California’s two primary salmon species, Coho and Chinook, have
experienced significant declines from historical populations.
Of particular importance is the Chinook salmon because the
species supports commercial fishing and related jobs and economic
activities at fish hatcheries.
The decline in salmon numbers is attributed to a variety of
manmade and natural factors including drought, habitat
destruction, water diversions, migratory obstacles created by
local, state and federal water projects, over-fishing,
unfavorable ocean conditions, pollution and introduced predator
species. Wetlands have also been drained and diked; dams have
blocked salmon from reaching historic spawning grounds.
Years of declining populations represent a significant economic
loss and have led to federally mandated salmon restoration plans
that complicate water diversions and conveyance for agriculture
and other uses.
Giant pumps hum inside a warehouse-like building, pushing water
from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta into the California
Aqueduct, where it travels more than 400 miles south to the
taps of over half the state’s population. But lately the
powerful motors at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant have been
running at reduced capacity, despite a second year of
drought-busting snow and rain. The reason: So many threatened
fish have died at the plant’s intake reservoir and pumps that
it has triggered federal protections and forced the state to
pump less water. The spike in fish deaths has angered
environmentalists and fishing advocates, who argue the state
draws too much water from the delta while failing to safeguard
fish.
For decades, concerns about automobile pollution have focused
on what comes out of the tailpipe. Now, researchers and
regulators say, we need to pay more attention to toxic
emissions from tires as vehicles roll down the road. At
the top of the list of worries is a chemical called 6PPD, which
is added to rubber tires to help them last longer. When tires
wear on pavement, 6PPD is released. It reacts with ozone to
become a different chemical, 6PPD-q, which can be extremely
toxic—so much so that it has been linked to repeated fish kills
in Washington state. … The Yurok Tribe in Northern
California, along with two other West Coast Native American
tribes, have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to
prohibit the chemical.
The historic dam-removal project on the Klamath River, along
the remote California-Oregon border, is hitting another
milestone this week as demolition of the largest of four
targeted hydroelectric dams gets underway. Iron Gate Dam, a
173-foot dam in Siskiyou County, is scheduled to start being
disassembled by work crews Wednesday, an endeavor that is
expected to continue until September or October. The
62-year-old dam is the third so far to face the wrecking ball.
The small Copco #2 Dam was removed last year, the 126-foot
Copco #1 Dam is currently being taken down, and the 68-foot
J.C. Boyle Dam is scheduled for dismantling starting May 13.
All of the demolition work is expected to be completed this
year.
As the California State Water Resources Control board meets at
the California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters for
three days of discussion on its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control
Plan Solano County water officials are there to speak in
opposition to a course of action that could see the county’s
water allocation from Lake Berryessa cut by 75 percent. Chris
Lee and Alex Rabidoux of the Solano County Water Agency
presented information regarding the growth of salmon
populations in Putah Creek in recent years. The state has
claimed that diminished river flows in these areas are harming
fish habitats and are ecologically detrimental to the water
system as a whole, but SCWA argues that Putah Creek is already
a standout example of salmon repopulation.
Those who enjoy fishing and who seek trout and salmon in
particular were reminded Wednesday by California Department of
Fish & Wildlife officials that they should keep their dogs away
from the uncooked fish. A parasitic flatworm called Nanophyetes
salmincola can be transmitted to canines that eat the two types
of fish before they’re cooked, creating a bacteria-like
organism in their body and a condition called salmon poisoning
disease, officials said in a news release. The parasite is seen
only in dogs; the disease is potentially fatal but is
treatable, experts say. Signs of the disease in a dog include a
rise in body temperature, a loss of appetite, listlessness,
diarrhea and vomiting. Rapid weight loss may also occur.
Get ready for the latest scoop on the Klamath River dam removal
and restoration project! In the newest episode of the Fish
Water People Podcast, Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River
Renewal Corporation, is welcomed back to discuss exciting
updates on the once-in-a-lifetime restoration effort. In recent
months, significant milestones have been achieved, with
successful dam breaching at Iron Gate, Copco 1, and J.C. Boyle
in Southern Oregon – signifying a monumental leap forward in
the journey to restoring river vitality. Despite expected
challenges such as sediment management and ecological
adjustments, the project remains steadfast on its course.
Native vegetation is already beginning to sprout, breathing new
life into the ecosystem. Curious what lies ahead on this
monumental journey of renewal?
Balancing the water supply needs of millions of Californians
while protecting the environment is no easy task. The
Department of Water Resources is committed to using and
advancing the best available science to operate the State Water
Project to get water to the people who need it while protecting
native fish species. One important way DWR is doing just that
is through the advanced use of genetics to identify different
runs of Chinook salmon to monitor and protect the runs that are
listed as threatened or endangered. Knowing which runs are
present and where they are being found in the water system
ultimately helps rebuild salmon populations in California. DWR
has released a video showing the genetic identification process
in action.
Several environmental groups asked San Francisco on Tuesday to
reduce its diversion of Tuolumne River water. They said chinook
salmon and other wildlife suffer from the current operations,
especially the river stretch in and near Modesto. At a meeting
of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the groups
urged more conservation and wastewater recycling. The agency
responded that these “single-issue activists” do not understand
the city’s needs. San Francisco secured rights in 1913 to about
an eighth of the Tuolumne, which arises at about 13,000 feet in
Yosemite National Park. Most of the water diversion is at Hetch
Hetchy Reservoir, built just inside the western park boundary
to the dismay of early preservationists.
From the Sacramento River to the coast, salmon populations have
struggled to survive, and fishing for salmon in California has
been canceled for the second season in a row, marking the third
season in the state’s history a fishing ban has been in place.
The heart of the problem: dams and climate change. …
Steve Lindley, director of NOAA’s Fisheries Ecology Division at
the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, said
the removal of dams from Oregon to Northern
California on the Klamath will help with survival even if
drought returns.
When PG&E announced that it would remove Scott and Cape
Horn dams on the Eel River as part of the Potter Valley
hydroelectric project decommissioning, it put a continuing
water diversion to the Russian River in question. A Press
Democrat editorial praised Eel and Russian River stakeholders
coming together to endorse the possibility of a new fish
friendly diversion from the Eel River (“Progress toward water
security,” March 27), and we at Russian Riverkeeper concur.
However, a continued diversion from the Eel River is not a
solution in and of itself when it comes to ensuring long-term
water reliability in the upper Russian River watershed. A
continued diversion will not solve all the region’s water
issues. -Written by Don McEnhill and Ed Burdett, both with the
Russian Riverkeeper.
While work crews continued dismantling dams on the Klamath
River, leaders of four tribes gathered on a riverbank last week
to watch and offer prayers as a valve on a tanker truck was
opened. Over two days, workers from the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife released 16 truckloads of
juvenile salmon that were raised in a newly built
hatchery. … The last time state workers released
Chinook salmon in February, they let loose more than 800,000
fish in a tributary upstream of Iron Gate Dam, which is slated
to be removed, and the fish were later found dead in the
river. Biologists determined the salmon died as they passed
through a tunnel beneath the dam. To prevent that from
happening again, state officials selected another location just
downstream of Iron Gate Dam.
The recently announced closure of the salmon fishing season
delivered yet another devastating blow to the thousands of
families that depend on commercial and recreational fishing for
their livelihoods. For the second year in a row, fishing boats
at Fisherman’s Wharf will remain mothballed. The recent drought
contributed to the salmon decline, but the larger problem is
archaic water policies that allow too much water to be diverted
from our rivers and the Delta. As a result, salmon experience
manmade droughts almost every year, and the droughts we notice
become mega-droughts for fish. … California desperately needs
water reform, but strong opposition has come from what might
seem like an unlikely suspect. The San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission, which manages our Hetch Hetchy Water
System, is one of the worst culprits when it comes to poor
stewardship of our aquatic ecosystems. -Written by Peter Drekmeier, Policy Director for
the Tuolumne River Trust; and Scott Artis; Executive
Director of the Golden State Salmon Association.
… The main reason is the decline of the salmon population in
the Sacramento River to such an unsustainable level that
there’s reason to fear that it may not recover for years, if
ever — unless government policies are radically reconsidered.
… The crisis underscores the utter failure of the state’s
political leaders to balance the needs of stakeholders in its
water supply. In this case, the conflict is between large-scale
farms on one side and environmental and fishery interests on
the other. For decades, agribusiness has had the upper
hand in this conflict. -Written by Michael Hiltzik, LA Times columnist.
If you’re like us, you’re inspired by the natural world and
eager to see California’s beautiful mountains, forests, and
lakes protected for future generations. You also might be
surprised to hear that the health and survival of these places
depends on one species more than most: beavers. Put simply,
beavers are our partners in protecting and restoring
California. Beavers are known as a “keystone species,” meaning
they create, modify, and maintain critical ecosystems for
insects, birds, mammals, fish, plants, and trees. -Written by Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman,
Co-Directors of the Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education, &
Research (WATER) Institute and the Bring Back the Beaver
Campaign at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center.
For the second year in a row, there will be no commercial or
recreational salmon fishing in California. … The Golden
State Salmon Association supports the recommendation of the
[Pacific Fishery Management Council], which works closely with
federally recognized West Coast tribes, many who define
themselves as “salmon people” and hold annual ceremonies to
honor their return each year. Bates said $20.6 million has
been allocated from the U.S. Department of Commerce to
compensate for some of the losses caused by last year’s closure
to charter fleets and commercial fleets, buyers and processors.
But the fisheries are calling on the state to allocate water,
not cash. Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden
State Salmon Association, said big agriculture is not limited
in their water use, but fisheries get hit with constraints.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be joined
by Tribal leaders and fisheries experts to release over 500,000
salmon into the Klamath River Tuesday. According to CDFW, this
will be the first major release of Coho Salmon into the river
since the drawdown of Klamath River reservoirs as part of the
dam removal currently underway.
California fishermen spoke out against state water management
policies Thursday after federal fishing officials canceled
ocean salmon fishing season in the state for the second
consecutive year, delivering a major blow to the fishing
industry. … Salmon stocks have been impacted by the
state’s multi-year drought and climate disruptions, including
wildfires, algal blooms and ocean forage shifts, according to
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The salmon
population has also been impacted by rising river water
temperatures in addition to a rollback of federal
protections for waterways by the Trump administration.
In a devastating blow to California’s fishing industry, federal
fishery managers unanimously voted today to cancel all
commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of
California for the second year in a row. The decision is
designed to protect California’s dwindling salmon populations
after drought and water diversions left river flows too warm
and sluggish for the state’s iconic Chinook salmon to
thrive. … Many in the fishing industry say they
support the closure, but urged state and federal officials to
do more to improve conditions in the rivers salmon rely on.
Fishing advocates and environmentalists have lambasted Gov.
Gavin Newsom’s administration for failing to prioritize
water quality and flows to protect salmon in the
vital Bay-Delta watershed.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended
Alternative 3 – Salmon Closure during the final days of the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) meeting mirroring
the opinions of commercial and recreational charter boat
anglers. The department’s position is a significant change from
early March. The PFMC meetings are being held in Seattle from
April 6 to 11, and the final recommendations of the council
will be forwarded to the California Fish and Game Commission in
May.
After years of heated debates and delays, the world’s largest
dam removal is currently underway on the Klamath River across
the California-Oregon border. … removing structures of
this size come with negative side effects—from droves of dead
fish to muddy waters. As a result, critics have recently spoken
out against the project, deeming it an “environmental
disaster.” But scientists say that they expected many of these
short-term impacts before the effort began and they will soon
fade. For today’s newsletter, I decided to dig into the science
behind dam removal, and how the rocky start to the Klamath
River project could yield a healthier river system overall.
Powerful pumps that supply much of California’s population with
water have killed several thousand threatened and endangered
fish this year, prompting a coalition of environmental groups
to demand that state and federal agencies take immediate steps
to limit “alarming levels” of deaths. In
a letter to state and federal water managers, leaders
of five fishing and environmental groups said the estimated
losses of threatened steelhead trout and endangered winter-run
Chinook salmon have exceeded maximum annual limits for water
intakes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
In late March the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors
proclaimed a local emergency related to concerns about heavy
metals like arsenic and lead being present in the Klamath
River. It was prompted by the ongoing removal of four
hydroelectric dams on the river. … Matt St. John, an
environmental program manager with the North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board, said it was expected that you’d
also have high metals concentrations. “Those metals
concentrations are not a threat to public health. It’s okay to
touch the water with those type of concentrations. And no water
in the state of California should be drunk without any without
treatment. And so, the Klamath River isn’t a source of drinking
water without treatment of that water.”
As elected officials representing Colusa and Yuba counties, we
sent a letter to Governor Newsom earlier this year encouraging
him and his administration to advance the Agreements to Support
Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (sometimes known as the Voluntary
Agreements) and the associated benefits for communities, farms,
businesses, the environment and the public. We were joined in
this letter by counties throughout the Sacramento River
Basin—we have specifically urged the State Water Board to
identify the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers and
Landscapes alternative in its final staff report and
forthcoming program of implementation as the State Water
Board’s best pathway for updating the Sacramento/Delta portions
of the Bay-Delta Plan.
On April 3, a coalition of fishing and conservation
groups said the state and federal water agencies must
“take immediate action” to stop the unauthorized killing of
thousands of Chinook Salmon and Steelhead at the State and
Federal water export pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta, The State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley
Project (CVP) Delta “death pumps” have been the
biggest killers of salmon, steelhead, Sacramento
splittail and other fish species in California for many
decades. … The coalition said this is the second
time in 2024 the coalition has responded to an increase in
killing of legally protected fish at the pumps of the State
Water Project and the Central Valley Project (Projects or Water
Projects).
Federal salmon overseers say Oregon Coast Chinook face a low
risk of extinction, according to a recently concluded deep dive
into the health of runs stretching from the Necanicum in the
north to the Elk and Sixes in the south. It’s not the
final word on whether an Endangered Species Act listing is
needed or not, but the 195-page status review does
represent an assessment by the National Marine Fisheries
Service’s Northwest Science Center in response to a petition
filed in 2022 to list the stock and will be a relief to
fishermen and salmon managers. … However, the news
wasn’t as good for Chinook in the Southern Oregon and Northern
California ESU, which stretches from Bandon to the Klamath
River. Even as the overall population is also at low risk of
extinction, key components aren’t doing as well, raising the
risk for the entire stock.
Five possible alternatives to the tire antidegradant 6PPD have
been identified, following a comprehensive preliminary analysis
completed by a consortium of 30 tire manufacturers March 25.
… The season typically runs from May to October, but
California Chinook salmon populations have declined so severely
in recent years that fishery authorities are considering
whether to adopt severe restrictions this season or impose a
ban on fishing altogether for the second consecutive year.
… [Many salmon fishers lay] much of the blame on
California water managers, who [they say] send too much
water to farms and cities and deprive rivers of the cold flows
salmon need to survive.
… Over the next several years, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.,
the current owner of the Potter Valley Project, is planning to
retire the hydroelectric plant and remove two dams on the Eel
River that provide water for the facility. With power
production shut down, tunneling water into the Russian River
won’t be necessary. … The Potter Valley Project provides a
portion of the water supply for large swaths of Mendocino and
Sonoma counties. … Scores of vineyards here are tethered
to water rights that are subject to restriction when river
levels drop. During the recent drought, hundreds of
water-rights holders were forced to stop pumping — a
scenario many believe was a preview of a future where the Eel
River doesn’t continue to supplement the Russian.
Last year, Pacific Gas & Electric announced that it would
demolish the [Eel River's] Scott and Cape Horn dams and
decommission the entire Potter Valley power project.
… Removing the dams will help restore natural river
flows, which will improve fish habitat along the Eel River.
That’s been a longtime objective of the Round Valley Indian
Tribes. The tribes have strong historic and cultural ties to
the river and its bounty. When the dams come down, the Eel
River will become the longest free-flowing river in California
according to fish advocates. Salmon, steelhead and trout all
will benefit. Lake Pillsbury will disappear. Demolition is not
restoration, though, and there will be ripple effects on other
nearby natural areas.
Fishers are fighting tire companies’ attempt to dismiss an
Endangered Species Act suit over the use of a rubber additive
known as 6PPD, which harms salmon, telling a California federal
judge the companies are trying to delay accountability…
Today, legislation to protect California’s iconic salmon and
steelhead trout authored by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San
Mateo) was approved by the Assembly Committee on Transportation
with a bipartisan vote. The S.A.L.M.O.N Act (Stormwater
Anti-Lethal Measures for Our Natives Act), would mandate the
development and implementation of a regional strategy by the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to eliminate (a
contaminant from tire rubber) from stormwater discharges
into specified salmon and steelhead trout-bearing surface
waters of the state.
Near the California-Oregon border, reservoirs that once
submerged valleys have been drained, revealing a stark
landscape that had been underwater for generations. A thick
layer of muddy sediment covers the sloping ground, where
workers have been scattering seeds and leaving meandering
trails of footprints. In the cracked mud, seeds are sprouting
and tiny green shoots are appearing. With water passing freely
through tunnels in three dams, the Klamath River has returned
to its ancient channel and is flowing unhindered for the first
time in more than a century through miles of waterlogged lands.
Fresno’s largest body of water — and likely its most diverse
wildlife habitat — shimmers in silence on a sunny spring
afternoon. … Where we’re at is Milburn Pond, a reclaimed
gravel mining pit that belongs to the San Joaquin River
Ecological Reserve and is managed by the Department of Fish and
Wildlife. … Listed at 287 acres, Milburn Pond is large
enough to be considered a lake. Except for the fact that it’s
not surrounded by land on all sides. … Now, though,
there’s a state-approved proposal to isolate the pond that has
been kicking around since the historic 2006 settlement to
restore river flows and self-sustaining salmon runs. It’s a
plan Moosios and others believe would irreparably harm this
little-known or observed wildlife sanctuary — even though less
destructive and expensive options have been proposed that would
accomplish virtually the same stated purpose. -Written by columnist Marek Warszawski.
Partners have pulled together to support the recovery of
endangered Sacramento winter-run Chinook salmon in the last few
years. However, the species still faces threats from climate
change and other factors. That is the conclusion of an
Endangered Species Act review that NOAA Fisheries completed for
the native California species. It once returned in great
numbers to the tributaries of the Sacramento River and
supported local tribes. The review concluded that the species
remains endangered, and identified key recovery actions to help
the species survive climate change. While partners have taken
steps to protect winter-run Chinook salmon, blocked habitat,
altered flows, and higher temperatures continue to threaten
their survival.
…Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board took
action to protect the salmon,
unanimously extending the region’s
expired emergency drought measures. Ground and surface
water for farms will be restricted for another year if flows in
the Shasta and Scott rivers dip below minimum thresholds. State
officials say these measures are likely to kick in next
year. Water board chair Joaquin Esquivel said action
is needed because “a fish emergency” remains on the rivers.
“Time isn’t our friend,” he said at a previous meeting in
August. “There is an urgency.” The water board also
is investigating the possibility of permanent requirements to
keep more water in the rivers, after the Karuk Tribe and the
fishing industry petitioned the state for stronger protections.
That decision, however, could take years.
The Klamath River Basin was once one
of the world’s most ecologically magnificent regions, a watershed
teeming with salmon, migratory birds and wildlife that thrived
alongside Native American communities. The river flowed rapidly
from its headwaters in southern Oregon’s high deserts into Upper
Klamath Lake, collected snowmelt along a narrow gorge through the
Cascades, then raced downhill to the California coast in a misty,
redwood-lined finish.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues
associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour ventured through California’s Central Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. Covering about 20,000 square miles through the heart of the state, the valley provides 25 percent of the nation’s food, including 40 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables consumed throughout the country.
Land and waterway managers labored
hard over the course of a century to control California’s unruly
rivers by building dams and levees to slow and contain their
water. Now, farmers, environmentalists and agencies are undoing
some of that work as part of an accelerating campaign to restore
the state’s major floodplains.
Biologists have designed a variety
of unique experiments in the past decade to demonstrate the
benefits that floodplains provide for small fish. Tracking
studies have used acoustic tags to show that chinook salmon
smolts with access to inundated fields are more likely than their
river-bound cohorts to reach the Pacific Ocean. This is because
the richness of floodplains offers a vital buffet of nourishment
on which young salmon can capitalize, supercharging their growth
and leading to bigger, stronger smolts.
This tour guided participants on a virtual exploration of the Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
In 1983, a landmark California Supreme Court ruling extended the public trust doctrine to tributary creeks that feed Mono Lake, which is a navigable water body even though the creeks themselves were not. The ruling marked a dramatic shift in water law and forced Los Angeles to cut back its take of water from those creeks in the Eastern Sierra to preserve the lake.
Now, a state appellate court has for the first time extended that same public trust doctrine to groundwater that feeds a navigable river, in this case the Scott River flowing through a picturesque valley of farms and alfalfa in Siskiyou County in the northern reaches of California.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
An hour’s drive north of Sacramento sits a picture-perfect valley hugging the eastern foothills of Northern California’s Coast Range, with golden hills framing grasslands mostly used for cattle grazing.
Back in the late 1800s, pioneer John Sites built his ranch there and a small township, now gone, bore his name. Today, the community of a handful of families and ranchers still maintains a proud heritage.
Farmers in the Central Valley are broiling about California’s plan to increase flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems to help struggling salmon runs avoid extinction. But in one corner of the fertile breadbasket, River Garden Farms is taking part in some extraordinary efforts to provide the embattled fish with refuge from predators and enough food to eat.
And while there is no direct benefit to one farm’s voluntary actions, the belief is what’s good for the fish is good for the farmers.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of repair efforts on the
Oroville Dam spillway.
Before dams were built on the upper
Sacramento River, flood water regularly carried woody debris that
was an important part of the aquatic habitat.
Deprived of this refuge, salmon in the lower parts of the upper
Sacramento River have had a difficult time surviving and making
it down the river and out to the ocean. Seeing this, a group of
people, including water users, decided to lend a hand with an
unprecedented pilot project that saw massive walnut tree trunks
affixed to 12,000-pound boulders and deposited into the deepest
part of the Sacramento River near Redding to provide shelter for
young salmon and steelhead migrating downstream.
Protecting and restoring California’s populations of threatened
and endangered Chinook salmon and steelhead trout have been a big
part of the state’s water management picture for more than 20
years. Significant resources have been dedicated to helping the
various runs of the iconic fish, with successes and setbacks. In
a landscape dramatically altered from its natural setting,
finding a balance between the competing demands for water is
challenging.
Butte Creek, a tributary of the
Sacramento River, begins less than 50 miles northeast of Chico,
California and is named after nearby volcanic plateaus or
“buttes.” The cold, clear waters of the 93-mile creek sustain the
largest naturally spawning wild population of spring-run chinook salmon in the Central Valley.
Several other native fish species are found in Butte Creek,
including Pacific lamprey and Sacramento pikeminnow.
20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A
Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues related to complex water management
disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances
Fisher.
For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and
California border has faced complex water management disputes. As
relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary
narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range
from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp,
farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists
– all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water.
After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon
settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise
of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the
documentary here.
This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features
a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San
Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows
and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam
to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the
history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with
implementation.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including
the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text
explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson
rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery
restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many
of these issues.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides
an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water
Project.
The State Water Project is best known for the 444-mile-long
aqueduct that provides water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley
agriculture and southern California cities. The guide contains
information about the project’s history and facilities.
The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Flood Management explains the
physical flood control system, including levees; discusses
previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores
issues of floodplain management and development; provides an
overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control
projects.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
explores the history and development of the federal Central
Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery
system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes
the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP
brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing
uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta,
its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues
with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural
drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.
The Red Bluff Diversion Dam, its gates raised since 2011 to allow
fish passage, spans the Sacramento River two miles
southeast of Red Bluff on the Sacramento River in Tehama County.
It is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation and operated and
maintained by the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority.
Pelagic fish are those that live near the water’s surface rather
than on the bottom. In California, pelagic fish species include
the Delta smelt, longfin
smelt, striped bass and salmon.
In California, the fate of pelagic fish has been closely tied to
the use of the water that supports them.
The Klamath River Basin is one of the West’s most important and
contentious watersheds.
The watershed is known for its peculiar geography straddling
California and Oregon. Unlike many western rivers, the
Klamath does not originate in snowcapped mountains but rather on
a volcanic plateau.
A broad patchwork of spring-fed streams and rivers in
south-central Oregon drains into Upper Klamath Lake and down into
Lake Ewauna in the city of Klamath Falls. The outflow from Ewauna
marks the beginning of the 263-mile Klamath River.
The Klamath courses south through the steep Cascade Range and
west along the rugged Siskiyou Mountains to a redwood-lined
estuary on the Pacific Ocean just south of Crescent City,
draining a watershed of 10 million acres.
A bounty of resources – water, salmon, timber and minerals – and
a wide range of users turned the remote region into a hotspot for
economic development and multiparty water disputes (See
Klamath River
timeline).
Though the basin has only 115,000 residents, there is seldom
enough water to go around. Droughts are common. The water
scarcity inflames tensions between agricultural,
environmental and tribal interests, namely the basin’s four major
tribes: the Klamath Tribes, the Karuk, Hoopa Valley and Yurok.
Klamath water-use conflicts routinely spill into courtrooms,
state legislatures and Congress.
In 2023, a historic removal of four powers dams on the river
began, signaling hope for restoration of the river and its fish
and easing tensions between competing water interests. In
February 2024, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
announced a “historic” agreement between tribes and farmers
in the basin over chronic water shortages. The deal
called for a wide range of river and creek restoration work and
modernization of agricultural water supply infrastructure.
Water Development
Farmers and ranchers have drawn irrigation water from basin
rivers and lakes since the late 1900s. Vast wetlands around
Upper Klamath Lake and upstream were drained to grow crops. Some
wetlands have been restored, primarily for migratory birds.
In 1905, the federal government authorized construction of the
Klamath Project, a network of irrigation canals, storage
reservoirs and hydroelectric dams to grow an agricultural
economy in the mostly dry Upper Basin. The Project managed by the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation irrigates about 240,000 acres and
supplies the Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake national wildlife
refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Water Management
Since 1992, federal mandates to restore populations of fish
protected by the Endangered Species
Act have led in some dry years to drastic cuts in
water deliveries to Klamath Project irrigators.
Water in Upper Klamath Lake must be kept above certain
levels for the endangered shortnose and Lost River suckers. Lake
levels and Klamath River flows below Iron Gate Dam also must be
regulated for the benefit of threatened coho salmon (See
Klamath Basin
Chinook and Coho Salmon).
Conflict
In 2001, Reclamation all but cut off irrigation water to hundreds
of basin farmers and ranchers, citing a severe drought and legal
obligations to protect imperiled fish. In response, thousands of
farmers, ranchers and residents flocked to downtown Klamath Falls
to form a “bucket brigade” protest, emptying buckets of water
into the closed irrigation canal. The demonstrations stretched
into the summer, with protestors forcing open the irrigation
headgates on multiple occasions. Reclamation later released some
water to help farmers.
In September 2002, a catastrophic
disease outbreak in the lower Klamath River killed tens of
thousands of ocean-going salmon. The Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations sued Reclamation, alleging the Klamath
Project’s irrigation deliveries had violated the Endangered
Species Act. The fishing industry eventually prevailed, and
a federal court ordered an increase to minimum flows in the lower
Klamath.
Compromise
The massive salmon kill and dramatic water shut-off set in motion
a sweeping compromise between the basin’s many competing water
interests: the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the
Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. The 2010 agreements
included:
Removal of four hydroelectric dams
$92.5 million over 10 years to pay farmers to use less water,
increase reservoir storage and help pay for water conservation
and groundwater management projects.
$47 million over 10 years to buy or lease water rights to
increase flows for salmon recovery.
Dam Removals
Congress never funded the two agreements, allowing the key
provisions to expire. The restoration accord dissolved in 2016.
The hydroelectric pact, however, was revived in an amended
version that did not require federal legislation.
The new deal led to the nation’s largest dam removal project ever
undertaken.
California and Oregon formed a
nonprofit organization called the Klamath River Renewal
Corporation to take control of the four essentially obsolete
power dams – J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2 and Iron Gate –
and oversee a $450 million dam demolition and river restoration
project.
Taking out the dams will open more than 420 miles of river and
spawning streams that had been blocked for more than a century,
including cold water pools salmon and trout need to survive the
warming climate.
Demolition crews took out the smallest dam in 2023 and the others
were scheduled to come down by the end of 2024.
The images of yellow heavy machinery tearing into the dam’s
spillway gates prompted a cathartic release for many who have
been fighting for decades to open this stretch of the Klamath.
“I’m still in a little bit of shock,” said Toz Soto,
the Karuk fisheries program manager. “This is actually
happening…It’s kind of like the dog that finally caught the car,
except we’re chasing dam removal.”
The Klamath Basin’s Chinook salmon and coho salmon serve a vital
role in the watershed.
Together, they are key to the region’s water management, habitat
restoration and fishing.
However, years of declining population have led to federally
mandated salmon restoration plans—plans that complicate the
diversion of Klamath water for agriculture and other uses.
Battle Creek, a tributary of the
Sacramento River in Shasta and Tehama counties, is considered one
of the most important anadromous fish spawning streams in the
Sacramento Valley.
At present, barriers make it difficult for anadromous fish,
including chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead trout, to
migrate. Battle Creek has several hydroelectric dams, diversions
and a complex canal system between its north and south forks that
impede migration.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water examines science –
the answers it can provide to help guide management decisions in
the Delta and the inherent uncertainty it holds that can make
moving forward such a tenuous task.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the Russian and
Santa Ana rivers – areas with ongoing issues not dissimilar to
the rest of the state – managing supplies within a lingering
drought, improving water quality and revitalizing and restoring
the vestiges of the native past.
This printed issue of Western Water provides an overview of the
idea of a dual conveyance facility, including questions
surrounding its cost, operation and governance
This printed copy of Western Water examines the native salmon and
trout dilemma – the extent of the crisis, its potential impact on
water deliveries and the lengths to which combined efforts can
help restore threatened and endangered species.
This printed copy of Western Water examines the Delta through the
many ongoing activities focusing on it, most notably the Delta
Vision process. Many hours of testimony, research, legal
proceedings, public hearings and discussion have occurred and
will continue as the state seeks the ultimate solution to the
problems tied to the Delta.
This issue of Western Water explores the implications for the San
Joaquin River following the decision in the Natural Resources
Defense Council lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation and
Friant Water Users Authority that Friant Dam is required to
comply with a state law that requires enough water be released to
sustain downstream fish populations.
Fresh from the ocean, adult salmon struggle to swim hundreds of
miles upstream to spawn — and then die — in the same stream in
which they were born. For the salmon, the river-to-ocean,
ocean-to-river life cycle is nothing more than instinct. For
humans, it invites wonder. The cycle has prevailed for centuries,
yet as salmon populations have declined, the cycle has become a
source of conflict. Water users have seen their supplies reduced.
Fishermen have had their catch curtailed. Environmentalists have
pushed for more instream flows for fish.