THE STONY CREEK WATER WARS
Glenn County - Tehama County - Colusa County , California.
(c) 2001, Mike Barkley
OUWUA obtains financing to drill 42 deep water wells into the Stony Creek Fan from, Guess Who? Reclamation!

[This is a paraphrased excerpt plus quotes from a Mon., Mar. 21, 1977, p. 4 San Francisco Chronicle article, "Wringing Water Aid From Bureaucrats," by Jerry Carroll, Chronicle Correspondent, dateline Orland, Glenn County. ]

The story discusses the efforts of Chico Civil Engineer Eugene Ringle (and former Mayor of Chico) who had read in the Chronicle the problems OUWUA was having with the drought which left minimal storage in both reservoirs. Mr. Ringle was aware that the Stony Creek Fan held 2.2 trillion gallons of water (divided by 7.48 gallons per cubic foot, by 43560 cubic feet per acre foot, yields 6,752,000 acre-feet) and volunteered to help the Association drum up support for tapping that supply. He visited many agencies, and

"In the end, succor came from the federal Bureau of Reclamation. It offered a 40-year interest-free loan to the farmers in the district. They're talking about $2 million,...

"When the district banks the federal loan, it will hire a drilling company to dig 42 wells 600 feet deep to tap the water below. Each well will produce 2000 gallons a minute, enough to supply 56,000 acre feet over the growing season."

Recall that such wells were part of Reclamation's original approval documents, so it's Reclamation offering to help fix Reclamation's mistakes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Return to Stony Creek Water Wars.

--Mike Barkley, 161 N. Sheridan Ave. #1, Manteca, CA 95336 (H) 209/823-4817
mjbarkl@inreach.com