posted Feb. 1, 2004

The Russian River, Sonoma County's major water source, is about to suffer a serious decline in water levels. First, and most importantly, the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) has made it clear that it intends to pump an enormous quantity of water out of the River to support future growth. Sonoma County has seen unprecedented growth since the end of World War II, as a result, SCWA has pumped increasing amounts of water from the Russian River to accommodate the burgeoning population.

This pumping has been masked by diversions from the Eel River in Mendicino that poured into the Russian River. However, these Eel River diversions will be reduced due to a court ruling. The amount of the reduced flows from the Eel to the Russian may vary from year to year and range anywhere from 15% to fully 80% in reduced flow. NOAA Fisheries will ultimately make these decisions.

What this means for Sonoma County is a serious reduction in water in the single-most plentiful source, the Russian River. But this is only half of the story.

In addition to losing the usual diversions from the Eel River, SCWA intends to continue pumping water out of the Russian River to meet future growth projections concocted during a time when the current water problem was not as widely admitted as it is today. SCWA has plans for additional "extractors" along the banks of the Russian River. An "extractor" is a super well, 18 feet wide, 300-plus feet deep. Such super wells act like gigantic vacuum cleaners that can, when fired up, visibly reduce the water level in the river above.

A conference in Guernville on January 22nd, Chaired by Supervisor Mike Reilly, discussed the proposed reduction in the Russian River water level. Oddly, the discussions seemed to center around fish and and not future growth. SCWA and NOAA Fisheries officials attempted to make a case that fish need less [sic] water. Indeed, they argued that it is imperative to reduce flows in the Russian River to save the fish. Blaming increased pumping for future growth on the fish seems a bit of a stretch, but stretch they did. Unfortunately, some people still think that increased pumping of Russian River water has something to do with fish.

Three speakers, however presented interesting observations regarding our problem of vanishing water resources: Rep. Lynn Woolsey; former Assembly member Virginia Strom-Martin and Don McEnhill, the Russian River Keeper.

Their addresses are presented below in PDF format.