Neighbors seek to tap Folsom Lake for more water

Culprits contributing to water woes for Folsom include a neighboring town on a wholly separate water system. And, that situation could worsen in the future.Served by the El Dorado Irrigation District, the 35,000-population community of El Dorado Hills consumes a sizable share of up to 4,560 acre-feet of Folsom Lake water the district is able to draw by right per year. EID is also negotiating for a second, larger right from Folsom Lake – a minimum of 7,500 acre-feet per year – to serve future development, according to Deanne Kloepfer, EID communications director, and Tom Cumpston, legal counsel. Nearly half the size of Folsom, El Dorado Hills is served by multiple water sources, while the larger Folsom is not. An acre-foot is 325,581 gallons.A freak accident to a supply pipe Feb. 12 crippled Folsom's ready access to a dangerously low Folsom Lake."One reason we're in better shape than Folsom is we have a portfolio of water sources," Cumpston said. "Folsom has its eggs in one basket, so it's hard to minimize problems from loss of a source."Folsom can't use Folsom Lake water to serve planned southward expansion. A voter measure prevents it. But El Dorado Hills will be able to do so, when and if years-old negotiations settle water distribution under what's known as the Fazio bill, Cumpston said.Folsom officials could not be reached for comment by press time.El Dorado Hills is supplied partly from Jenkinson Reservoir near Pollock Pines. Jenkinson is in good shape for a drought, according to Deanne Kloepfer, district communications director."It's at 64 percent of capacity," Kloepfer said. "A little low."When full, Jenkinson holds 41,000 acre feet of water.Folsom Lake's current capacity as of Feb. 15 was 268,000 cubic feet.Folsom resident Tom Ward said, "I'm not too educated about water, but I go fishing in Jenkinson, and it seems like it's always full, quite a bit of water. It seems they should allow us to borrow some if need arises (like) in a crisis."El Dorado Hills resident Terry Wilson said it's not as if El Dorado officials are hogging Jenkinson."It's important to understand the ground rules – they can't hold their water back, by law, because downstream users have needs. Another reason for pumping from Folsom Lake is when gravity-fed sources aren't available in a drought."EID's second major source is its Forebay Reservoir, near Jenkinson, from where it is allotted 15,080 acre-feet annually of overflows collected from four high Sierra lakes.EID's third main source is Folsom Lake, from which it is entitled to draw 4,560 acre-feet a year, of "ditch" water, Kloepfer said."We used to supply irrigation ditches, and formerly, that water never made it to Folsom Lake," Cumpston said. "Since stopping that, we've held onto (rights to) the water, which comes from Slab Creek, Hangtown Creek and Weber Creek. We have to take it within a month of it reaching Folsom Lake. We track it by meter. Otherwise, it becomes Bureau of Reclamation water."EID's anticipated increasing of its take from Folsom Lake is held up these days by a wrangle over river water serving wildlife habitats in the Sacramento River Delta, Cumpston said. Previously, it was held up by El Dorado County's lack of a General Plan."Fazio water will serve demands of future growth in El Dorado County," Cumpston said.