The Klamath, Trinity, Eel, Russian
and Smith rivers are the major northern streams that drain this
sparsely populated, forested coastal area that stretches from San
Francisco to the Oregon border. These rivers and their
tributaries flow west to the Pacific Ocean and account for about
40 percent of the state’s total runoff.
Gobs of oily tar continue to slip past containment booms and
drain into the Smith River, nearly a month after an overturned
trailer spilled 2,000 gallons of the hot asphalt binder onto
U.S. 199 between Hiouchi and Gasquet. Spokesperson Eric
Laughlin with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s
Office of Spill Prevention and Response confirmed with the
Outpost that the toxic goop is actively leaking into the Smith
River, and that the agency received new reports of the material
traveling downstream on Friday.
A ruling by federal regulators has put a damper on plans to
turn 300 miles of rail line from Humboldt County to Marin
County into the Great Redwood Trail. The Surface Transportation
Board issued a decision Tuesday that it will not prioritize
trail use … Maintaining the rail line along the Eel
River is financially infeasible because of landslides and other
risks, but the North Coast Railroad Co. wants to take over that
portion of the line. … U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman and
state Sen. Mike McGuire … issued statements saying they
weren’t surprised by the decision, but that they are taking
steps to ensure the “toxic coal train” doesn’t become a reality
on the North Coast.
Fire danger is on the rise in California, as warm, dry and
windy weather heralds a potentially long and difficult season.
For several consecutive years, increasingly extreme,
climate-change fueled wildfires have devastated parts of the
state. The area of greatest concern late this week is in
Northern California, where strong northerly winds will combine
with dry vegetation in the Sacramento Valley…. The risk of
fast-spreading blazes may ease this weekend, but officials have
expressed serious concerns about the months ahead as the
entirety of California contends with a historically severe
drought that has turned many areas into a tinderbox.
Despite two board members expressing doubts that a new spending
measure would be approved by voters, the Mendocino County Board
of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a
possible sales tax ordinance to fund projects protecting local
water supply and boosting local fire services.
California’s towering redwoods have been around for thousands
of years, but the trees are still yielding some surprises about
what makes them so resilient. UC Davis scientists recently
discovered that redwoods have two different types of leaves
… The trees’ peripheral leaves, like those on most
trees, are food producers that convert sunlight into sugar
through photosynthesis. But the axial leaves serve an entirely
different role, researchers found — absorbing water. … [T]he
study is further evidence of the big trees’ ability to adapt to
environmental changes — including drought.
Research in Seattle-area creeks has discovered tire bits
shedding lethal amounts of a little-known, salmon-killing
chemical called 6PPD-quinone. … In December 2020, 27
coauthors published an article in the journal Science
identifying 6PPD-quinone as the coho killer. Within weeks, the
U.S Tire Manufacturers Association asked California officials
to treat tires with 6PPD as a priority under the state’s
toxic-chemical laws. Coho salmon is an endangered species in
California. The California rule, once finalized, would give
manufacturers of tires sold there 180 days to assess any known
or potential alternatives to 6PPD in tire rubber.
Local watersheds in the Eel River Valley and Southern Humboldt
County will benefit from five grants recently awarded by the
McLean Foundation. Grant recipients are the Eel River Recovery
Project and Friends of the Van Duzen, the Salmonid Restoration
Federation, Mattole Restoration Council, Friends of the Eel
River, and Friends of the Lost Coast.
A truck driver who law enforcement believes was driving under
the influence dumped 2,000 gallons of “hot asphalt binder” in a
California forest this week. … Officials from Six Rivers
National Forest said the trailer contained 2,000 gallons
of “hot asphalt binder,” which began seeping into the Smith
River. … A quick response by forest workers, Caltrans,
Del Norte County Office of Emergency Services and other
agencies minimized the spread of the chemicals. They believe
there are no impacts to water quality.
This year has started off as the driest in recorded memory
across most of Northern California, including Humboldt County.
That spells bad news for water availability and the upcoming
fire season. The Eureka area has only accumulated 8 inches of
precipitation since the beginning of the year; the area has
usually accumulated 21 inches by this point in the year. The
last time the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
recorded precipitation levels that low in Eureka it was 1923.
Last summer, Siskiyou County’s recently appointed sheriff,
Jeremiah LaRue, released a video on YouTube to explain two
controversial new county groundwater laws. The drought was
severe that year, he said, and the “wasteful extraction” of
water for illegal cannabis cultivation was making it worse.
… The environmentalist rhetoric and talk of water policy
signaled a shift in how LaRue’s department policed the illicit
cannabis industry.
No one was surprised by Thursday’s letter granting PG&E an
annual license to run the Potter Valley Project until April of
next year. And, while a last-minute mystery application did
provide a few moments of titillating speculation, the enigmatic
Antonio Manfredini failed to generate any real suspense. The
50-year license to operate the Potter Valley Project, which
diverts water from the Eel River into the east branch of the
Russian River to Lake Mendocino by way of a tunnel, a pair of
dams and reservoirs, and a small hydropower plant, expired on
April 14.
Northern California farmers use pumped river water during
freezing spring nights to coat the growing grapes with a
protective layer of ice, and without this protection there
could be significant losses to crops. That water, however,
comes from the homes of the hook-mouthed coho salmon and
the threatened steelhead trout. Once plentiful, the coho salmon
is now a protected species under threat (via NOAA Fisheries).
Salmon-Safe seeks to protect important species in California
and beyond, while still supporting the many brewery and winery
industries that need water to thrive.
As Gleason Beach’s last homes cling to the edge of the bluff,
Highway 1 itself is threatened at several other points along
Sonoma County’s 55-mile coastline. Now, after decades of
studies and debates, Gleason Beach has become the guinea pig
for California’s foray into a bold and controversial strategy:
to remove buildings and infrastructure from the coast and
relocate them farther inland. The $26 million project, headed
by Caltrans, involves moving nearly a mile of roadway several
hundred feet inland and erecting a new, 850-foot concrete
bridge.
With very little rain falling throughout our region from
January to March, most of us were already preparing for summer.
However, the April showers hitting the coast are providing a
second winter. These rains will definitely impact the health of
future salmon and steelhead runs, which will likely be stronger
a few years down the road because of it.
To its side is the oldest fish counting station in
California, the Van Arsdale Fisheries Station, run by
the California Department of Fish and Game since 1922. The
station overlooks a fish ladder, built as part of the
agreement to allow construction of the Scott Dam, which allows
fish like salmon and trout to travel upriver to
spawn. Unfortunately, from the beginning it also
overlooked, and not in the scenic way, the needs of the
lamprey, a much-maligned fish that also needs access to the
Eel’s headwaters and unlike its salmonid cousins can’t swim up
a ladder.
The 100-year-old Potter Valley Project consists of two dams
along Northern California’s Eel River. The upstream Scott Dam
blocks salmon and steelhead from reaching prime spawning
grounds, according to Alicia Hamann, the director of Friends of
Eel River. Both fish are threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. Friends of the Eel River are one of a handful of
environmental groups planning to sue PG&E to seek
protections for these dwindling fish populations.
A coalition of fishery groups has formally notified PG&E
that it plans to file suit under the Endangered Species Act,
alleging the continued injury to once abundant federally
protected salmon and steelhead trout as a result of operations
at the utility’s aging Potter Valley powerhouse. The legal
maneuver is part of an effort to expedite removal of Scott and
Cape Horn dams, which pose a threat to vulnerable fish species
in the Eel River and block access to hundreds of miles of prime
habitat upstream.
California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.
That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.
The Eel River flows from the
Mendocino National Forest to the coast a few miles south of
Eureka, traversing a topographically diverse
area of mountains, canyons and redwood forests in Northern
California. Including its tributaries, it
drains more than 3,500 square miles and is the state’s third
largest watershed.
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 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.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
