ASCE Los Angeles Section

City of Bakersfield

Conceptualized several years ago and substantially completed in the fall of 2014, the Cross Valley Canal - Calloway Canal Intertie (“Project”) consists of a bi-directional connection between two locally significant water conveyance facilities; the Cross Valley Canal (“CVC”) and the Calloway Canal.  This connection provides a significant enhancement of the regional capability to coordinate the management of all three of Kern County’s principal sources of surface water; local Kern River water, and imported State and Federal water.  North Kern Water Storage District (“North Kern”) and Cawelo Water District (“Cawelo”) partnered to implement the Project, with funding assistance provided by the State of California under Proposition 84.  The Project was identified in the 2007 Poso Creek Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (which was developed by North Kern, Cawelo, and four other neighboring water districts), as having the potential to significantly contribute to the Plan’s overarching goal—- improve water supply reliability for the Region.
The Project is located within the City of Bakersfield and is adjacent to and parallels the Friant-Kern Canal for a total length of about one mile.  While the intertie consists of a large, open, concrete-lined canal, it involved two significant crossings; the Westside Parkway and the BNSF Railroad tracks (consisting of two paralle sets).  Each of these crossings consists of two parallel 120-inch diameter pipelines.  While the Westside Parkway crossing was set prior to the placement of the highway fill, the BNSF crossing required tunneling under a very active railroad.  In addition, there are several flow control structures, which included a turnout/turnin from/to the CVC; a weir in the CVC and a weir in the Calloway Canal; an emergency overpour structure at the CVC; and weir structures located both north and south of the Westside Parkway.

The Project is the result of comprehensive regional water resources management planning undertaken by several neighboring water districts which culminated in the adoption of the Poso Creek Integrated Regional Water Management Plan in 2007 by each district.  Collectively, these districts include each of the three principal sources of surface water in the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County; local Kern River water, and imported State and Federal water.  For different reasons, each of these sources of supply has been subject to or is being threatened with a loss of water supply reliability relative to historical levels of supply.  With a total cost of about $14.1 million, the Project represents a significant investment by North Kern and Cawelo (two neighboring water districts with differing sources of supply) in a project of regional scale and importance.  Through a successful grant proposal, this investment included about $6.9 million in funds awarded by the State of California under Proposition 84.  While several uses of the Project improvements have been identified, if past experience is any indicator, it is more than likely that these improvements will be utilized to better manage water supplies available to Kern County in as yet unidentified ways owing to changed conditions in the future.  In other words, the Project is a significant addition to Kern County’s water resources management toolbox.  The Project improvements are highly visible and add to the already complex water conveyance “interchange” where Kern River water, State Water Project water, and Central Valley Project water come together near Coffee Road and the Kern River.
Finally, the Project was locally designed and managed, with Zeiders Consulting providing design of the canal and flow control structures, and GEI Consultants providing design of the tunneled crossing of the BNSF Railroad.

Work with BNSF was very challenging as the tracks are the main line through central California with trains passing every 15 minutes. The other challenging aspect was the ongoing construction of Westside Parkway. The District worked with the City of Bakersfield (freeway developer) to add construction of the canal culvert to the freeway Contractor’s scope of work. The District then paid the City the cost of the change order. Doing this allowed both projects to proceed on schedule. Obtaining rights-of-way from Alon refinery (crude oil refinery) was also challenging.

Please see the photos attached.

The Project improvements are highly visible and add to the already complex water conveyance “interchange” where Kern River water, State Water Project water, and Central Valley Project water come together near Coffee Road and the Kern River.

The Project is the result of comprehensive regional water resources management planning undertaken by several neighboring water districts which culminated in the adoption of the Poso Creek Integrated Regional Water Management Plan in 2007 by each district.  Collectively, these districts include each of the three principal sources of surface water in the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County; local Kern River water, and imported State and Federal water.  For different reasons, each of these sources of supply has been subject to or is being threatened with a loss of water supply reliability relative to historical levels of supply.  With a total cost of about $14.1 million, the Project represents a significant investment by North Kern and Cawelo (two neighboring water districts with differing sources of supply) in a project of regional scale and importance.  Through a successful grant proposal, this investment included about $6.9 million in funds awarded by the State of California under Proposition 84.  While several uses of the Project improvements have been identified, if past experience is any indicator, it is more than likely that these improvements will be utilized to better manage water supplies available to Kern County in as yet unidentified ways owing to changed conditions in the future.  In other words, the Project is a significant addition to Kern County’s water resources management toolbox.  The Project improvements are highly visible and add to the already complex water conveyance “interchange” where Kern River water, State Water Project water, and Central Valley Project water come together near Coffee Road and the Kern River.

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