Water Agency blames state, feds for 'regulatory drought'

The Sonoma County Water Agency on Monday called for a “cooperative regional effort and immediate and long-term assistance” from the State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Fish and Game, and National Marine Fisheries Service for assistance in managing the Russian River system to meet the current 15 percent mandatory conservation goal and to prevent what the water agency’s top official called “future regulatory droughts.”
“Our agency is having a difficult time operating the Russian River system due to regulations and diversions outside the agency’s control,” said Agency Director Tim Smith. “We need everybody to pull together to help manage the system and protect us from future regulatory droughts.”
A statement from the water agency said that an array of issues “has handicapped it from managing the Russian River system to meet its state water board order requirement for a 15 percent reduction in diversions.”
The order was intended to reduce releases from Lake Mendocino to preserve water in storage for subsequent fall release to support the migration of Chinook salmon. To date, cities and water districts served by the water agency have not achieved the 15 percent reduction. One option to help supplement Russian River flows to make up for the reductions in releases from Lake Mendocino is to release more water from Lake Sonoma. Lake Sonoma stores about three times as much water as Lake Mendocino and is about 91 percent full. However, regulatory agencies have indicated that increased releases from Lake Sonoma into Dry Creek are potentially harmful to steelhead and coho salmon.
In addition, since the State Water Board Order was adopted, the water agency has had problems meeting instream flow requirements in the Russian River due to water diversions by agriculture and municipalities outside of its service area.
“The agency is facing difficulties implementing the order to date and has identified several steps that must be taken immediately and long-term to correct the inefficiencies of our water system,” said Smith. “We need the necessary tools to properly and effectively manage the Russian River system to benefit all species, including fish and humans.”
The water agency submitted a work plan to meet the 15 percent requirement is available on its Web site at www.sonomacountywater.org.
The work plan details the steps the water agency has taken, and will take, to manage and coordinate efforts by its water contractors, cities and water districts in Sonoma and Marin counties, along with agricultural communities and municipalities outside of its service area to conserve water this summer and early fall. The water agency was given 30 days from the time the order was issued on June 13 to develop the work plan.