Friant Dam: Aquafornia Water Word of the Week
Aquafornia’s Water Word of the Week from sister site Aquapedia is Friant Dam, which is the first stop during the Water Education Foundation’s San Joaquin River Restoration Tour Nov. 7-8.
An excerpt from Aquapedia’s comprehensive entry includes the following: “Located just north of Fresno, the Friant Dam helps deliver water as it runs toward the Merced River, though its environmental impacts have caused controversy. A part of the federal Central Valley Project, the dam captures the upper San Joaquin River’s flow and diverts the water into canals. The dam also releases water to manage floods and meet the water needs of those downstream who have riparian rights to the water. As part of this system, the 152-mile Friant-Kern Canal delivers water south to Bakersfield, while the Madera Canal travels 36 miles north.”
The Friant Dam entry provides an overview of the dam. A separate entry discusses the San Joaquin River and San Joaquin River Restoration.
To dig deeper into the issues, Aquapedia offers a number of additional resources, including the Foundation’s “Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project,” a publication titled “A Briefing on the San Joaquin River Restoration Program” and “The Friant Dam and the Future of the San Joaquin River, Western Water, Nov/Dec 2004.” And you can see Friant Dam up close on the Foundation’s Nov. 7-8 San Joaquin River Restoration Tour.
To receive breaking daily news on Friant Dam, go to the related page on Aquapedia and click on “Search This Topic on Aquafornia” for the latest information.