Hearing sought on Russian River water order

A Russian River environmental group Thursday asked state water regulators to hold a public hearing on their order lowering river flows and implementing a 25 percent conservation goal.

Don McEnhill of Russian Riverkeeper said it would be a chance for the state Water Resources Control Board to clarify a directive that could have a dramatic impact on North Bay water use.

“We don’t object to the whole goal of conserving water in Lake Mendocino,” McEnhill said. “What we are objecting to are certain provisions that are very unclear and depending on how they are interpreted could have a negative impact.”

The state Water Resources Control Board handed down the order Monday night, granting a petition by the Sonoma County Water Agency to lower Russian River flows now and even further in the summer to conserve water in Lake Mendocino.

As part of its order, however, the state state also mandated the Water Agency reduce the amount of water it takes from the Russian River by 25 percent and implements conservation goals of 25 percent in Sonoma County and 50 percent in Mendocino County.

The state order for Russian River water use and conservation, however, went beyond the Water Agency’s expectations.

The order was signed by Victoria Whitney, the water board’s deputy director of water rights. Spokesman Bill Rukeyser said the state Watr Resources Control Board has given authority to staff to issue such orders, and will typically hold a public hearing if there are any challenges.

The Sonoma County Water Agency, which controls much of the release of water from Lake Mendocino near Ukiah and Lake Sonoma west of Cloverdale into the Russian River and also delivers water to 600,000 people, endorsed Russian Riverkeeper’s request.

“We would be in favor of a workshop in April or early May to talk about our progress and any challenges we are facing,” agency spokesman Brad Sherwood said. “We are also doing public meetings in Ukiah, Healdsburg and Guerneville later this month to go over the order and ask the community for help.”

McEnhill said the state hearing could result in changes. “There is an opportunity to improve this order, to help the cities and water agency and different contractors be clear on what they are complying with,” he said. “And we think it needs to do what it is designed to do — that there is enough water left over for the fall chinook migration.”

Russian Riverkeeper also is asking for a clarification on which water rights on the Russian River have priority and the meaning of a ban on the irrigation of commercial turf.

“We are certainly looking to get this order improved and get through this summer. Hopefully the rains come, but we need to recognize we may not get the rain. We need to prepare for another dry year,” McEnhill said.

The Water Agency had asked the state board for an urgency order to reduce releases from Lake Mendocino, which is 60 percent full now but would be depleted by the end of summer at the current rate of release.

At the same time, the Water Agency has told its customers, the major cities and water districts from Windsor to San Rafael, that restrictions on Dry Creek flow would limit how much Lake Sonoma water would be available.