Construction on the Nacimiento Dam Spillway Modification Component of the Salinas Valley Water Project began on Tuesday, April 1, 2008, and will continue during the non-rainy seasons over the next two years.

Because of construction activities, there will be periods when traffic on Nacimiento Lake Road will be affected by construction truck traffic, and there will be variations in the levels of Lake Nacimiento. However, the construction schedules and the water levels will not have significant effects on traffic around the reservoir and on recreational activities, particularly on weekends and holidays.

The purpose of the Nacimiento Dam Spillway Modification Component, which includes enlargement of the spillway and installation of a rubber spillway gate at the dam, is to address safety issues associated with the flood flows that must be conveyed through the reservoir and the spillway.

State and federal regulators require that the dam be modified so that if a large flood event were to occur, the dam's spillway could release enough water to ensure flood protection and safety of the dam. In addition, the spillway modification would provide additional water releases during the year for water conservation in the Salinas Valley.

Dam safety and the protection of lives and property is the mission of both the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC) and the State Department of Water Resources, Division of Dam Safety (DSOD) and also the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA). Without this project, the MCWRA would have to provide an additional flood storage equal to 17 feet of elevation by lowering the reservoir level as of January 1 every year to 765 feet.

"The Agency's goal has been to stop seawater intrusion and to increase flood protection at the dam.This project allows us to meet that goal," according to Curtis Weeks, general manager of the Water Resources Agency.

The SVWP, approved by an overwhelming 85 percent of property valuation in the Salinas River Basin in 2003, is intended to help stop seawater intrusion, improve flood control and Nacimiento Dam safety, recharge the aquifers and improve river flow for migration of the federally designated threatened Steelhead trout.

Modifications to the spillway at Nacimiento Dam are expected to be completed by Fall 2009. Until then, construction will occur between April and September 2008, and April and September 2009.

The second component of the Salinas Valley Water Project is construction of a diversion facility, which is another rubber dam on the Salinas River near Marina, to allow diversion of river water for treatment and piping to nearby farms for irrigation.