CCWD Recognized by EPA as

Clean Water Partner for the 21st Century

--Ceremony in Washington D.C. on February 18

Concord--The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Clean Water Partner for the 21st Century for extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the nation's watersheds and help further national clean water goals. CCWD was chosen for its excellent resource management plan for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir.

"We are pleased that the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Project has been recognized for the environmental asset that it is to the Delta region and the Contra Costa community," said CCWD General Manager Walter J. Bishop.

The EPA's Clean Water Partner Program was intended to recognize extraordinary efforts, beyond the requirements of the Clean Water Act, that local governments are making to protect and improve the health of water bodies in a specific watershed. CCWD worked closely with federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and implement the Los Vaqueros water quality improvement project, in a way that enhanced the Delta and local watershed environment, while meeting all federal requirements, including those of the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

The $450 million Los Vaqueros Reservoir Project was completed in 1998 and stores up to 100,000 acre-feet of water for CCWD customers in central and east Contra Costa County. The primary purpose of the reservoir is to store high quality (low salinity) water from the Delta in spring and summer and blend with lower quality (high salinity) Delta supplies in fall and winter to provide a better quality water supply throughout the year.

The reservoir also provides net benefits to aquatic species in the Delta, diverting and storing high quality water when impacts to fisheries are low, and avoiding Delta diversions when impacts would be high. An 18,500-acre watershed surrounding the reservoir was acquired as part of the project and has been restored by CCWD. The watershed has become a favorite nesting area for golden eagles in California. The Los Vaqueros Project was completed entirely with local funds.

A special ceremony in honor of the Partners will take place Feb. 18 at 9:00 a.m. at EPA's headquarters office located at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. in the Green Room on the 3rd floor of the Ariel Rios South Building in Washington, D.C.

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