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~ <:;) N ~ Interagency DrCl As yet state and federal legislation authorizing a drainage system for the entire San J oa,quin Valley has not been enacted. The 'Interagency Drainage Program participants authored a 1979 report recommending a comprehensive valley-wide drainage and salt manage- ment program. The IDP recom~ended: A 290-mile joint use federal/state drainage canal of staged con- struction of which the existing 82 miles of the San Luis Drain would form the middle section with con- struction by 1991 of a northern extension to Suisun Bay and by 2000 of a section to the south San J oa- quin Valley, In addition, the collected drainage would form the water supply for a total of 64,000 acres of new or restored wetland wildlife habitat which in- cludes marshes and holding ponds, Financing project costs would have been shared 58 percent by the federal government and 42 percent by the state. The total estimated capital costs were al- most $1.3 billion in 1979 dollars, Costs for agricul- tural drainage and water conservation were to be reim- bursed (paid back by local entities using the drain) and costs allocated to marshes and water quality would have been nonreimbursable. The 1979 IDP report recommended applied irrigation water charges for using the drain at $1.00 per acre-foot in federal areas and $2.00 per acre-foot in state areas, In addition, the recommended discharge fees for federal areas ranged from $2,50 to $4,30 per acre-foot; in state areas they ranged from $17.00 to $23,00 per acre.. foot. The First-Stage EIR Report In the first stage Environmental Impact Report of the IDP-recommended drain plan, there is discussion of the steps necessary to avoid or mitigate potential adverse impacts of the proposed valley-wide drain, The major conclusions are that discharge of future drainage in the year 2000 would not cause wide- spread salinity increases in the western ,Delta-Suisun Bay area, but minor salinity increases near the dis- charge' point may require mitigation, The report also found that the drain would not cause significant im- pacts- on algal growth in the Delta. Some drainage from the Tulare Lake Drainage District and Kern County may have too much arsenic content for dis- charge into the drain, but this area is now excluded from the currently proposed drain service area due to lack of interest on the part of local water users. Some small inflow to the San Joaquin River would result, but further water quality degradation caused by 10 subsurface drainage would be prevented, The report also noted there would be minor impacts from the ad- dition of canals, pipelines, marshes, ete" 'and indirect impacts might result from future reuses of drain water such as for possible powerplant cooling, Reusefor powerplant cooling could be beneficial if it replaces a fresh water use and doesn't reduce water for marshes, Aerial view of the San Luis Drain and Kesterson Res- ervoir area north of Los Banos, The reservoir is desig- nated as a National Wildlife Refuge, Waterfowl refuges and marshlands are planned as part of a valley-wide drain,