TUD – Drought Related Project Near Completion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2014
Contact: Lisa Westbrook, Public Relations
(209) 532-5536, x501
SONORA, CA: Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) is near completion of a drought related reservoir expansion project located in Columbia.
“This was a critical project for the 
District and one we thought was
necessary to help us to continue to
supply water to the Columbia area
during the drought and also to ensure
a water supply to the CAL Fire
Columbia Air Attack base,” states Tom
Scesa, General Manager.
TUD staff was able to secure the
necessary permits from State and
County agencies to move this project along quickly. As a high priority project, this project was
completed in six weeks. Also, TUD construction crews removed an estimated 16,830 cubic
yards of sludge from the existing reservoir to expand the total volume.
The Matelot Reservoir was expanded from 6 acre feet to a volume of 26.2 acre feet. “This is an
essential project that will help us to supply water to this area during the annual ditch outage that
occurs in October,” continues Scesa. The increased water supply would supply the Columbia
area with about three weeks of water storage. The District is in the process of securing drought
related funding for this project in the amount of $270,000 through the California Department of
Public Health.
The Reservoir is currently filling and should be filled to its capacity early next week.
