Why Does Lake Berryessa Exist?
Many people still think that the lake was created as a water recreation resource. This is not true. The Solano Project, which includes the Monticello Dam, Putah Diversion Dam, and the Putah South Canal was created primarily for agricultural irrigation. The secondary purposes were for municipal (drinking water) and industrial uses (brewing Budweiser beer) in Solano County. The federal government never expected the lake to be used for recreation. The recreational benefits are considered a bonus not a goal. Napa County gave up all rights to the use of Lake Berryessa water. Only small amounts are used to supply the residential developments, such as the Berryessa Highlands and others, around the lake. Lake Berryessa supplies water to Benicia, Fairfield, Vacaville, Vallejo, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Travis Air Force Base.
The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the owner of the Solano Project which includes Lake Berryessa, Monticello Dam, Lake Solano, Putah Diversion Dam, Putah South Canal, and Terminal Reservoir. The Solano Project was built and funded by Reclamation (federal government), but the original loan has been fully paid off by the Solano County Water Agency (SCWA). The Solano Project is a locally managed project, but Reclamation has the ultimate oversight responsibility, and conducts periodic inspections of all the facilities. SCWA holds the master contract with Reclamation for the operation of the Project. SCWA then contracts the Solano Irrigation District (SID) to assist with the daily operations.
SCWA has a long-term Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Agreement (OMRA) with Reclamation from the buoy line in front of Monticello Dam down to the Terminal Reservoir. Terminal Reservoir is located in Green Valley at the end of Reservoir Lane. It holds only 92 acre-feet of water. That amount of water is only .0058 percent of what a full Lake Berryessa holds. There is a link between Lake Berryessa and Terminal Reservoir, despite the 25 miles separating them. Lake Berryessa is the federal reservoir in Napa County that provides much of the water for Solano County farms and cities. This water is conveyed in the Putah South Canal, which ends its long journey at Terminal Reservoir. Water pools there so it can be pumped to Vallejo and Benicia.
The OMRA allows SCWA to store and release agricultural and municipal water for Solano County. In turn, SCWA funds all OMRA projects on the Solano Project and pays for all of SID’s expenses related to operation and maintenance of the Solano Project. SCWA is also the primary water rights holder for most of the water rights on Lake Berryessa. SCWA oversees and manages major replacement projects (called Rehabilitation & Betterment Projects) for the Solano Project and works closely with SID on all OMRA-related issues. SCWA conducts extensive monitoring of flows, stage levels, reservoirs levels, weather data, and other operations-related activities for the Solano Project. SCWA is also the water wholesaler for the Solano Project, with long-term water rights agreements with Solano Irrigation District, Maine Prairie Water District, UC Davis, Vacaville, Fairfield, Suisun City, Vallejo, and Benicia.
For those of you interested in the historic details of the building of Monticello Dam and the creation of Lake Berryessa, can download two primary souces,
Solano Project History-BOR,
Solano Water Story-SID,
www.lakeberryessanews.com/lake-berryessa-technical/reference-documents/solano-water-story_sid.pdf