Solano County fights California water-cut plan to save fish

SACRAMENTO — As the California State Water Resources Control board meets at the California Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters for three days of discussion on its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan Solano County water officials are there to speak in opposition to a course of action that could see the county's water allocation from Lake Berryessa cut by 75%.

Chris Lee and Alex Rabidoux of the Solano County Water Agency presented information regarding the growth of salmon populations in Putah Creek in recent years. The state has claimed that diminished river flows in these areas are harming fish habitats and are ecologically detrimental to the water system as a whole, but SCWA argues that Putah Creek is already a standout example of salmon repopulation.

The unimpaired flows recommended in the state's draft plan would drastically alter Solano County's water portfolios, leaving the county with just 25% of the surface water it works with now, and creating a potential scarcity for municipal water systems. While the county is in good shape compared to others across the region about groundwater access, Lee said, the impacts could be severe.

"It would impact all of our large cities in Solano, our agricultural community, and it's not just a haircut of water, it's a dramatic change to our water portfolio," Rabidoux said. "It would have building moratoriums, it would economically impact our community, it would impact Travis Air Force Base and their reliable water supply. It just would really turn our county upside-down."

Spanning hundreds of miles from north of Lake Shasta to Fresno, the tributaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers that feed into the San Francisco Bay reach well into the Sierra Nevadas and Central Valley. The draft plan calls for 55% unimpaired flows of water through the area and would mandate a minimum level of 900,000 acre-feet in Lake Berryessa for cold water storage supply for the Sacramento River, leaving Solano County cities' agriculture with even less in drought years.

The draft report of the plan came out last fall, Lee said, and local organizations across the Bay-Delta watershed expressed concerns about what it could mean. This week's meetings are focused on what the policy could look like, and how pitfalls could be avoided.

"We're pretty excited locally in Solano County about what we're already doing on Putah Creek," Rabidoux said.

SCWA has worked hard alongside UC Davis, Yolo County and other stakeholders to improve salmon habitat in Putah Creek, Lee said, and has come a long way in that effort. Following reconstruction, cold water now extends much further down Putah Creek than it previously did, which has brought salmon populations back. While SCWA is happy to work alongside the state, he said, they already believe they have a success story on their hands.

A decision on this issue will not be made until later this year or early next year, Lee said, but the public must provide their input to the state regarding the decision. This plan has been on the top of the radar for city water managers in Solano County, Rabidoux said, especially after SCWA was able to give presentations on the issue at several city council meetings in the county.

"The common theme behind many of these boards is, 'The state can't be serious. They cannot seriously be imposing such drastic impacts to Solano County,'" he said.

SCWA has worked on habitat restoration, fish passage issues, and more over the years to make the creek more habitable for chinook fall run salmon, Rabidoux said, and the fish now return to Putah Creek each year at higher levels than they used to. The county is also looking at working with UC Davis at their Putah Creek Riparian Reserve to further improve habitats in the area. Ultimately, he said, a plan that simply increases flow without considering other metrics or concerns cannot be as effective as the more comprehensive, holistic approach that SCWA would like to see the state take.

"It's really a story of more than just flow," he said. "It's flow, it's habitat. it's science, it's monitoring, that really then makes a comprehensive picture."