, Burnt Ranch, and Helena) to supply the 1,200,000 acre-feet of water needed.