This is a very contentious issue in the Mark West Creek watershed, an important fisheries being negatively impacted by piece-mealing construction for a winery. The applicant, Dumol Winery, is trying to get approval in the sensitive upper Mark West Creek watershed with its significant steelhead habitat. The creek already has significant impacts from the winery […]
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Frost Protection Workshop Comments Due Next Tuesday, 11/10
Hi all, This is just a friendly reminder that comments to SWRCB for the frost protection workshop are due NEXT Tuesday, 11/10 at NOON. See below. You have probably all seen this Ukiah Daily Journal article about a recent Farm Bureau and FFF meeting and the 11/18 SWRCB workshop. As the FB noted in the […]
Read MoreIs Schwarzenegger Trading Klamath Dam Removal for the Destruction of the Delta?
Dan Bacher, November 15, 2009 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger never misses an opportunity to push his environmentally destructive and enormously costly $ 9.3 billion water bond proposal to build two new reservoirs and “improved conveyance” – the peripheral canal. True to his role as the “Fish Terminator,” the Governor used a press conference that he appeared […]
Read MoreUpdate on Jenner Headlands Acquisition by Sonoma Land Trust
Update: Sonoma Land Trust’s Jenner Headlands Project Posted by: “Rue” pqrst@monitor.net Tue Nov 3, 2009 12:32 pm (PST) This is great news. Note the opportunities to get on the land. A spectacular view, and we’ll work to protect the rest of the coastal area, plus get this piece connected to Armstrong Woods. That will be […]
Read MoreKlamath Dam Deal Announced, But What’s on Deck?
Klamath Dam Deal Announced, But What’s on Deck? Dam removal still linked to settlement scheme harmful to fish and wildlife Steve Pedery, Oregonwild, September 30, 2009 Negotiators from Oregon, California, the U.S. Department of Interior, and the utility company PacifiCorp released a final draft today of a plan to remove four aging dams on the […]
Read MoreRussian River Instream Flow and Restoration
Public Policy Facilitating Committee Meeting for the Russian River Section 7 Consultation Date: Thursday, October 29 Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m.Public Meeting Location: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA The Public Policy Facilitating Committee (PPFC) meets to discuss, disseminate information and take public comment on the implementation of Section 7 of […]
Read MoreNew Winery and Vineyard Permits
To All, Looking through the permit applications at PRMD since last June, here are new winery/vineyard permits. Will these all sail through the PRMD process (BZA, Planning Commission, BOS) without real consideration of water (drought, future water needs, conservation, etc.), wine glut, economical diversity, wildlife areas and wildlife corridors, intrusions upon the impacts and character […]
Read MoreRussian River Tour to Highlight Importance of Restoration
For Immediate Release: 5 October 2009 Contact: Cori Hach 415.561.3474 ext. 226 cell: 970.274.0600 Russian River Tour to Highlight Importance of Restoration HEALDSBURG – On Thursday, 8 October, local and regional elected representatives, landowners, and natural resource managers will be joined by a coalition of fisheries experts, conservationists, and commercial fishermen for a tour of […]
Read MoreWHERE’S THE WATER (for Santa Rosa)?
WHERE’S THE WATER? EDITOR: It seems to me that the Santa Rosa City Council is on the wrong track when members are more concerned about low-income housing than water (“SR council sees new general plan,” Sept. 23). We are being asked to conserve water with a population of about 158,000. The general plan estimates population […]
Read MoreReport on SR’s Legal Action Against SCWA Over Water
Correction: rate-payer money fighting rate-payer money. Stephen There’s something very wrong about tax-payer money fighting tax-payer money. Ray In Judge Tansil’s courtroom this afternoon, SR’s complaint to compel a temporary restraining order against SCWA’s Board of Directors to keep them from hearing and acting on their agenda items Tuesday morning was denied. Judge Tansil found that […]
Read MoreWater Agency changes direction
Abandons More Diversion in Favor of Conservation and Reuse Frank Robertson, Sonoma West Staff Writer, September 16, 2009 SANTA ROSA – Despite opposition from its water customers the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this week adopted a dramatic new plan to divert less water from the Russian River to supply future urban growth in Marin […]
Read MoreThe Day the Water Bubble Burst
From SR Council Watch On September 15, 2009, the Sonoma County water bubble burst when Supervisors voted to deep-six a grand design, known as the “Water Plan,” intended to increase future supplies of the wet stuff. After over 15 years of work, the Sonoma County Water Authority (SCWA) no longer saw any prospect of success […]
Read MoreCalifornia Water Code 1259.2 Annual Report – 2008
FYI…!! At what point of over-appropriation do Water Rights become Water Wrongs?? Brock Subject: California Water Code 1259.2 Annual Report – 2008 This is a message from the State Water Resources Control Board. California Water Code 1259.2 requires the Division of Water Rights to prepare an annual summary of pending water right applications for the […]
Read MoreScott and Shasta Rivers are De-Watered
FYI…SCOTT AND SHASTA RIVERS DE-WATERED IN CRITICAL SPAWNING SEASON: Inadequate late-summer flows on the Klamath River are, unfortunately, nothing unusual, but the series of low flows currently assailing the Scott and Shasta Rivers, two critical tributaries to the mainstem Klamath, is simply unprecedented. The Klamath is a river which flows from southern Oregon through northern […]
Read MoreSanta Rosa’s Petitions for TRO Against SC Water Agency
Available below is Santa Rosa’s Petition for Temporary Restraining Order against SCWA.It is, in my first reading, unfortunately laden with half truths and misstatements.David KellerBay Area DirectorFriends of the Eel River 2009-09-10 SR Complaint re TRO
Read MoreOn SCWA, Russian River Water, and Petaluma
New-Wave Water Policy Petaluma — the little town that did Huey D. Johnson San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, January 4, 2001 A HEADLINE for the history books caught my attention recently: “Council wants to leave unused water in Russian.” (The Petaluma city council, the Russian River.) As far as I know, municipal action to leave unallocated […]
Read MoreWhat Are They Thinking?
Santa Rosa is charging ahead in a bizarre and quixotic venture to wring more water out of the Russian and Eel Rivers, by suing SCWA. While SCWA has been promising paper water for 20 plus years, Santa Rosa seems to have mistaken that for real water they believe is just beyond their grasp. Is Santa […]
Read MoreSanta Rosa Ready To Sue For More Water
Mike McCoy, The Press Democrat September 3, 2009 Santa Rosa’s City Council voted Thursday to file a lawsuit against the Sonoma County Water Agency to force the county’s water supplier to continue to pursue plans to draw more water from the Russian River. “It about water rights,” said Mayor Susan Gorin, who said it’s the […]
Read MoreComments on the Klamath TMDL
August 21, 2009Matt St. John North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board 5550 Skyline Blvd, Suite ASanta Rosa, CA 95403Email to: MStJohn@waterboards.ca.gov Subject: Comments on the Klamath Mainstem TMDL Water Quality Restoration PlanGeneral Comments We are pleased with and fully supportive of Staff’s efforts in these Draft Water Quality Restoration Plan (“Implementation Plan”) provisions as well as in […]
Read MoreWater Wars: Santa Rosa City Sues County Agency
Hi Water Friends: Today Santa Rosa City Council voted UNANIMOUSLY to file suit against SCWA for failing to continue the quest for an extra 26,000 AFY water rights. SR claims they don’t want the water for new growth, they just want enough water to meet future needs (and what other needs besides new growth?) While […]
Read MoreDiscussion on Water Irrigation Article
Here’s the abstract of the paper Ms. Pace refers to (and supplied the link to). Jeavons probably does apply, but the study suggests that it’s also related to how natural processes work in arid lands. Jane Climate change, water supply limits, and continued population growth have intensified the search for measures to conserve water in […]
Read MoreWater Conservation in Irrigation Can Increase Water Use
Frank A. Warda, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM Manuel Pulido-Velazquez, Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering–Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Cami de Vera s/n 46120 Valencia, Spain Edited by Partha Sarathi Dasgupta, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, and approved September […]
Read MoreKlamath Letter
Klamath Watershed folks, I want to call you attention to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science which looked at whether investments in irrigation system efficiency actually save water. They looked at the entire Upper Rio Grand Basin and concluded that: “In contrast to widely-held beliefs, our results show that […]
Read MoreSample Letter Regarding Russian River Low Flows
Hi folks: I’m sending this out before tonight’s meeting, but I’m so late, I don’t expect any group action tonight. I just want you to see this attached letter. When this issue heats up, I hope SCWC will write a letter also. (Sorry I didn’t get this to Stephen in a more timely email.) I […]
Read MoreResponse to Frost Protection and Other Vineyard Impacts
I have watched the changes in agriculture from apples and timber to grapes over the years. I have also watched the increase in local flash flooding events in Atascadero Creek and other areas in the county. Vineyards are the obvious culprit responsible for the flash flooding, hot dry creek beds, and the loss of endangered […]
Read More“California Water Solutions Now”
Report: Goals And Principles for Reliable Water Supply and Fish Restoration The Environmental Water Caucus (EWC), a California-based coalition of many groups advocating for sustainable and equitable water use in the state which includes PCFFA, has released a new report unveiling a vision for the future of California water. The report is based on the […]
Read More10 Strategic Goals Toward Reliable Water Supplies and Habitat Recovery
Implement ecologically sustainable and cost effective water supply efficiency targets that reduce demand or increase supply. Reduce exports from the SF Bay Delta, minimize reverse flows in the Delta, and increase Delta outflow. Restore instream flows, volumes and patterns for aquatic ecosystems. Provide fish passage above and below dams for all at-risk salmonid species. Retain […]
Read MoreGreat News for Greywater!
Great news for greywater! Yesterday the Building Standards Commission voted to pass the new California greywater code (Chapter 16 in the CA Plumbing Code). This was passed as an emergency measure due to the drought and water shortages faced in the state. The code will be going through a public review process for the next […]
Read MoreNMFS Solutions Meeting on Frost Protection
All,Just sending a reminder regarding the frost task force meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 13th at 9:30 in Room 215 at the Santa Rosa Federal Building located at 777 Sonoma Ave, Santa Rosa. The agenda for the meeting is as follows;-NMFS criteria for effective solutions relating to frost protection- David Hines/Sarah Spilseth-Upper Russian River Working group update […]
Read MoreWater Conservation Field Day changed to Aug. 12
FYI, The time and day for this week’s Water Conservation Field Day has changed from August 13th to August 12th from 11 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The location is the same: Hoot Owl Creek and Alexander Valley Vineyards at 8595 Highway 128, which is just north of Alexander Valley School near Healdsburg. PLEASE RSVP TODAY […]
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