From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Merced River should remain protected

Coalition response…HR 934 does not remove the Merced River from Wild and Scenic Rivers Act designation. The legislation would raise the spillway at New Exchequer Dam, not the dam, by 10 feet. This action would inundate the last 1,800 feet of the 122-mile stretch of the Merced River, far from Yosemite, for two to eight weeks every few years. That’s 1/350 of the protected stretch of the river.

Individuals should realize that construction of New Exchequer Dam was completed in 1967. Twenty years later in 1987 the Wild and Scenic River Act encroached on the hydroelectric project boundary on the Merced River. HR 934 creates an increased reliability of available water for farmers to grow food for consumers.