- Reclamation
- Projects & Facilities
- Projects
- Ventura River Project
Ventura River Project
State: California
Region: Mid-Pacific
Related Documents
Ventura River Project History (45 KB)
Related Facilities
Related Links
South-Central California Area Office
Casitas Dam and Lake Casitas
Robles Diversion Dam
Weather Conditions (NOAA)
Regional Precipitation
Monthly Precipitation
Spring and Summer (NRCS)
Mountain Snowpack Maps for Great Basin & California
Palmer Drought Index Map
Ventura River near Meiners Oaks, California (USGS)
Ventura
Casitas Dam
Robles Diversion Dam
End-of-Month Storage in Casitas Reservoir from California Data exchange Center
Explanation of Palmer Drought Severity Index (Text)
coyote Creek near Ventura, California (USGS)
General
Authorized in 1956, the Ventura River Project was the third and last of three large-scale Federal water projects in the region. These `seacoast projects`capture the seasonal floodwaters that would otherwise `waste to the sea.` Further south and east down the coast from the prior-constructed Cachuma (http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/cachuma.html) and Santa Maria (http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/santamaria.html) Projects. Only 30 percent of the rugged and mountainous project area is considered developable. The district is highly urbanized along the coast. The project furnishes an irrigation water supply to about 15,200 irrigable acres of land, and municipal and industrial water to approximately 40,000 users in urban and suburban areas within the Casitas Municipal Water District (formerly the Ventura River Municipal Water District). The Ventura River and its tributaries are the main water sources for the project. The Ventura River bisects the lower, southern portion of this area, flowing for about sixteen miles from its formation at the confluence of Matilija Creek and the North Fork of Matilija Creek to the Pacific Ocean. The river`s coastal inlet lies at the western edge of the city of Ventura, the largest town in the project area. Its two principal tributaries are San Antonio Creek from the east and Coyote Creek from the west. The annual average flow of the Ventura River is 13,600 acre-feet. It is a highly fluctuating, intermittent stream, running usually only in the winter month`s `wet season.` The area averages 14 inches of precipitation per year, with ranges varying from 5 to 40 inches. The Ventura River Project comprises a storage reservoir on Coyote Creek, a diversion dam on the Ventura River, a canal to carry water from the diversion dam to the reservoir, and a high-pressure pipeline distribution system. The distribution system has pumping plants and balancing reservoirs to distribute the water from Lake Casitas to the various areas within the project for irrigation, municipal, and industrial uses. The project also uses water from Matilija Dam, built by Ventura County and placed in operation in 1948. The Ventura River Project, in southern California is on the coast about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The 90,000-acre project area is fan-shaped--the main Ventura River Valley runs north-south from the Topatopa Mountains down to the Pacific and several side valleys drained by tributaries of the Ventura River funnel into the main basin from the east and west. An additional strip of project land (Rincon) lies parallel with and outside of the basin along the Pacific coast northwest of the city of Ventura.
History
The coastal Chumash Indians lived on fish and shellfish from the sea and game from the backcountry. The Ventura River Basin was visited in 1542 by the Spanish navigators who landed at Ventura Harbor. Agriculture did not become established in the area until about 1782, when the Mission Fathers dedicated San Buenaventura. During the mission days, agricultural activities were devoted to raising crops and livestock to supply the needs of surrounding settlements. Water was diverted from Ventura River near the mouth of Canada Larga. An old, massive-walled settling tank that distributed river water to the mission is still intact today. During Mexican rule, prior to the middle of the 19th century, the land was divided into large grants that were subdivided later and sold to settlers. By 1900, more intensive cropping practices had replaced most of the earlier grain farming, and there was a gradual reduction in the size of farms. Production of apples, apricots, and peaches was initiated at an early date. Citrus fruits were successfully introduced into the Ojai and Ventura River Valleys; commercial planting started in the early 1900`s. Development of urban communities and population growth within the Ventura River Basin has been rapid, particularly since 1920. Groundwater basins and stream flows provided pre-project water for agriculture and municipalities. The City of Ventura also had three wells alon gthe ocean beach for back-ups in a dry year. However, saltwater encroachment threatened these wells.
Construction
Construction of Casitas Dam began three months later in July 1956 and was completed in March 1959; Robles Diversion Dam and five pumping plants were completed in 1958; other distribution works were started in 1957 and completed in 1959. The Ventura River Municipal Water District advanced funds to the Bureau of Reclamation for investigations and design of the proposed Ventura Project. This permitted almost immediate issuance of specifications and an early start on construction as soon as authorization was given. The ever-present problem of earthquakes was addressed in the early 1980`s when a SEED Report (Safety and Evaluation of Existing Dams) on Casitas Dam classified it with a `Poor` grade because of the potential for liquefaction of the dam`s foundation during a high magnitude earthquake which could cause damage to the slope intake structure. The problem was mitigated when computerized piezometers placed in the dam embankment recorded satisfactorily-low levels of seepage. Consequently, Casitas Dam`s safety classification was upgraded to safe status. In 1999, Reclamation started a two year effort to upgrade Casitas Dam to current earthquake safety standards as part of an ongoing agency-wide modernization effort to enable Casitas Dam to withstand a magnitude 7 earthquake. The work will strengthen the toe of the dam and construct an earthen berm to widen and buttress the dam. The Casitas Dam (http://www.casitasdamsafety.net/) information network has more information. Interim actions have reduced the overall risk to the public. A system of wells dewatered the weakest downstream foundation materials and an above ground system drained the spillway stilling basin. The interim project reduces the buildup of foundation pore-pressure during earthquakes, thus reducing the potential for liquefaction and resulting deformation of the downstream slope of the embankment until a long-term risk reduction project is completed. A summary of the Environmental Assessment was released Reclamation also installed eight emergency sirens along Coyote Creek and the Ventura River, would be activated in the unlikely event of imminent flooding below Casitas Dam. The principal products of the project area are citrus and other fruits. In addition, avacadoes, walnuts, and berries contribute substantially to the agricultural produce of the area. The project supplies water to about 7,000 acres of agricultural lands. The project serves 40,000 municipal customers. Lake Casitas (http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=19) offers fishing, boating, camping, and picnicking activities. The Casitas Municipal Water District manages the Lake Casitas recreation area. In 1980, over 1.5 million people visited Casitas. In 1984, Lake Casitas hosted rowing events for the Los Angeles Olympics.. Southern California`s Pacific Coast has always been home to the sun, sandy beaches, and surfers, but beginning in 1948, when Santa Barbara County water developers teamed up with the Bureau of Reclamation to have the Cachuma Project built, the region also became the site of three large-scale Federal water projects. These `seacoast projects,` as they came to be called, attempted to capture the seasonal floodwaters that would otherwise `waste to the sea.` The Ventura River Project was the third and last of these projects. Further south and east down the coast from the prior-constructed Cachuma and Santa Maria Projects, Ventura, too, supplied water to a citrus-dominated agricultural industry and an exploding municipal-industrial population. Although the Ventura River Project has been bothered by fewer problems than have beset its neighboring Reclamation projects - floods, droughts, population pressures, sedimentation, earthquakes, to name just a few - it, too, possesses some of the characteristics that make Southern California`s seacoast projects so colorful. The Ventura River Project is located in the south coastal section of California in Ventura County, sixty miles northwest of metropolitan Los Angeles. The 90,000-acre project area is fan-shaped in that the main Ventura River Valley runs north-south from the Topatopa Mountains down to the Pacific and several side valleys drained by tributaries of the Ventura River funnel into the main basin from the east and west. There is also an additional strip of project land (Rincon) contiguous with but lying outside of the basin along the Pacific coast to the northwest of the city of Ventura. Within the rugged and mountainous project area (the Ventura River watershed drains elevations up to 6,000 feet), only about thirty percent is considered developable (either by irrigation or habitation), consequently these areas are densely worked.(1) The district is highly urbanized along the coast and includes the cities of Ventura and Ojai (located in a somewhat broad, northern valley), the unincorporated communities of Oak View and Meiners Oaks, and surrounding suburban and agricultural areas comprising the Ventura River, Santa Ana, Ojai, and Upper Ojai Valleys. The Ventura River bisects the lower, southern portion of this area, flowing for about sixteen miles from its formation at the confluence of Matilija Creek and the North Fork of Matilija Creek to the Pacific Ocean. The river`s coastal inlet lies at the western edge of the city of Ventura, the largest town in the project area. Its two principal tributaries are San Antonio Creek, which enters from the east, draining the agriculturally productive Ojai Valleys, and Coyote Creek, which enters from the west and upon which the project`s dam is constructed. The annual average flow of the Ventura River, the supply of which is transferred by pipeline to Coyote Creek, is 13,600 acre-feet (ac-ft). It drains an area of 228 square miles and, like most in Southern California, is a highly fluctuating, intermittent stream, running usually only in the winter month`s `wet season.` The area averages fourteen inches of precipitation per year, but has exhibited ranges varying from a low of five inches to a high of forty.(2) The main features of the Ventura River Project are Casitas Dam and Reservoir, which is located on Coyote Creek about two miles above its junction with the Ventura River; the Robles Diversion Dam, which lies on the Ventura River about 1.5 miles downstream from the river`s formation, diverting much of its flow to Coyote Creek; the 5.4-mile Robles-Casitas Canal, which conveys the diverted flow of the Ventura River into Coyote Creek and then Lake Casitas; and the main conveyance system, which includes 34 miles of pipeline, five pumping stations, and six balancing reservoirs located throughout the project area - all of which contribute to the eventual delivery of project water to area subscribers. California`s south coastal region, now comprised of Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and the Channel Islands, was once home to numerous Chumash Indians. The Chumash subsisted on fish and shellfish from the sea (Ventura River was the site of a sizeable Steelhead Salmon run until the construction of Matilija Dam by Ventura County in 1948; a few dozen now annually visit the river) and game from the backcountry. When Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first came to California in 1542 and landed in the Ventura area he observed the Chumash traveling in their large, finely-constructed canoes which could fit up to twenty people.(3) Their mild-mannered docility and disease led to their eventual demise once the Spanish settled the area. While the Cabrillo and Juan Bautista de Anza expeditions visited the Ventura area in 1542 and 1774 respectively, it was not until Father Junipero Serra founded the ninth and last mission, San Buenaventura, in 1782, that the coastline region lying between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles was settled (the name, Ventura, is an American corruption of the Mission name; San Buenaventura is still used in some traditional circles). During the mission days, the padres raised livestock and grew grains, first diverting the waters of the Ventura River at Canada Larga for their use. Remnants of the old stone aqueduct, demolished by a flood in 1866-67, can still be seen near the confluence of the streams a few miles north of Ventura. An old, massive-walled settling tank, or receiving reservoir, which distributed river water to the mission also stands intact today and is owned by the city of Ventura.(4) Mexican rule in the early-mid nineteenth century brought with it the doling out of large land grants that typically became ranches. After these lands came under American dominion in 1850, the large parcels were subdivided. The new settlers raised mostly grains. By 1900, new water developments allowed for more intensive agriculture to be practiced in the area, with citrus fruits, apples, apricots, and peaches being grown. Pre-project agricultural water use consisted primarily of drawing from groundwater basins, with a smaller amount taken directly from streamflow. The fast-growing City of Ventura received its supply from the Ventura River by gravity as well as by pumping from river gravels. Overall, the river supplied the city with eighty percent of its supply.(5) It also had three wells along the ocean beach that served as back-ups in the event of a dry year. Unfortunately, the city believed the wells would be unusable in the near future due to salt water encroachment. Consequently, the city`s situation grew especially critical during dry years when the Ventura River could not be counted on for its supply. Many agricultural wells in the productive Ojai Valley began going dry in the 1930`s and `40`s, forcing Ventura County to build 7,000 ac-ft Matilija Dam in 1949. The purpose of the dam was to replenish groundwater basins used for farming in Ojai and by the City of Ventura for its municipal supply. Post-war Ventura, then, was faced with a familiar Southern California dilemma - the need for water to support its growing economy. Its population was exploding, agriculture was expanding, and the burgeoning local oil industry also had huge water needs. Because rainfall patterns were so erratic and unreliable and few surface storage works existed to capture what precipitation did fall, the area continued to suffer a chronic water shortage through the 1950`s. It was during these post-war years that Ventura County looked on with especially keen interest as neighboring communities such as Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Los Angeles embarked upon major Federal reclamation projects which impounded water for their own use, water that would ensure the future of the cities, industries, and farms within each water district. Official investigations concerning potential solutions to the Ventura area`s water supply problem began in 1925 when Ojai Valley hired J.B. Lippincott to look into water development plans. The Los Angeles-based water engineering firm did the same for Ventura in 1934 but nothing came of either investigation.(6) Having witnessed the construction of reclamation projects by its neighbors, Ventura knew how to mobilize quickly when it realized how critical its need had become. In March, 1953, the Ventura River Municipal Water District (VRMWD) was formed so that a local legal body could seek arrangements with the Bureau of Reclamation to initiate water resource feasibility studies for the District on a match-fund basis. Once the cooperative investigation partnership between VRMVD and Reclamation was underway in 1953-54 the process progressed quickly. Speed was possible for this project for several reasons. First, the area`s need for water grew more critical with each passing year. This assured that there would be little objection to the building of the expensive project. In fact, when a $720,000 preconstruction contract between VRMWD and Reclamation required voter approval at a special election in November, 1955, it passed by a 30 to 1 margin.(7) Also, as was the case with the preconstruction contract, many steps of the process were carried out concurrently rather than consecutively, saving much time. So, while processing the Ventura River Project feasibility report through time-consuming Federal and State of California channels, the District was able to ready plans and specifications for immediate issuance upon the expected final authorization by Interior and Congress. It was also understood that, due to the area`s propensity to experience drought, it could take several years for the proposed reservoir to store an adequate supply. Consequently, all parties involved attempted to expedite the typically lengthy Federal project process.(8) Everything worked as planned, so when the planned $27.5 million Ventura River project was officially authorized on March 1, 1956, construction began immediately. The entire process, from the formation of the VRMWD to initial water deliveries to project beneficiaries in 1959, took six years, causing The Reclamation Era to report, `It is believed that this is a record with respect to elapsed time for conception, design, and construction of a Federal reclamation project`(9) Reclamation`s Leland G. Bennett was to manage the project. The Ventura River Project works include some unique features. Because of extended periods of drought often experienced in the area, the storage reservoir was originally planned to have a capacity of 250,000 a-ft, nine times the safe annual yield for the project (a safe yield figure that was later revised, making the new safe yield measurement of 21,900 ac-ft over eleven times the safe annual yield; in comparison, the neighboring Cachuma Project was built to endure seven years of drought).(10) Furthermore, the storage reservoir is located not on the Ventura River, but up a tributary, Coyote Creek, because it was the only suitable site in the area that could not only feasibly fit a reservoir of the proposed size, but that could also be used without extensive right-of-way and pollution problems. The Foster Park area, which is below the confluence where all of the streams in the Ventura River Basin collect - thus having the largest potential yield - was the only alternative area that was seriously considered. This sole advantage that Foster Park held over the Casitas site was also a disadvantage, however, in that a higher yield also meant more sewage would probably collect in the alternative Foster Park site. It was also evident that a Foster Park dam would inundate several more settlements than would Casitas, resulting in much more expensive right-of-way acquisitions and, furthermore, that a higher elevation site such as Casitas would make for cheaper pumping costs. What was referred to as the "Middle Casitas" location became the clear choice for the Ventura River Project damsite.(11) The reservoir, a 2,700-acre body of water with a 31-mile shoreline named Lake Casitas, was formed by Casitas Dam and lies about eight miles from the city of Ventura. The $8.5 million contract to build the dam was awarded to Winston Brothers Company, which commenced construction on the planned 285-foot high, 2000-foot long, zoned earthfill structure in August, 1956. Winston would eventually move 9.5 million cubic yards of earth in constructing the dam, which is located about 2 miles above Coyote Creek`s confluence with the Ventura River.(12) Also built by Winston was a spillway located on the left abutment consisting of a concrete-lined inlet channel, an uncontrolled overflow concrete crest, and a concrete spillway chute and stilling basin. Casitas` outlet works which distribute water to District subareas through over 34 miles of pressure pipeline was, at the time of construction, described as `unique in Bureau experience.`(13) It is a reinforced-concrete structure which rests on the sloping upstream face of the dam and encases a 48-inch steel outlet pipe which is fitted with nine hydraulically operated slide gates at uniform intervals between minimum and maximum reservoir water levels. The works` outlet pipe connects to a 1,800-foot long outlet tunnel bored through the left abutment of the dam. The outlet tunnel is a 7-foot-diameter circular section for about one-half its length, the circular section terminating at a main valve chamber. From this point, the tunnel is an 8-foot horseshoe section and the water flows through a 51-inch steel pipe. A catwalk was also constructed alongside the pipe to permit access to the main valve chamber. Each outlet gate is fitted with a semi-cylindrical screen which can be removed and taken to a washrack above high water through the operation of a system of tracks, cables, and pickup carriage. The hydraulic slide gates are operated by means of a control house located at the top of the dam.(14) With Casitas Dam located on Coyote Creek and the principal source for project water supply being the Ventura River, water for storage, other than the natural flow of Coyote Creek, was planned to reach Lake Casitas through the 5-mile long Robles-Casitas Canal. Construction of the $1.5 million canal and attendant Robles Diversion Dam works was awarded to a joint venture between M.H. Hasler Construction Company and F.W. Case Corporation. The diversion dam was located on the Ventura River 1.5 miles below its formation at the junction of Matilija Creek and that creek`s north fork. The diversion dam is a low rockfill structure with a wooden sheet-piling cut-off wall and rolled earth core rising but 24 feet above the river yet having a crest length of 598 feet. The dam`s sluiceway has a capacity of 10,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and is controlled by four radial gates, with the water entering the diversion canal headworks at the dam being controlled by three radial gates.(15) The Robles-Casitas Canal constructed by the Hasler-Case joint venture has a capacity of 500 cu-ft-sec and conveys water 5.4 miles from from the Robles Diversion Dam on the Ventura River to Casitas Reservoir. It includes 4.25 miles of concrete-lined canal, one mile of 78-inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe, and 1/4 mile of rectangular drop chutes. The open canal has a width at the top of 27 feet, sloping to a bottom width of 7 feet.(16) The Ventura River Project`s conveyance system includes miles of pressure pipeline, five pumping plants, since much of the service area lies at a higher elevation than Casitas Reservoir, six steel tank balancing reservoirs for peak and emergency storage, and chlorination stations to disinfect the water. The thirty-four miles of pipeline was constructed by the E.A. Irish Company for $5.4 million. The main conduit consists of reinforced concrete pipe and mortar-lined steel pipe ranging in diameter size from 54 to 12 inches. The system was interconnected with an existing pipeline from Matilija Reservoir to integrate the operation of the two systems. One 23.3-mile section of the main conduit extends from Casitas Dam to the Upper Ojai Valley and has an initial capacity of 135 cu-ft-sec. After crossing the Ventura River, it branches to serve the lower portions of the service area, including the City of Ventura and the higher elevation areas to the east and north of Casitas Reservoir. The 9.6 cu-ft-sec capacity Rincon pipeline (ranging in size from 21 inches to 16 inches in diameter) serves the west coastal area of the project. It starts at the dam where a pumping plant lifts the water 900 feet over Casitas Pass to the Rincon Balancing Reservoir near the coast, a distance of 9.7 miles.(17) Other features of the Ventura River Project include: five pumping plants constructed by Robert E. Ziebarth and Sylvester B. Appler for $546,000; six balancing reservoirs built by Chicago Bridge & Iron for storing water during periods of peak demand and emergencies, ranging in total capacity from 250,000 gallons to 6.5 million; four chlorination stations done by Young & Anderson Company; and an automatic control and telemetering system installed by Santa Paula Electric Company which operates over leased telephone lines and automatically stops and starts the motor units for each pumping plant on the line when either a certain water level is reached in the balancing reservoirs or there is a system failure.(18) The overall cost of the Ventura River Project when all features were finished in 1959 was $29.6 million, with 57.33% of this figure being accounted to irrigation and the balance (42.67%) to municipal and industrial use. Operation and maintenance of all facets of the project were handed over to the VRMWD in 1959.(19)
Plan
The main features of the Ventura River Project are: ? Casitas Dam and Reservoir on Coyote Creek about two miles above its junction with the Ventura River ? Robles Diversion Dam on the Ventura River about 1.5 miles downstream from the river`s formation, diverting much of its flow to Coyote Creek ? Robles-Casitas Canal, which conveys the diverted flow of the Ventura River into Coyote Creek and then Lake Casitas ? The main conveyance system, which includes 34 miles of pipeline, five pumping stations, and six balancing reservoirs located throughout the project area. Completed in 1959, Casitas Dam is the key component of the Ventura River Project. Casitas Dam is located on Coyote Creek about 2 miles above the junction of the creek and the Ventura River. The dam is a 334-foot-high earthfill structure that has a crest length of 2,000 feet and contains a total of 9,310,000 cubic yards of material. The dam`s spillway, on the left abutment, is founded on rock along its entire length. It consists of a concrete-lined inlet channel, an uncontrolled overflow concrete crest, and a concrete spillway chute and stilling basin. An 800-foot-long sloping, multi-level intake structure on the upstream face of the dam is connected to a 1,800-foot long outlet tunnel bored through the left abutment of the dam. The outlet tunnel is a 7-foot-diameter circular section for about one-half its length, the circular section terminating at a main valve chamber. From this point, the tunnel is an 8-foot horseshoe section and the water flows through a 51-inch steel pipe. Casitas` outlet works which distribute water to District subareas through over 34 miles of pressure pipeline. It is a reinforced-concrete structure which rests on the sloping upstream face of the dam and encases a 48-inch steel outlet pipe which is fitted with nine hydraulically operated slide gates at uniform intervals between minimum and maximum reservoir water levels. The outlet work has a capacity of 570 cubic feet per second. A catwalk was also constructed alongside the pipe to permit access to the main valve chamber. Each outlet gate is fitted with a semi-cylindrical screen which can be removed and taken to a washrack above high water through the operation of a system of tracks, cables, and pickup carriage. The hydraulic slide gates are operated by means of a control house located at the top of the dam. Lake Casitas regulates flows along the lower reaches of Coyote Creek and stores surplus water for irrigation and municipal purposes. It has an active capacity of 251,000 acre-feet and a storage capacity of 254,000 acre-feet. Lake Casitas provides irrigation, municipal and industrial water to urban and suburban areas with the Casitas Municipal Water District. Robles Diversion Dam is located on the Ventura River about 1.5 miles downstream from the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek. The dam has a height of 24 feet and a crest length of 598 feet. The structure is rockfilled with a timber cutoff wall and a rolled earth core. The dam diverts water into the headworks of the Robles-Casitas Canal. The dam`s sluiceway has a capacity of 10,000 cubic feet per second and is controlled by four radial gates. Water entering the diversion canal headworks at the dam is controlled by three radial gates. The cutoff wall needed to be repaired twice after heavy storms, once in 1969 and once in 1979. Robles-Casitas Canal carries water from Robles Diversion Dam to Lake Casitas. The canal is about 4.5 miles long with a capacity of 500 cubic feet per second. There are 4.5 miles of concrete canal and 0.9 mile of 78-inch reinforced concrete pipe, called the Robles-Casitas Diversion Conduit. The open canal has a width at the top of 27 feet, sloping to a bottom width of 7 feet. The Ventura River Project`s conveyance system includes miles of pressure pipeline, five pumping plants, since much of the service area lies at a higher elevation than Casitas Reservoir, six steel tank balancing reservoirs for peak and emergency storage, and chlorination stations to disinfect the water. The main pipeline is a pressure-pipe system nearly 34 miles long that consists of reinforced concrete pipe and mortar-lined steel pipe ranging from 12 to 54 inches. The main conduit starts at Casitas Dam with a capacity of 121 cubic feet per second. After crossing the Ventura River, the conduit branches to serve the lower area to the west, including the city of Ventura, and the upper area to the north and east of Lake Casitas. The main conduit for the west coastal area has a capacity of 9.6 cubic feet per second at the dam; it passes through a pumping plant and traverses 9.7 miles in a westerly direction over Casitas Pass to the Rincon Balancing Reservoir near the coast. The system connects with an existing pipeline from Matilija Reservoir. One 23.3-mile section of the main conduit extends from Casitas Dam to the Upper Ojai Valley and has an initial capacity of 135 cu-ft-sec. After crossing the Ventura River, it branches to serve the lower portions of the service area, including the City of Ventura and the higher elevation areas to the east and north of Casitas Reservoir. The 9.6 cubic-feet-per-second capacity Rincon pipeline (ranging from 16 to 21 inches in diameter) serves the west coastal area of the project. It starts at the dam where a pumping plant lifts the water 900 feet over Casitas Pass to the Rincon Balancing Reservoir near the coast, a distance of 9.7 miles. Five pumping plants, Ventura Avenue No. 1 and No. 2, Ojai Valley, Upper Ojai, and Rincon, lift water from the storage level elevation in Lake Casitas to the elevations at the points of delivery. Six balancing reservoirs, Oak View, Villanova, Ojai East, Upper Ojai, Rincon Control, and Rincon Balancing, are filled from the main conduit during the off-peak hours and are used to help supply the full requirement of water during peak hours and as a carryover supply in case of an emergency. Five chlorination stations are provided, two downstream from the outlet of Lake Casitas, two downstream from the outlet of Matilija Dam, and one between the Rincon Pumping Plant and Rincon Control Reservoir. These stations are operated for the dual purpose of preventing algal growth in the pipelines to maintain their capacity for delivering water, and assuring the safety of the supply for domestic purposes. The Casitas Municipal Water District constructed and operates the distribution system within the project subareas. Casitas Dam is owned by the United States, however, the water rights and water stored in Casitas Reservoir are owned by the Casitas Municipal Water District. Casitas Municipal Water District operates the project.
Contact
Contact
Title: Area Office ManagerOrganization: South-Central California Area Office
Address: 1243 "N" Street
City: Fresno, CA 93721-1813
Phone: 559-487-5116
Contact
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Mid-Pacific Regional Office
Address: 2800 Cottage Way E-1705
City: Sacramento, CA 95825-1898
Fax: 916-978-5114
Phone: 916-978-5100
Contact
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Commissioner`s Office
Address: 1849 C Street NW
City: Washington, DC 20240
Fax: 202-513-0575
Phone: 202-513-0305
Contact
Organization: Casitas Municipal Water DistrictAddress: PO Box 37
City: Oak View, CA 93022
Fax: 805-649-3001
Phone: 805-649-2251