Bill > HR2554

This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to offer a contract to the Oakdale Irrigation District and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, referred to as "the districts," within 30 days of the bill's enactment. This contract, authorized under the Warren Act, a law that allows the government to contract for the use of federal irrigation works, will permit the districts to collectively store up to 100,000 acre-feet of water from their superior Stanislaus River water rights in the New Melones Reservoir. The contract will be for at least 10 years and will allow the districts to use this stored water for various legal purposes under California law, including within their boundaries, for transfer to other users, and for environmental purposes in rivers like the Stanislaus and San Joaquin. Importantly, the districts cannot release or withdraw this stored water if the New Melones Reservoir's storage level falls below 1,000,000 acre-feet, in which case the water will be held for use in the following year without extra cost. Additionally, any water stored under this contract will not count towards the districts' existing "conservation account," as defined by a 1988 agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation.