House OKs study of new reservoir for Tule River tribe

From the McClatchy News Service:

The House on Monday approved a $3 million study of a potential new reservoir to serve the San Joaquin Valley’s parched Tule River Indian Tribe.

The vote is an important step for the Porterville-area tribe, which has long sought a more reliable water supply. Tribal leaders and their allies envision a dam that would collect water from the south fork of the Tule River flowing from the Sierra Nevada. “We’re simply trying to secure for the tribe what the federal government should have done 100 years ago,” said Damon Nelson, legislative director for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia. “As far as we’re concerned, everyone in the Valley supports this.”

By itself, though, the House bill is no guarantee a Tule River dam will be built. The tribe still faces significant economic, environmental and political hurdles.

The potential dam under study would be relatively small, containing about 5,000 acre-feet of water. By contrast, the current Pine Flat Dam on the Kings River can contain upward of 1 million acre-feet. The potential dam would be on the Tule River tribe’s reservation, south of Porterville. The tribe could use the new water supplies for its existing development and Eagle Mountain Casino, but not for any future casino that might be built on off-reservation land.

“It’s important to increase water storage for the San Joaquin Valley, and it’s especially important to increase storage for the tribe,” Nelson said.

Read more from the McClatchy News Service by clicking here.

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