The Russian River drains the
sparsely populated, forested coastal area that stretches from San
Francisco to the Oregon border.
Along the Russian, federally funded dams have created Lake
Mendocino (at the Coyote Dam) and Lake Sonoma (Warm Springs Dam).
Locally built aqueducts channel water from these lakes into
growing Marin and Sonoma counties.
The Russian River is one of the most flood-prone rivers in
California, routinely overflowing during wet years. As storm
systems approach California, the wet bands of clouds are uplifted
by the Coast Range, releasing precipitation first and most
intensely on the coastal streams. One flood control dam is on the
Russian River and one on Dry Creek, a tributary to the Russian
River, which can capture about 20 percent of flood flows.
In addition to flooding issues, the Russian River faces other
challenges to balance competing demands for its water. In an area
that was once legacy to massive numbers of salmon and steelhead,
restoring the fishery has been a key focus, while water providers
must accommodate municipal needs as well as those of grape
growers in one of the world’s most prized wine-producing regions.
Back in the 1980s, when Santa Rosa was paying ranchers to use
recycled wastewater for irrigation, dairyman Doug Beretta
considered it a sweet deal. … Beretta is one of the 61
ranchers who last year received 788 million gallons of recycled
water from the Laguna Wastewater Treatment Plant to irrigate
6,400 acres that produce milk, hay, grapes and vegetables. The
agricultural water system, with 26 miles of pipe, stretches
from Rohnert Park nearly to the county airport south of
Windsor.
A wine executive faces millions in fines after razing dozens of
acres of trees for a vineyard in California, water officials
said. The clearing of the oak woodlands caused “significant
damage to the streams and wetlands” in the former Alexander
Valley Ranch in 2018, according to a news release from the
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Hugh Reimers
and his business Krasilsa Pacific Farms, LLC face a $3.75
million fine from the state board, according to the May 24 news
release.
A well-known Sonoma County vineyard executive is facing a
multi-million-dollar state fine for allegedly removing trees
and destroying a small wetland on a rural patch of land east of
Cloverdale. Hugh Reimers and Krasilsa Pacific Farms could be on
the hook for up to $3.75 million in fines for allegedly cutting
down trees, grading, ripping and other activities near
tributaries to Little Sulphur Creek, Big Sulphur Creek and
Crocker Creek in the Russian River Watershed … In a complaint
filed May 9, the Water Board accused Reimers and Krasilsa
Pacific Farms of also failing to abide by a 2019 cleanup and
abatement order, which required them to restore the streams and
wetlands.
In my drought- and fire-plagued home valley, 40 miles north of
San Francisco, a debate has been simmering for decades over a
massive development planned on state-owned property. The
conflict is focused on nearly 1,000 acres of rural and wildland
in Sonoma Valley. The prime wine-country property has been eyed
for development since long before 2018 … Water,
especially, is in short supply. The valley’s 44,000-acre
groundwater basin and recycled water provide only half of the
community’s water. Piped-in supplies make up the other half,
shipped from increasingly drought-stressed river basins farther
north.
Wildfires signal perhaps the most immediate threat California’s
$43 billion viticulture industry faces from a warming
California. Yet they’re far from the only challenge. Wineries
from the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra Nevada foothills are
all suffering from intensifying droughts and hot, almost
endlessly dry seasons. Both problems are predicted to get worse
in the coming decades. For grape farmers, that could be
devastating: The rainless skies of the last two years resulted
in highly stressed crops and seriously diminished yields.
Homes and businesses across central Sonoma County generated
more than 5 billion gallons of wastewater last year, enough to
fill more than 7,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. That sewage
flowed into Santa Rosa’s regional treatment plant south of
Sebastopol, where it was cleaned up and nearly all of it put to
a second use. About 4 billion gallons of recycled water was
pumped north from the Llano Road treatment plant in a 41-mile
pipeline and up a steep slope into The Geysers geothermal
fields southeast of Cloverdale.
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.
Perched along the Russian River, the town of Healdsburg is
mostly known for great wine and weekend getaways. But these
days the sun is doing more than ripening grapes. It’s producing
power in an unusual setting. … Crowley and wastewater
manager Rob Scates are showing off what’s believed to be the
largest floating solar farm in the country. The panels are
anchored on the surface of two ponds at the city’s wastewater
treatment facility. And while they’re floating, the panels are
also supplying roughly 8% of the city’s electrical
needs. C
On May 10, the California State Water Resources Control Board
readopted an emergency regulation that stands to force 2,000
water-rights holders to curtail water diversions for another
year. (See related story on Page 10.) The emergency action is
being used to make water available to senior diverters, minimum
instream flows and minimum health and human safety
needs. … As an alternative to a full curtailment action
being applied to a diverter, water-right holders in the upper
watershed (north of Dry Creek in Sonoma County) can instead
voluntarily sign up to participate in the program to receive
some lower percentage of their typical reported water use. -Written by Frost Pauli, a Mendocino County
winegrape and pear grower and is chair of the Mendocino County
Farm Bureau Water Committee.
The Walbridge fire started in densely forested country just
outside the Austin Creek reserve. It started from a dry
lightning storm Aug. 16 or 17 — the day it was discovered —
spawning flames that roared through the steeply cut, rural
landscape between Cazadero and Healdsburg. It burned for most
of seven weeks, razing 156 homes and blackening 55,209 acres.
But many were riveted by news of its entry into the beloved
park near the Russian River town of Guerneville, where between
700,000 and a million visitors a year flock to see ancient
coast redwood trees — some well over 1,000 years old.
Thousands of water rights holders in the Russian River
watershed could soon lose access to their water after state
regulators approved emergency drought rules Tuesday. The State
Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously to reauthorize
the Division of Water Rights to issue “curtailment orders” for
up to 2,000 rights holders in order to preserve water in Lake
Sonoma and Lake Mendocino and to protect drinking water
supplies and fish populations.
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.
What if you had just enough water to spare to make a
life-or-death difference for vulnerable coho salmon or a
steelhead trout stranded in a drought-stricken stream? Federal
and state fish and wildlife officials hope there may be grape
growers or other landowners in key areas of the lower Russian
River watershed who might be willing to share some of their
water to support endangered coho and threatened steelhead. It
doesn’t take much.
With more than 1.1 million acres across the drought-afflicted
West already charred, 2022 is shaping up to be another year of
extremely intense fire activity … the prospect of dry
lightning associated with tropical storms off the coast of
Mexico in mid- to late-summer and continued dry La Niña
conditions heading into fall and early winter — and perhaps
beyond. That could mean a potential fourth year of abnormally
low rainfall and the threat of lightning-sparked wildfires like
those in August 2020 that ravaged the region and much of
California.
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.
Rural residents using well water in the sprawling Santa Rosa
Plain would pay about $20 a year under a state-mandated program
aimed at protecting groundwater for the next 50 years. The
10-member board that governs the agency overseeing Sonoma
County’s largest groundwater basin favors a regulatory fee
structure based on the estimated amount of water well owners
pump from the ground, officials reported at a virtual community
meeting Wednesday night.
Facing a giant hole in her year-old yard, Tania Weingart’s
dream of summer fun in Novato runs deep. But one thing to fill
it is in short supply these days — water. Her water company,
North Marin Water, along with Marin Water, has imposed
drought-related water restrictions that prohibit the filling of
new pools and refilling existing ones. The mandate comes as the
state is asking water agencies to impose restrictions for
residents and businesses to cut water use by 10% among
California residents and businesses as of March 28.
In a dramatic shift from California’s history of allowing
landowners to freely pump and consume water from their own
wells, Sonoma County’s rural residents and many others will
soon begin paying for the water drawn from beneath their
feet…. The residential fees are based on an assumption
that rural residents typically pump a half-acre foot of well
water a year. Most homes do not have water meters and none will
be installed under the fee program. Large groundwater water
users — including ranches, cities, water districts and
businesses — would pay fees based on the volume of water drawn
from their wells.
Many of California’s watersheds are
notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring
flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it
can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines are
strict and unyielding, requiring reservoirs to dump water each
winter to make space for flood flows that may not come.
However, new tools and operating methods are emerging that could
lead the way to a redefined system that improves both water
supply and flood protection capabilities.
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.
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.
The Russian River is one of the major northern streams that drain
the sparsely populated, forested coastal area that stretches from
San Francisco to the Oregon border.
Other North Coast waterways include the Klamath, Trinity, Eel and
Smith [see also North
Coast Rivers]. These rivers and their tributaries flow west
to the Pacific Ocean and account for about 40 percent of the
state’s total runoff.
Travel most anywhere in California and there is a river, creek or
stream nearby. Some are highly noticeable and are an integral
part of the community. Others are more obscure, with intermittent
flows or enclosed by boxed concrete flood channels that conceal
their true appearance. No matter the location, each area shares
some common themes: cooperation and conflict regarding water
allocations, greater water conservation, an awareness of
environmental stewardship, and plans that ensure long-term
sustainability.
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.
