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Salinas Reservoir |
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The Salinas Dam was built in 1941 by the War Department to supply water
to Camp San Luis Obispo and, secondarily, to meet the water needs of the
City. The Salinas Reservoir (Santa Margarita Lake) captures water from a
112 square mile watershed and can currently store up to 23,843
acre-feet.
In 1947, the Salinas Dam and delivery system was transferred from the
regular Army to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since the late 40's or
early 50's, the San
Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District has
operated this water supply for the City under a lease from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Water from the reservoir is pumped
through the Cuesta Tunnel (a one mile long tunnel through the mountains of the Cuesta
Ridge) and then flows by gravity to the City’s Water Treatment Plant on Stenner Creek
Road.
The
City has water rights to store up to 45,000 acre feet. The original
design of the dam included a gate in the spillway to increase the
storage capacity.
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Whale Rock Reservoir |
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The Whale Rock Reservoir is a 40,662 acre foot reservoir created by the construction an
earthen dam on Old Creek near the town of Cayucos. The dam was designed and constructed by
the State Department of Water Resources beginning in October 1958 and
completed in April 1961, to provide water to the City of San Luis
Obispo, Cal Poly State University and California Men’s Colony. The Whale Rock Dam
captures water from a 20.3 square mile watershed and water is delivered to the three
agencies through 17.6 miles of 30-inch pipeline and two pumping stations.
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Nacimiento Reservoir |
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The Nacimiento
Reservoir provides flood protection and is a source of supply for
groundwater recharge for the Salinas Valley. It is owned and
operated by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. Since 1959,
the San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation
District has had an entitlement to 17,500 acre-feet per year (AFY)
of water from the reservoir for use in San Luis Obispo County.
Approximately 1,750 AFY have been designated for uses around the
lake, leaving 15,750 AFY for allocation to other areas within the
County of San Luis Obispo.
The County began
construction in 2007 on a 45-mile pipeline project to deliver water
from the Nacimiento Reservoir to five participating agencies and
cities. The City has a contractual entitlement to 3,380 AFY of water
from the project. The construction of the pipeline and delivery
facilities was substantially completed in December 2010 and water
deliveries to the City began in January 2011.Q:
Is there Mercury in Nacimiento Water?
A: Click
here for a
pdf fact sheet.
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Ground Water |
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One well currently supplies water for domestic use. Two wells supply water for irrigating
the City golf course, and one well at the Corporation Yard is used for construction
purposes. The one domestic well is producing approximately 10 acre feet per month
which is approximately 2% of the total City water use. The groundwater basin is relatively
small and recharges very quickly following normal rainfall periods, but it also lowers
relatively quickly following the end of the rainy season. Extensive use of groundwater sustained the City
through the drought of 1986-1991. However the City’s two largest producing wells, the
Auto Parkway and Denny’s wells, were shut down when elevated nitrate levels were
detected. This loss meant the City could not rely on groundwater for future drought
protection.
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Recycled Water |
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 Recycled
water is highly treated wastewater approved for reuse by the California
Department of Public Health for a variety of applications, including
landscape irrigation and construction dust control. Completed in 2006,
the Water Reuse Project created the first new source of water for the
City since 1961 following construction of Whale Rock Dam. The Project
resulted in improvements at the City’s Water Reclamation Facility and an
initial eight miles of distribution pipeline. The City’s first delivery
of recycled water took place in 2006. The City estimates demand exists
for approximately 1,000 acre feet of recycled water for landscape
irrigation and other approved uses.
For
more info about City of San Luis Obispo's recycled water, click
here.
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Recreation at the Reservoirs |
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 Recreation facilities at Santa Margarita Lake are operated by the County of San Luis
Obispo as a County Park and provide opportunities for boating, fishing,
picnicking and
camping. No body contact (swimming,
waterskiing, etc.) is allowed in the lake because it is a domestic water supply reservoir.
For more information call (805) 438-5485, or click
here.
Whale Rock Reservoir has limited access
to the south shore for hiking and fishing from the shore. A daily fee of $1.00 for hiking
or $2.00 for fishing per person is collected to partially recover the costs of patrolling
these areas. The fish population includes steelhead, catfish, blue gill, and Sacramento
suckers. Access to the Whale Rock Reservoir shoreline for fishing
begins the last Saturday in April and extends through November 15th.
Recreation facilities at Nacimiento Lake are operated by the County
of Monterey Parks Department. For more information concerning
recreation activities at Nacimiento Lake visit their website
here. |
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