Stafford Projects
Stafford Dam Adjustable Spillway Gate (ASG)
One of the alternatives that ranked highly in the 2022 Local Water Supply Enhancement Study was increasing storage capacity in Stafford Lake using a “Spillway Notch Slide Gate” now referred to as the Stafford Dam Adjustable Spillway Gate (ASG) project.
This project focuses on Stafford Dam’s downstream spillway control notch that measures 10-feet wide by 3-feet tall. Installation of an adjustable gate across this notch would allow the District to store an additional 3 feet of water in Stafford Lake, which equates to approximately 726 acre-feet (236 million gallons) of increase storage volume. This volume of water could then be treated at the District’s nearby Stafford Treatment Plant (STP) during the plant’s operational period in the months when the District faces its peak demands.
District staff began planning work on the ASG project in August 2022 and developed a project roadmap including preliminary California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) work, dam stability and seepage analysis, concrete spillway assessment, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, potential need for revised inundation mapping, biological field surveying, review of water rights, environmental permitting, full CEQA clearance, design, bidding, and construction phases.
Preliminary engineering analysis indicated that the existing dam can accommodate impoundment of an additional 3-feet of water in Stafford Lake. However, as of Summer 2026 the District has put the Stafford Dam ASG project on hold due to lack of funding. The costs associated with proceeding with environmental analysis are not available in the District’s capital budget. Staff will continue to monitor alternative funding opportunities and evaluate the cost-benefit of the project compared to other capital needs.
Stafford Dam Piezometer Automation
The earthen embankment of Stafford Dam contains sixteen (16) monitoring wells (known as piezometers) that allow District staff to determine subsurface water levels. This information is critical to understanding dam performance and the impacts associated with various lake levels and precipitation patterns.
The District is in the process of installing automated sensors in these monitoring wells to transition data collection from periodic hand collection to real-time digital collection. This project will enhance the District’s understanding of the dam’s performance and inform future maintenance or capital project needs.