Advocates for the Public Trust
“The grand strategy would seem to fit with Water Audit goals….”
— Dr. Peter Moyle, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California Davis
On January 30, 2024, Governor Newsom announced California’s Salmon Strategy to restore native fish populations and adapt to climate change. Water Audit California welcomes this policy initiative.
A selection of quotes from the Kern County Superior Court’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction in Bring Back The Kern v Bakersfield.
Today, the Kern County Superior Court granted Water Audit California’s and other
joint plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that prevents the City of Bakersfield from
making diversions in a manner that habitually dries the Kern River.
On August 10, 2023 a coalition of community advocacy groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to return a living river to the City of Bakersfield. The litigation proposes a community alternative will maintain both river and irrigation flows by relocating diversions to downstream of the City.
The speakers list and agenda for the Napa Water Forum 2023, to be held at 1:00 p.m. on March 24 at 937 Coombs Street in Napa, California.
The Napa Water Forum will continue as scheduled, despite the County CEO’s prohibition on employees presenting their work or attending.
Water Forum 2023 will be held on March 24, 2023. Presenters will speak to the future of county-wide integrated water and wastewater systems.
In March 2023, Water Audit and Save Napa Valley Foundation will cohost the 2023 Napa Water Forum – The Refugia Project to share our findings and proposals with the public.
In March 2023, Water Audit and Save Napa Valley Foundation will cohost 2023 Napa Water Forum – The Refugia Project to share our findings and proposals with the public.
There will be limited seating, so please reserve tickets early.
Six miles of habitat on the Auburn Ravine have been opened to for migrating and resident fish by the completion of the the Nevada Irrigation District’s Hemphill fish passage.
Rich Marovich’s 21 years of service as streamkeeper of Putah Creek has left a legacy of water resource conservation that serves as a model and inspiration for communities across California.
WAC has been able to verify that construction of the Hemphill Dam fish passage is underway. This project is the culmination of a 20-year process involving citizen advocates and regulatory agencies, including litigation by Water Audit California.
A push has begun to remove or remediate fish barriers in Napa County. The Napa County Resource Conservation District and Water Audit California have come up with a list of 51 barriers that, if removed, would open up more than 250 miles of spawning habitat.
A settlement agreement ending litigation between the California Department of State Hospitals and Water Audit California that was announced today will improve conditions for fish in Cayetano Creek while allowing Skyline Park visitors to continue to enjoy Lake Marie as a hiking destination. This resolution is representative of two principles: we can manage what we measure, and we can always do better. This settlement is the next step in Water Audit’s Napa Valley remediation program that has so far included securing dam bypasses from Kimball, Rector, Bell Canyon dams, and the removal of obstructions to spawning in Garnet and York Creeks.
The American Bar Association’s Natural Resources & Environment vol 36 no 1 contained “Rewatering Napa’s Rivers” by Karrigan Bork and Amber Manfree. The article describes the history of California’s legislative efforts to protect fisheries, the structural failures which led to non-enforcement, and the role of private entities like Water Audit in effecting the will of …
If you missed one or both of the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Public Meetings on September 22nd and September 29, you can now watch them on the Water Audit California website.
Legal action by Water Audit California has prompted Nevada Irrigation District to adopt a fish passage improvement plan for Hemphill Dam in Auburn Ravine.
“The current scale of wine production, driven in part by global business interests, is impossible to support as the megadrought continues. It is time to accept this new reality, to get our land use and water policies in order, and to focus on learning from people who are pouring their time, money and energy into finding new and more sustainable ways to live with our changing environment.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Water Audit California is again suing the City of St. Helena over their management of water resources. This comes on the heels of a similar suit filed June 1 against Napa County. Both cases aim to increase monitoring and oversight of groundwater and surface water resources.
A week ago, we filed a lawsuit against the County of Napa for Negligent Breach of Trustee Duties and related issues. We’ve decided to publish the full text so you can read our reasons for yourselves.
The City of Napa has panned the County of Napa’s Draft Environmental Impact Report for the KJS Investment & Sorrento, Inc. Vineyard Conversion, concluding that “The absence of any real water supply impacts analysis renders the DEIR deficient.” Full document attached.
Water Audit California is pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement of our controversy with the City of St. Helena. It represents a substantial evolution for the City that we both hope will result in a sustainable water future. Water Audit commends the City for its decision to adopt the principles of science …
Continue reading “Joint Statement Regarding the Protection of Public Trust Resources”
Water Audit California is pleased to announce that our inspectors have observed water flowing at the site of the recently-removed York Creek dam in Napa. Local authorities had stalled on the court-ordered removal of this dam for a decade until WAC began enforcement action in 2017. Removal activities began earlier this summer and WAC can confirm that the passage is now clear in time for winter rains.
A coalition of public interest organizations hosted the 2020 Napa Water Forum, with generous support from leading Napa wineries. The Forum introduced an innovative environmental management strategy. A panel of distinguished experts spoke on the history of Napa’s relationship with its watercourse, its unique opportunities in the future, the principles of environmental reconciliation, and the highly topical subject of groundwater management and its relationship to surface flows.
The Refugia Project arose from the Forum’s first principle: In Data We Trust. An early-stage work-in-progress, The Refugia Project is organizing, making accessible and actionable the enormous amount of open source data already available about the Napa Valley ecosystems.
Dr. Peter Moyle Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and associate director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, UC Davis. Dr. Moyle is author or co-author of more than 250 publications, including Inland Fishes of California (2002) and “Suisun Marsh: ecological history and possible futures” co-authored with Amber Manfree and Peggy …
“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”~ Albert Einstein Growers and Vintners for Responsible Agriculture, Napa Vision 2050 and Water Audit California present WE MANAGE WHAT WE MEASURE:A NAPA WATER FORUM Friday, February 7, 2020 at NOON Concerned residents of Napa County seek to protect the natural environment from further degradation. Multi-layered federal, state and local …
Water Audit California has filed suit against the Nevada Irrigation District’s Hemphill Diversion Facility (Hemphill Dam) alleging it “is an unlawful stream obstruction and an unlawful manner of diversion”.
“The reservoir serving Yountville and the neighboring Veterans Home of California has become the latest Napa County water source to be targeted in court for allegedly siphoning excessive water and damaging fish habitats. A lawsuit filed by Water Audit California demands a curtailing of water diversions to Rector Reservoir, which is owned by the state …
Continue reading “Lawsuit demands monitoring, fish protection at Yountville-area reservoir”