Northern California’s Siskiyou County took another hit Tuesday
when a federal judge denied its summary judgment motion in a
case over residents’ claims they’re not getting the water they
need. The putative class — many of whom are Asian American and
live in a part of the rural county called Shasta Vista — sued
in 2022. … They also claim officials have used water
ordinances to deprive them in an area with no public water
system. County officials have said the local ordinances
that prevent the transfer of water to the Shasta Vista
residents are needed to combat illegal cannabis grows. But the
plaintiffs contend they’re used against a minority population
that needs water.
After a lengthy public comment session that included dozens of
speakers both for and against a resolution that many argued
would jeopardize years of painstaking progress made toward
continuing water diversions from the Eel River into the Russian
River following the removal of the Potter Valley Project dams,
the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors instead voted to
consider an alternative resolution proposed by Fifth District
Supervisor Ted Williams at its next meeting. … [H]e was
concerned about the “unanticipated consequences” of passing the
resolution … that asks the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
to reconsider its decision to decommission the hydroelectric
plant known as the Potter Valley Project.
Tucked into California’s remote northwest corner, the Smith
River winds through Del Norte County. … Down on the river’s
lower plain, though, the wilderness gives way to farmland.
Here, a handful of growers produce nearly all of America’s
Easter lily bulbs, which are then shipped off to greenhouses
across the country. The iconic plant is the most famous export
from Del Norte County — yet state scientists say decades of
pesticide use by these growers have contaminated the
tributaries that flow through those fields, threatening fish,
wildlife and nearby residents.
The State Water Resources Control Board is hosting a meeting in
Ukiah Wednesday to collect comments related to the Potter
Valley Project. According to information provided by the board,
it is holding “scoping meetings to provide information about
the Proposed Project, the CEQA process, and to receive written
or oral comments from trustee agencies, responsible agencies,
Tribes, and other interested persons concerning the range of
alternatives, potential significant effects, and mitigation
measures that should be analyzed in the EIR.”
On this first-ever Foundation water tourwe examined water issues along the 263-mile Klamath River, from its spring-fed headwaters in south-central Oregon to its redwood-lined estuary on the Pacific Ocean in California.
Running Y Resort
5500 Running Y Rd
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
