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.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has requested a roughly
six-month extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission for the process of decommissioning two dams on the
Eel River. Friends of the Eel River, a conservation non-profit
founded to advocate for the dams’ removal, is concerned about
the impact this delay will have on the timeline of getting the
Eel undammed. The final draft of the decommissioning plan would
come out in June of 2025 rather than January of that year.
Alicia Hamann, executive director of the Friends, said “a delay
of six months could mean another year of those really dangerous
conditions for native fish,” when reached by phone Monday. She
noted the dangerous conditions were created by variances in the
way the dams release water. PG&E has to get approval for
the water it releases every year from FERC, and in 2023 the
approval was delayed to the point that no cold water was there
for fish by the time it was worked out, said Hamman. She said
this impacted fish on the river.
In the form of a grant described as coming from a “brand-new”
source of infrastructure funding, the group hoping to continue
diversions from the Eel River to the Russian River in Mendocino
County has received $2 million from the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, federal officials announced during a visit to
Ukiah Friday. “Your success is reclamation’s success, and we
are committed to that,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner M.
Camille Calimlim Touton told the group gathered at Coyote
Valley Dam along Lake Mendocino June 7 to hear Rep. Jared
Huffman (D – San Rafael) announce the award of $2 million to
the Eel-Russian River Authority to help the group of regional
stakeholders study how best to approach the possible continued
diversion of Eel River water to the Russian River once the dams
created for the Potter Valley Project have been removed, a plan
being called the Two-Basin Solution.
PG&E announced on Friday, May 31 late last week that it
will request a 7-month extension from the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) in decommissioning the Eel River
dams. Stakeholders were expecting the utility to file its Draft
Surrender Application plan with FERC this month, with a final
version due in January 2025. PG&E now says it will file the
draft plan in January 2025 and the final version in June 2025.
In announcing the delay, PG&E expresses support for the
still vague proposal for the New Eel-Russian Facility. This
proposal would see a dam-free diversion from the Eel River to
the Russian River constructed and managed by the newly formed
Eel Russian Joint Powers Authority.
In recent years a few folks who pay attention to the wild
critters have been whispering of sighting beavers in the Eel
River of Humboldt County and even dams in a few tributaries. In
2015 we even posted about a local wildlife tracker finding
beaver footprints.
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 supports one of California’s largest wild salmon
and steelhead runs in a watershed that hosts the world’s largest
surviving stands of ancient redwoods.
The Eel flows generally northward from Northern California’s
Mendocino National Forest to the Pacific, a few miles south of
Eureka. The river and its tributaries drain
more than 3,500 square miles, 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.