“In a significant legal push to protect California’s waterways, Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined forces with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, filing an amicus brief on an ongoing case.
…
Bonta highlighted the importance of fish and game code section 5937, which protects the state’s waterways and wildlife.
He said:
We urge the Court to allow enough water to flow in the Kern River, as required by law, to preserve ecosystems and ensure sustainability and viability of our fish populations.” [Read More]
“There’s been a welcome turn of events for Bring Back the Kern, the group that’s been trying to compel the city of Bakersfield to halt its ongoing, wholesale diversion of water from the Kern River.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, has filed an amicus brief with an appeals court in support of the pro-flow plaintiffs.
Last year, a coalition of environmental groups, led by Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California, were granted their motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the city of Bakersfield to cease its practice of completely drying up the Kern River — in violation, they say, of the California Fish and Game code.
But a handful of agricultural water districts, served by the city’s diversions of water, appealed the trial court’s decision requiring that some water be left in the river. Bakersfield saw the result on Labor Day weekend, when the water diversion left thousands of fish to die on the dry riverbed.
Bonta’s friend of the court filing puts the state squarely behind the lawsuit against the city and its co-defendants…” [Read More]
“The big picture; Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California, among other environmental groups, sued Bakersfield in 2022 after the Kern River abruptly dried up, which killed thousands of fish. (…) Go deeper: Bakersfield has control over where water is diverted along the Kern River. While some of the water is used in the city, much of it has been directed to the agricultural water districts for farming.” [Read More]
“California officials have joined a legal effort to restore water to the Kern River after an abrupt shutoff of water dried up the river and killed thousands of fish in Bakersfield.
The decision by state officials and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to intervene in the court case gives new impetus to environmental groups as they try to compel the city of Bakersfield and agricultural water districts to bring back a flowing river.
Bonta announced Monday that he and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife filed a brief supporting the environmental groups in the case before the state’s 5th District Court of Appeal.
“California’s waterways and ecosystems are the lifeblood of our state’s rich and diverse wildlife and natural habitats,” Bonta said. “Yet, in Bakersfield, the sudden loss of Kern River flows due to the city officials’ decisions to divert all water away from the river, is leaving behind a dry wasteland where fish are dying in droves.”” [Read More]
The following is the full text of the Amicu Brief of the California Attorney General in support of the plaintiffs in Bring Back the Kern, et al v. City of Bakersfield.
Amici curiae respectfully submit this brief in support of the environmental organization respondents (Environmental Respondents).1 This Court should uphold the trial court’s issuance of the preliminary injunction against Respondent City of Bakersfield (City) for its ongoing violations of Section 5937 by routinely dewatering an approximately twenty-mile stretch of the Kern River downstream of the City’s six weirs.2
“Two powerful California agencies have jumped into the legal fight over flows in the lower Kern River.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a brief Monday “on behalf of the People of the State” as well as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife urging the 5th District Court of Appeals to reinstate a Kern County judge’s order mandating enough water be allowed to run through the river to keep fish alive.” [Read More]
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, today filed an amicus brief with the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, in support of the environmental plaintiffs in Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield. Last year, a coalition of environmental groups, led by Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California, were granted their motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the City of Bakersfield to cease completely drying up the Kern River in violation of California Fish and Game Code section 5937. This critically important state environmental statute requires all dam owners and operators to release sufficient water below dams to keep fish below the dams in “good condition.”
However, certain agricultural water districts, served by the City’s diversions from the Kern River, appealed the trial court’s decision requiring some water to be left in the river, arguing that the trial court wrongly interpreted Section 5937 and that the City could continue to periodically completely drain sections of the river. The real-world impact of the City’s decisions was illustrated most recently the Friday before Labor Day of this year, when the City once again diverted all of the flows from the Kern River below the Calloway Weir to deliver to agricultural customers, leaving thousands of fish to die.
“California’s waterways and ecosystems are the lifeblood of our state’s rich and diverse wildlife and natural habitats,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Yet, in Bakersfield, the sudden loss of Kern River flows due to the city officials’ decisions to divert all water away from the river, is leaving behind a dry wasteland where fish are dying in droves. With today’s amicus brief, we urge the Court to allow enough water to flow in the Kern River, as required by law, to preserve ecosystems and ensure sustainability and viability of our fish populations.”
“Conserving and protecting our fish and wildlife, and the habitats they call home, is of vital importance to the people of California. Failing to provide enough water for fish downstream not only damages ecosystems and fish populations but also violates California law,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham. “This case could impact California’s ability to protect vulnerable fish and wildlife populations in the future. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife stands in partnership with Attorney General Bonta to help protect these irreplaceable fish populations for generations to come.”
In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta highlights the importance of Section 5937 to protecting California’s waterways and wildlife. The brief argues that the City of Bakersfield must comply with the plain language of California Fish and Game Code Section 5937 and release sufficient flows below the City’s six dams to keep fish in the Kern River in “good condition.” The brief further argues that the water districts’ concerns regarding the available water supply can be addressed at the remedy stage of the injunctive proceedings, when the trial court will decide what specific amounts of flows are necessary to comply with Section 5937 pending entry of final judgment in the case.
“Another big hitter in California rivers has waded into the ongoing Kern River legal battle.
California Trout, a conservation group dedicated to healthy rivers, filed a brief with the 5th District Court of Appeal asking justices to reinstate an injunction that had required enough water be kept in the river for fish to survive.
CalTrout has been watching the Kern River case closely, said attorney Walter Collins.
“First, the Kern is a really important river in California,” Collins said. “And our interest in this case surrounds (California) Fish and Game Code 5937. It is a central pillar of protection in California for rivers and species. Any time it’s under threat, CalTrout will be there to protect its legacy.”” [Read More]
The following is the full text of the Amicu Brief of California Trout, Inc (aka CalTrout) in support of the plaintiffs in Bring Back the Kern, et al v. City of Bakersfield.
California Trout (“CalTrout”) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. CalTrout’s mission is to ensure healthy waters and resilient wild fish for a better California. CalTrout manages over 60 large-scale freshwater restoration projects throughout the state of California. Our goal is to restore populations of California’s native salmon and steelhead trout and preserve California’s keystone species for future generations. CalTrout’s ten regional offices work to address California’s complex natural resource issues driven by climate change and to protect and restore California’s unique biodiversity.
“Residents intent on getting at least some water flowing in the Kern River through Bakersfield brought their concerns – and some pointed questions – to board members of the Kern County Water Agency on Thursday.
“I don’t mean to be combative, but why is this board funding attorneys to keep water from going back into the river using public taxpayer dollars?” asked Chris Molina, with Bring Back the Kern, which is suing the City of Bakersfield over how it operates the Kern River.
Molina also submitted a Public Records Act request to the agency seeking invoices paid to Attorney Nick Jacobs with the Sacramento law firm Somach Simmons & Dunn. Jacobs represents the agency on the Kern River case.” [Read More]
“More than 3,000 fish have been found dried up and dead along a five-mile stretch of a California river after waterflow was abruptly cut off.
CSUB Biology Professor, Rae McNeish, and her students have counted a shocking 3,033 dead fishes over a course of seven days – a feat that sparked an investigation from the Fish and Wildlife Department, according to KGET.
The once-flowing Kern River in Bakersfield – located 100 miles northeast of Santa Barbara – has run dry after the city’s water allotment was used up in August and the precious liquid is now going to water districts, which divert it to canals, the local outlet reported.” [Read More]
“Over the last three weeks, ecologist Rae McNeish and her students have watched as a flowing river has abruptly dwindled to a dry riverbed.
While conducting biological surveys along the Kern River in Bakersfield, they have seen water retreat into stagnant pools and then vanish, leaving stretches of bare sand and cracked mud.
They have found some fish flopping helplessly along the banks, and masses of dead fish scattered on the riverbed by the hundreds.
“We’re all very surprised at how quickly things changed,” said McNeish, an associate professor of biology at Cal State Bakersfield. “It’s really sad to see.”” [Read More]
“A prestigious, international law firm has joined the legal team representing local groups suing the City of Bakersfield over how it operates the Kern River.
Morrison Foerster is well-known in environmental advocacy circles for, among other things, its work on the Mono Lake case that resulted in the “National Audubon Society v. Superior Court” decision. (…)
Two partners, Bryan Wilson and William Frentzen, along with four associates, will join attorneys Adam Keats, who represents Bring Back the Kern, and William McKinnon, who represents Water Audit California…” [Read more]
“The once flowing Kern River in Bakersfield is now dry as a bone. At the Bakersfield city council meeting Wednesday night, outraged citizens expressed their grief over the current state of the river and the wildlife it supports.
City councilmembers said the ball is now in the courts of two local water districts, North Kern Storage Water District and Kern Delta.
Members told those citizens to appeal to them instead.
“I’ll be even more blunt than the city manager,” said city attorney, Ginny Gennaro. “I would encourage you to go to Kern Delta, they have public meetings and tell them about why you want water in the river.”” [Read More]
After Council Member Andrae Gonzales led a choreographed Q&A with city staffers to show that Bakersfield had run through its share of river water by the end of August, City Attorney Ginny Gennaro jumped in.
“I’ll be even more blunt,” she said. “Go to Kern Delta (Water District) and tell them about why you want water in the river. Go to North Kern (Water Storage District) and be as direct with them as you have been with us.”
After the city’s rights petered out last month, staff explained, the bulk of the river’s water is now going to those districts, who take it out of the riverbed east of Manor Street.
…
“More than 3,000 dead fish is a failure,” he said, in reference to comments by Rae McNeish, a California State University, Bakersfield biology professor who’s been studying the river through this summer. She said she and her students had counted more than 3,000 dead fish within the 1.5 mile Bakersfield Environmental Studies Area, which includes the river from about Calloway Drive to Coffee Road.” [Read More]
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is looking into the mass fish die off in the Kern River after the City of Bakersfield cut flows on Tuesday in order to do weir maintenance.
“CDFW takes all instances of fish mortality seriously and is investigating what has occurred on the Kern and how it may relate to the authorizations that the City has from CDFW for work on the Kern,” wrote Julie Vance, regional manager of the agency’s central region, in an email.” [Read More]
“The city of Bakersfield announced Tuesday it was cutting back Kern River flows for a maintenance project. But the hundreds of dead and dying fish found Friday near the Stockdale Highway bridge suggest water had already been ratcheted back.
It’s unknown when flows through Bakersfield might return.
The rapidity of the river’s dewatering and breadth of the ensuing carnage elicited gasps from Cal State University Bakersfield biology Professor Rae McNeish and two students early Friday morning as they clambered over sand bars that had been under water just two days prior.
…
As devastating as the scene was, McNeish and her students, Isaac Owens and Andrew Alba, quickly got to work counting and photographing the fish, testing what was left of the water and retrieving a temperature sensor tangled in weeds now high above a drying puddle.” [Read more]
“Flowing water, an essential resource, which is often overlooked. Now reduced from Stockdale Highway to the east by the city to address maintenance and infrastructure needs.
“We are taking too much water out and we are wasting too much water so if we would waste less water then we would not have the problem,” said Dr. Antje Lauer.
Biologist Dr. Antje Lauer of CSUB said the city’s need to reduce river flow shows flaws in its water management. And if this goes on for too long it could have grave effects as fish are dying all along the river.
“If you have to do that you have to rescue as many animals as you can before you do that,” said Lauer.” [Read More]
Boaters and anglers believe Southern California Edison doesn’t leave enough water in a stretch of the Kern River above Kernville to support a healthy fish population. They want the utility to conduct a robust flow study as part of its quest to relicense its power plant.
The company is conducting a “Level 1” study of “angling and aesthetic flows” on that 16-mile section of river.
…
That’s not good enough for groups concerned about the health of the river.
They want an intensive, “Level 3,” study including site visits and monitoring to establish a protective “minimum instream flow.” The groups are hoping enough signatures on a petition will convince FERC regulators to require a Level 3 study.” [Read More]
“The California Supreme Court, on Aug. 14, declined to review an objection by plaintiffs in the Kern River lawsuit to a lower court’s ruling that paused an order requiring water flows through Bakersfield.
That means the 5th District Court of Appeal will continue toward a hearing on whether the order was appropriate and the other part of the case will continue on its path in the Kern County Superior Court.
It also means the order remains paused, so there is no requirement that the City of Bakersfield keep water in the river for fish populations. What water has been flowing through town all summer was voluntarily put into the river bed by the city.” [Read more]
“Combatants over the Kern River met in court again Thursday to argue over the City of Bakersfield’s motion seeking an order to compel the plaintiffs to bring in all the rights holders as defendants.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp told the phalanx of attorneys on Thursday he would consider the arguments but did not set a new court date.
Whether agricultural water districts with Kern River rights are defendants or “real parties in interest” may seem like so much technical legal jargon to casual observers, but both sides agree that Pulskamp’s decision could be the difference between a one-and-done ruling and years more legal wrangling.
They just don’t agree on which decision will cause the drag out.” [Read More]
The Superior Court’s preliminary injunction stayed by the 5th Court of Appeals, the plaintiffs in the ‘Bring Back the Kern’ suit petitioned the California Supreme Court for review. Full text of the Petition for Review is attached.
“Plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit over the Kern River filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review an order that tossed out an injunction many had anticipated would guarantee a flowing river through Bakersfield.
Specifically, the petition asks the Supreme Court to direct the 5th District Court of Appeal to explain why it stayed the injunction that had required enough water in the river to keep fish in good condition. The Supreme Court petition was filed June 11.” [Read More]
“A former California public water district manager pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in connection with the theft of federally owned water.
Dennis Falaschi, 78, of Aptos, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Thurston, where he entered pleas on conspiring to take federally owned water and filing a false tax return.
Falaschi, formerly the general manager of a public water district in Fresno and Merced counties, faces a maximum of five years’ incarceration and $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge, and three years in prison and $100,000 fine on the tax charge.” [Read More]
“The 5th District Court of Appeal denied a petition Friday to rehear the court’s earlier decision to put a hold on a Kern County court’s order that had required the City of Bakersfield keep enough water in the Kern River for fish to survive.
Both plaintiffs in the action have said they will likely petition the California Supreme Court to review the 5th District’s ruling. The deadline is June 13.
…
As the river dries up, though, that could bring a new round of legal issues.
Fish would have naturally moved upstream as the water receded but weirs in the riverbed owned or operated by the city are preventing that, said Attorney Adam Keats, who represents Bring Back the Kern and several other public interest groups in a lawsuit against Bakersfield.
That’s a violation of California Fish and Game Code 5901, which states it’s illegal to build structures that impede fish passage in a river, he said.” [Read More]
“Further legal action on the Kern River was put on pause Thursday morning following an order by the 5th District Court of Appeal that stayed a local injunction mandating enough water be kept in the river for fish.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp said the 5th District’s order that stayed his earlier injunction was very broad putting a hold on the injunction as well as “all proceedings embraced or affected by” it. That in mind, he, in turn, put a pause on several pending motions.
Pulskamp set a case management date of Aug. 1 where, he told the phalanx of attorneys, he might move forward on some pieces of the underlying lawsuit.
But a lot depends on how fast the 5th District moves as it prepares to hear the appeal against his injunction.
…
Pulskamp asked attorneys Bill McKinnon, who represents Water Audit California, and Adam Keats, who represents Bring Back the Kern, if they would be taking the issue to the state’s top court.
McKinnon replied that he has a petition for rehearing prepared to send to the 5th District. Down the road, the Supreme Court might be a consideration but he would rather settle than escalate the fight.” [Read More]
The 5th District Court of Appeal issued an order on May 3, 2024, that stayed the preliminary injunctions of Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp in the Bring Back The Kern v City of Bakersfield lawsuit. The preliminary injunction required the City of Bakersfield ensure enough water remained in the Kern River to support fish.
“The 5th District Court of Appeal issued an order Friday that stayed the injunction requiring the City of Bakersfield to keep enough water in the Kern River to support fish.
That means the preliminary injunction issued by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp last fall ordering Bakersfield to keep the river flowing from about Hart Park to the McClung weir west of Allen Road is now null and void.
But it won’t mean a dry riverbed. At least not yet.
The city has committed to running enough water to keep the river flowing through town at least until August, according to Councilman Bob Smith.” [Read More]
“Kern River combatants are headed back to court where a local advocacy group hopes to force the City of Bakersfield to goose up flows, which were cut to a trickle leaving piles of dead fish west of Bakersfield. … The city, which operates the river according to more than 100 years of agreements and contracts, announced it would keep enough water in the river so that 5 cubic feet per second (cfs) reached the McClung weir, three miles west of Allen Road.
That choked flows farther west down to a dribble and fish died off en masse, sparking frustration among residents.” [Read More]
Residents of St. Helena have seen their water bills soar to more than twice the county’s average over the last 23 years with minimal improvement of services.
Proposition 218 requires utility rate studies every five years as justification for rate increases. In St. Helena, these studies have shown consistently that the city is in desperate need of capital improvement projects (CIPs) for their water and wastewater facilities currently estimated at $50 million. Why, then, is the city pursuing a mere $10 million bond? Is it an attempt to conceal the problem’s true extent?
During these rate studies, the same projects are cited repeatedly to support rate increases without progress…. … Capital facilities need money, but what happened to the money that the taxpayers had already dedicated? A thorough independent examination of the city’s financial practices and infrastructure needs is imperative. The current approach of merely issuing bonds to maintain the status quo is unsustainable and does a disservice to residents. It’s time for transparency, accountability, and meaningful action to address St. Helena’s endemic water management challenges. [Read More]
This story was published in the St. Helena Star on April 24, 2024.
Residents of St. Helena have seen their water bills soar to more than twice the county’s average over the last 23 years with minimal improvement of services.
Prop 218 requires utility rate studies every five years as justification for rate increases. In St. Helena, these studies have shown consistently that the city is in desperate need of capital improvement projects (CIPs) for their water and wastewater facilities currently estimated at $50 million. Why then, is the City pursuing a mere $10 million bond? Is it an attempt to conceal the problem’s true extent?
During these rate studies, the same projects are cited repeatedly to support rate increases without progress. For instance, the intake tower at Bell Canyon Reservoir partially collapsed in 2011 and repairs were included in the justification of raising rates that same year. However, it was not repaired and was used as justification to raise rates again in 2016 and 2023.
If money collected from ratepayers has not been going to essential CIPs, where has it been going? Water and wastewater enterprise funds have been diverted to legal expenses, hiring contractors over permanent employees, and paying significant portions of salaries for city management staff.
In 2017, St. Helena rescinded the Hall Winery’s Will Serve Letter, an agreement that the city would provide them water, resulting in a lawsuit which cost the city $900,000 in damages and $350,000 in legal fees. The $350,000 was paid out of ratepayers’ pockets—the water enterprise fund.
Since late 2020, the city’s struggle to recruit permanent water and wastewater operators led to a $4.3 million expenditure on contract employees in the last three years. Though the city was unable to provide salary information, it is estimated that hiring permanent employees would have saved the city approximately $3 million, money that could have been spent on CIPs.
This high turnover also reduced institutional memory; nearly costing ratepayers $900,000. The city witnessed six City Manager changes and five Public Works Directors in 11 years. The recent Director, unaware of a water tank’s age, deemed it the likely cause of the city’s persistent brown water issues. The seven-year-old tank with a 60–80-year lifespan prompted a nearly million-dollar epoxy plan until community whistleblowers highlighted its recent construction, deeming the expense unnecessary.
The city has been using water and wastewater enterprise funds to pay for large portions of staff salaries. The City Manager, Assistant City Manager, and the two Assistants to the City Managers’ salaries are all paid with 40% or more of their salaries coming from the water and wastewater enterprise funds. While these staff members do work with the water and wastewater systems, it is highly unlikely they spend over 40% of their time working in these systems to justify these allocations due to the fact they are also managing a police force, fire department, and more.
St. Helena has a history of deferring important projects and leaving residents to foot the bill. For instance, they postponed removing York Creek Dam for 27 years, leading to a tenfold cost increase. Paying fines of about $25,550 annually to NOAA, and losing a federal grant due to procrastination, residents ended up covering nearly 90% of the eventual $10 million cost.
City water policies have also favored commercial water users over residential ones. In the 2020-21 drought, a city council ordinance limited residential water users to 65 gallons per day per resident, a 43% reduction. This same ordinance only cut commercial use by 10%. St. Helena has a captive market on water because in 2012 it placed a moratorium on future residents drilling new wells on their property but has not placed similar restrictions on commercial users, nor enforced monitoring of these extractions.
In spite of this moratorium, groundwater extraction from the City’s Stonebridge complex has been recognized by the County as constituting major environmental injury to the Napa River, which has attracted continuing litigation.
The City also continues to ignore participation in a well-proposed county-wide water district schema that could save costs and reduce environmental injury. Why is maintaining a money losing ineffectual water fiefdom such a high priority?
Capital facilities need money, but what happened to the money that the taxpayers had already dedicated? A thorough examination of the City’s financial practices and infrastructure needs is imperative. The current approach of merely issuing bonds and maintaining the status quo is unsustainable and does a disservice to residents. It’s time for transparency, accountability, and meaningful action to address St. Helena’s water management challenges.
“Frustrated with the amount of water dribbling down the western reach of the Kern River, plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit over the river filed a motion Tuesday asking the judge in the case to intervene.
The motion says the City of Bakersfield has not maintained flows required to keep fish in good condition, particularly in the areas of the river from Allen Road westward.
“Fish have died and habitat has dried up and the Bakersfield community has lost much of the living river that it had enjoyed for almost all of 2023,” it says.
The motion seeks to compel the city to keep the flow at a specified level based on water levels where the river enters the city’s jurisdiction.” [Read More]
“More of the river has dried up, and the smell of death goes on for miles from the dead fish carcasses throughout the riverbed,” he wrote in an email. “It’s almost unbearable out there.”
Flows reaching the McClung Weir, about 3 miles west of Allen Road, have, indeed dropped. They had been about 14 cubic feet per second in January. But through most of March, they’ve gone down to about 5 cfs. … When asked about the flows and dead fish, Bakersfield Water Resources Director Kristina Budak wrote in an email that Judge Pulskamp’s order only mandates the city keep water in the river below its weirs – no further.
“City is currently following a ‘Revised-Interim Flow Regime’ proposed by the Real Parties in Interest wherein, at this time, the City is providing an adequate supply of water for fish flow,” Budak wrote. “Our observations indicate that this is sufficient to maintain a pool downstream of that (McClung) weir.”
Photos of dead fish, she noted, were taken of recharge basins along the river, not the riverbed itself.” [Read More]
“Avid cyclist and angler Jonathan Vegas was thrilled last fall when he read that a local judge had issued an injunction requiring the City of Bakersfield to keep enough water in the Kern River to support fish populations. … So, he was dismayed when he saw water dwindling in the riverbed west of town. At this point, he said, by the time the Kern River reaches Enos lane, the braided flows have mostly petered out leaving just a smattering of shrinking pools and dead and dying fish as he shows in a video he shot Feb. 11.
Vegas said he was unclear until then that the injunction issued Oct. 30 by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp only affects six weirs operated by the city from about Hart Park to the McClung weir, three miles west of Allen Road.
But the river stretches beyond that point, all the way to Interstate 5 and, historically, north to the old Tulare Lake in big water years.” [Read More]
“BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (CN) — An injunction protecting fish in California’s Kern River remains in place, even after a judge rebuffed several claims in a case looking to restore water to the dried up river.
Environmental groups — including Bring Back the Kern, Water Audit California and the Center for Biological Diversity — sued Bakersfield in 2022, saying that the city’s water diversions hurt wildlife habitats and the river’s ecosystem.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Greg Pulskamp overruled this week Bakersfield’s request to dismiss a claim relating to public trust and fish and game code — allowing a preliminary injunction imposed in October by Pulskam that requires a certain amount of water flow to protect fish to stay in effect.
The judge ruled that Bakersfield has a duty to comply with certain rules, including fish and game code. He also didn’t agree with the argument that weirs aren’t dams.” [Read More]
“A motion that challenged four claims made in a lawsuit against the City of Bakersfield over how it operates the Kern River got a half-and-half ruling from Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp Monday evening.
However, the heart of the lawsuit – that Bakersfield breached its duties under the Public Trust Doctrine by dewatering the river through town – will remain intact.” [Read More]
On February 5, 2024, Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp issued a preliminary ruling on four Causes of Action brought by plaintiffs against the City of Bakersfield for its management of Kern River water and ecology. Full text of the ruling follows.
“Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp let the battalion of attorneys in court Wednesday know he was inclined to drop at least one cause of action in the ongoing lawsuit brought by several public interest groups against the City of Bakersfield for dewatering the Kern River.
But he likely won’t dismiss one of the lawsuit’s key claims – that Bakersfield has a duty to protect the river under the Public Trust Doctrine. … “I think it will eventually come down to what the judges in the 5th District (Court of Appeal) think and maybe even go to the (California) Supreme Court,” he said in reference to the fact that several parties have already appealed to the 5th District.” [Read More]
“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.
“To restore populations of salmon amidst hotter and drier weather exacerbated by climate change, Governor Newsom announced California’s first strategy to protect the iconic fish species for generations to come. …The state’s Salmon Strategy specifies the six priorities and 71 actions to build healthier, thriving salmon populations in California.” [Read More]
“Historically, salmon populations returning to California rivers were estimated to be in the millions, annually. Current populations are a fraction of that and depend heavily upon hatcheries. Many state, federal, and conservation management documents detail the multitude of reasons for this decline over decades. Each reason traces to how people use and manage land and water and built infrastructure, now with an overlay of extreme climate disruption, which traces to humans, too. … Centering restoration around salmon makes sense. A salmon stronghold may be a watershed, or multiple watersheds in a region where the protection and restoration of that stronghold help create climate refugia for the long term. A network of highly resilient, ecologically important watersheds and habitats creates spill-over effects across a broader landscape, improving its capacity to sustain salmon and other aquatic species. Protection and restoration of this network drives partnerships, prioritization, funding investments, on-the-ground project implementation, and monitoring.” [Read More]
“Required flows down the Kern River channel were lowered by the City of Bakersfield on Monday as officials have collected more data on how much water is actually needed for the river to get west of town, according to an email from the City Water Resources Department. … On Monday, the city notified Kern River interests that it was changing that flow requirement so that water passing McClung would “not exceed 20 cfs.” [Read More]
“The J.G. Boswell Company fears its agricultural interests – and possibly even the City of Corcoran – could be in jeopardy if water is allowed to remain in the Kern River for fish, according to its request to be admitted as a party to a lawsuit brought by local and statewide public interest groups
That’s just one of several new actions in the ongoing fight over river water.” [Read More]
“During California’s most recent drought, officials went to great lengths to safeguard water supplies, issuing emergency regulations to curb use by thousands of farms, utilities and irrigation districts.
It still wasn’t enough to prevent growers in the state’s agricultural heartland from draining dry several miles of a major river for almost four months in 2022, in a previously unreported episode that raises questions about California’s ability to monitor and manage its water amid worsening droughts.
It’s not uncommon, during dry spells, for farmers and other water users in California to draw streams down to a trickle in places. But the severity and duration of the 2022 decline of the river in this case, the Merced, where one stream gauge showed zero water moving past it nearly every day from June to early October, stood out even to experts.” [Read More]
“Repairs to a damaged tunnel inside the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam were completed Saturday, just seven days after the project began, according to an attorney for Water Audit California, a public interest group suing to keep water in the Kern River.
Releases from the dam had been reduced to about 100 cubic feet per second during the repairs and are now expected to ramp back up, according to attorney William McKinnon who has been coordinating with the Army Corps of Engineers and power plant owner Isabella Partners.
Roger Kirk, the manager of the power plant, referred questions about the project to McKinnon.
Flows in the river had been set to drop to almost nothing during the repair project, which was originally scheduled to begin Dec. 18 and last potentially three weeks, according to a previous interview with plant operator Rush Van Hook.
That would have dried up the river downstream, resulting in a massive fish kill. … After McKinnon and the other plaintiffs learned of the impending repair project in early December, McKinnon began working with Isabella Partners to find a way to keep at least 200 cfs in the river.” [Read More]
“Engineers with Isabella Partners, which operates the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam, believe they’ve found a way to make repairs to the plant without drying up the lower Kern River for weeks on end.
If successful, water levels will drop from where they are now, but the river won’t go totally dry.
The work around will require fast action by an Isabella Partners crew that has been training on practice runs to weld a temporary “muscle wall” in one of two portals through the plant while water is cut back. Water will then be ramped back up through the main portal and dropped into the river bed, according to an explanation from Isabella Partners to William McKinnon, attorney for Water Audit California.
Roger Kirk, manager of the Isabella Partners’ plant, referred questions to McKinnon.
McKinnon has been working with Isabella Partners to find a way to keep flows in the river to protect fish populations since learning of the project several weeks ago.” [Read More]
Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp made one thing clear during the latest hearing on the twists and turns of the Kern River’s flow: He did not intend to expand the City of Bakersfield’s water rights under his November ruling that mandated enough water must remain in the river channel for fish populations. … “The court’s intention was clear,” Pulskamp said Thursday during a give and take with Bakersfield’s attorney Colin Pearce. “By creating a new water right – call it a carve out – for public trust flows, the court’s intent was to take that out of allocations that were not for city municipal use. But I never intended to expand the city’s water rights, either.” [Read More]
“The Army Corps of Engineers approved a request by operators of the power plant at the base of the dam to drastically cut water releases between Dec. 18 and Jan. 7 for a planned repair project to the plant.
Under the approval, releases would drop from between 500 and 700 cubic feet per second down to 25 cfs – an amount that would devastate downstream fish populations.
The owner of the power plant, Isabella Partners, has agreed to postpone the work to look for ways to protect fish flows and the Army Corps has agreed to wait for the green light from Isabella Partners before ramping down releases. … Isabella Partners needs to get into the power plant to repair damage from erosion caused by heavy releases from the dam earlier this year, according to the plant manager. The project could take several weeks.” [Read More]
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has approved a request from Isabella Partners to reduce Isabella Dam water releases following a review and analysis by the USACE Sacramento District.
Isabella Partners made the request so that they can safely perform maintenance within their power plant property at the base of the dam. USACE’s approval provides the requested period to complete repairs to the power plant conduit, which was damaged earlier this year during high releases.
USACE considered factors related to reservoir storage management, dam safety, flood risk management, and environmental impacts.” [Read More]
“The Lake Isabella Dam is operated by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers.
However, the power plant that is directly south of it, which is powered by the water released by the dam, is owned by a separate entity, Isabella Partners.
Recently, Isabella Partners put in a request to the Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the outflow of the dam.
On December 15 the average output of the dam, which solely determines how full the Kern River is south of the dam, was around 650 cubic feet per second. This has resulted in a heavy flow that continues down the canyon and through Bakersfield. The request from Isabella Partners asks for that to be reduced to 25 CFS.” [Read More]
“Anticipated repairs to the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam could cause a “massive fish kill” along the length of the Kern River as flows would have to be cut to almost nothing for weeks.
Isabella Partners, which operates that power plant, submitted a request to the Army Corps of Engineers to cut water releases down 25 cubic feet per second starting Dec. 18, according to plant operator Rush Van Hook. The dam is currently releasing about 1,100 cfs. If approved, the flow reduction could last several, or more, weeks, he said. … If the river flows are constricted that much for any length of time, it could have serious implications for the fish that have re-emerged along with water in the lower Kern through Bakersfield and beyond.” [Read More]
“On Tuesday, a coalition of ag districts filed a motion to stay and motion for reconsideration of Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp’s injunction and implementation order requiring water in the river. The group, including Kern Delta Water District, Kern County Water Agency and the North Kern, Buena Vista and Rosedale-Rio Bravo water storage districts… are furious the city is using the new fish-flow order to take an additional 180 cubic feet per second for itself that they say is above the city’s existing rights. Beyond that, the city is taking that 180 cfs at the head of the line among rights holders.
“It’s the biggest water heist on the river in the last 100 years,” said Steve Teglia, General Manager of the Kern Delta Water District, which until recently enjoyed the first and most generous right to Kern River water.” [Read More]
“There are new details about the preliminary injunction a judge approved in October that would limit the city of Bakersfield’s use of Kern River water. …The purpose of the injunction is to prevent the river from drying up while the lawsuit filed by the coalition is resolved. The judge has now signed an order that would require the city to keep at least 40% of the river flowing.” [Read More]
“A judge’s order signed Tuesday ensures there will be at least some water flowing in the Kern River through Bakersfield in perpetuity. Unless, of course, it’s overturned.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp signed an order that requires 40% of the Kern River’s flow to remain in the river to keep fish populations healthy.
This order is the implementation of an injunction granted by Pulskamp on Oct. 30 mandating that some amount of water must flow through the river for fish populations.” [Read More]
“Environmental activists in Bakersfield have won an initial victory in their legal fight to keep water flowing in the Kern River, which for many years was reduced to a dry, sandy riverbed.
A judge has granted a preliminary injunction preventing water diversions that would dry up the river, requiring sufficient water to provide for fish and keep the Kern flowing in the city.
…
William McKinnon, an attorney for Water Audit California, said the court’s decision “gives the environment a seat at the table, the negotiating table.”
“We’re very excited about this because I think it’s going to bring life to the Kern River, and that’s going to bring life to downtown Bakersfield,” McKinnon said. “I think that’s pretty damn cool.”” [Read More]
A Kern County judge has approved a preliminary injunction, to limit the amount of water from the Kern River the city of Bakersfield can use.
The injunction will prevent the now-flowing Kern River from returning to the dry state it was in last year.
…
They are challenging the city’s diversion of the river to agricultural fields. The coalition’s attorney, Adam Keats, said the reason the judge approved the injunction, a law known as the Fish and Game Code 5937.
This law requires the owner or operator of a dam to keep water flowing to keep fish in good condition.” [Read More]
“A Kern County Superior Court has ruled against the city of Bakersfield and agricultural water storage districts for diverting water from the Kern River, siding with environmental groups that sought a preliminary injunction on the harmful practice of entirely drying up the river in and downstream of the city of Bakersfield. Monday’s ruling prohibits the city from implementing diversions that reduce river flows below the volume necessary to maintain good condition for fish.” [Read More]
“The Court considers the current case to be a very significant case on a very significant topic: management of water supplied by the Kern River. It is common knowledge that clean, fresh water is a critical natural resource and a necessary component to establish essentially all aspects of a healthy society.”
“Defendant and RPI submit that the issuance of a preliminary injunction ordering compliance with Section 5937 would cause great harm because it would bar Defendant from delivering a clean, safe, and reliable drinking water supply…”
“[T]he potential conflict between compliance with Section 5937 and providing a safe, clean, and affordable domestic water supply appears to be a theoretical legal issue, rather than a practical factual issue.”
“Defendant and RPI submit that the issuance of a preliminary injunction ordering compliance with Section 5937 would cause great harm because it would interfere with Defendant’s and RPI’s contractual obligations regarding the delivery of water for agricultural and other purposes.”
“[C]ompliance with Section 5937 is compulsory, as is compliance with any other state law. It is well established that contractual obligations do not take precedence over compliance with state law.”
“Defendant City of Bakersfield and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and all persons acting on its behalf are prohibited from operating the Beardsley Weir, the Rocky Point Weir, the Calloway Weir, the River Canal Weir, the Bellevue Weir, and the McClung Weir in any manner that reduces Kern River flows below the volume sufficient to keep fish downstream of said weirs in good condition.”
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.
Finding that Plaintiffs’ are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim, and after weighing potential harms to the respective parties in this case, the Court concluded that the California Legislature has already considered competing uses of water when it passed Fish and Game Code, section 5937 and thus determined that enough water must be allowed to remain in a waterway, that at a minimum, keeps fish in good condition.
Compliance with Section 5937 is required as a matter of law. Courts have a duty to uphold the law and no entities can be excepted from compliance with the law, even if compliance is burdensome. Therefore, “Defendant City of Bakersfield and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and all persons acting on its behalf are prohibited from operating the Beardsley Weir, the Rocky Point Weir, the Calloway Weir, the River Canal Weir, the Bellevue Weir, and the McClung Weir in any manner that reduces Kern River flows below the volume sufficient to keep fish downstream of said weirs in good condition. Defendant and Plaintiff shall engage in good faith consultation to establish flow rates necessary for compliance with this order.” The full decision of the Court is attached here.
For further comment, contact counsel for Water Audit California William McKinnon, ([email protected]; mobile 530.575.5335), and for the community groups Adam Keats, ([email protected], mobile: 415.845.2509).
“In a win for environmental groups, a California state court judge on Monday temporarily blocked Bakersfield from reducing water flow on the Kern River.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Greg Pulskamp granted the plaintiff environmental groups a preliminary injunction, finding that Bakersfield must keep water flows at a sufficient level to support fish downstream of six weirs. Additionally, the judge said in his order that the city and plaintiffs must have good faith consultations to determine what flow rates to comply will comply with ruling.” [Read More]
“In what one attorney called a “moment of truth” for the City of Bakersfield, a judge ordered the city to keep enough water in the normally dry Kern River to protect fish populations.
The 21-page preliminary injunction was issued by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp Monday afternoon.
Colin Pearce, who represents the city on Kern River issues, declined to comment saying the city is still reviewing the order. It’s unclear if the city, or other Kern River interests, will appeal the injunction.
The plaintiffs called the ruling “amazing.”” [Read More]
“Finding that Plaintiffs’ are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim, and after weighing potential harms to the respective parties in this case, the Court concluded that the California Legislature has already considered competing uses of water when it passed Fish and Game Code, section 5937 and thus determined that enough water must be allowed to remain in a waterway, that at a minimum, keeps fish in good condition.” [Read More]
“A Kern County judge has granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit by citizen water advocacy groups, filed against the City of Bakersfield and its water usage.
To ensure protection of fish and other river wildlife, the city is prohibited from using more water than it needs.
…
“The issue isn’t whether or not the city of Bakersfield is going to have enough water, it will have enough water,” said William McKinnon, a general counsel at Water Audit California, which is representing the advocates. “The issue is how the water that is flowing, going to be managed. And that really is going to be driven by negotiations, not only with the city of Bakersfield, but also with the irrigation districts. It is nobody’s intention to destroy your agricultural industry or anything else.”
McKinnon added on the importance of coexisting with the river’s wildlife.
“Up until now, no one has been concerned about the needs of the environment,” McKinnon said. “We’ve now got a seat at the table.”” [Read More]
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.
“Current policies regarding water extraction and protection of our watershed lands are outdated and have led to deficiencies in our groundwater. … As in many counties in California and in our country, our county government has not done enough to ensure a secure water future for us all. Thankfully, this is beginning to change.
…
Now more than ever, the urgency of Climate Change requires a paradigm shift towards managing our water, preserving our carbon-sequestering and cooling forests, protecting the essential viability of our existing vineyards, and conserving the rare biodiverse hot spot that is Napa Valley.
We have the science to do this! SNVF, with Water Audit California, a public benefit group, has put together an expert team of hydrologists from academia, esteemed scientists in the field of watershed study, environmental attorneys, fish experts and biologists.” [Read More]
“A Kern County Superior Court judge is considering whether to issue an injunction that would prevent the city of Bakersfield from distributing water in the Kern River until the lawsuit is settled.
…
A hearing was held Friday morning on whether the court would approve a so-called ‘preliminary injunction.’
Six conservation groups, Bring Back the Kern, Kern River Parkway Foundation, Kern Audubon Society, Kern-Kaweah Chapter Sierra Club, Water Audit California, and Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit back in December of 2022.
They claim the city’s diversion of the Kern River water to agricultural fields, is damaging wildlife and hurting nearby communities.” [Read More]
“A Kern County judge heard arguments Friday in a case targeting water flows in the Kern River and whether they’re sufficient to support its fish.
…
That reduction in riparian and wetland habitats has led to a decrease in wildlife, the environmental groups say.
At the hearing Friday, the groups asked Kern County Superior Court Judge Greg Pulskamp for a preliminary injunction requiring Bakersfield to maintain a sufficient amount of water in the Kern River that would keep its fish in good condition.” [Read More]
“Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp came back several times during an Oct. 13 hearing to what he saw as a “major issue” in the dispute over keeping water in the Kern River – its plumbing.
The plaintiffs, a group of entities headed by Bring Back the Kern, have argued that water could flow in the river through Bakersfield for the public and fish and all the river users could still have their shares if water managers simply changed the spot where they siphon off their water.
Nope, can’t happen, responded the City of Bakersfield and agricultural water districts with rights to the water.” [Read More]
“With only one season of rain our formerly desiccated Kern River has leapt to life. The banks are now thick with sunflowers, grasses, and — as I can regrettably confirm — nettle. Birds abound. I don’t know their names, only their physical characteristics: that duck with the blue bill, the black bird with the flash of red on its wing, the small white ones with the long, gangly legs, and (in one of the more spectacularly cute things I’ve seen in my life) a newly hatched duckling, about an inch and a half across, riding on the back of its mother. Rabbits leap out of bushes. Dragonflies, bees, hummingbirds and smokelike plumes of gnats fill the air.
…
Bring Back the Kern — in conjunction with the Parkway Foundation, Kern Audubon Society, Water Audit California, Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club — has filed an injunction against the city of Bakersfield to prevent the city from drying out the river with excessive diversions.” [Read More]
Five UC Berkeley-led projects will receive a total of $13.9 million in grants to advance research that builds climate resilience and equity in California, including mitigating wildfire risk, ensuring the equitable distribution of water and improving K-12 climate justice education…
The largest of the Climate Action Matching Grants, a nearly $8.2 million investment, will fund Berkeley-led work dedicated to broadening community involvement in the management of California’s water resources. Spearheaded by Ted Grantham, an associate professor of cooperative extension in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at Berkeley, the COEQWAL (COllaboratory for EQuity in Water ALlocations) project will develop new water planning tools to advance sustainable, inclusive and equitable water distribution for the states nearly 40 million people.
“Most Californians have little idea where their water comes from and how vulnerable their water supplies are to climate change,” Grantham said. “Our project aims to deliver actionable information about the way water moves through the state and what it means for farms, cities, small communities and ecosystems. We are particularly interested in engaging communities who are highly vulnerable to water shortages but have not had a seat at the decision-making table.” [Read More]
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.
Bakersfield community advocates Bring Back the Kern, Kern River Parkway Foundation, Kern Audubon Society, Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity together with joint plaintiff Water Audit California, an NGO advocate for the public trust, are seeking an injunction to prevent the City of Bakersfield from making diversions in a manner that habitually dries the Kern River.
This legal confrontation has its roots firmly in the Old West. Since early in the 1900s, the Kern River has been fully diverted to agricultural irrigation; in most years leaving a dry riverbed through the City. (See exhibits attached to Request for Judicial Notice). In a battle for the future, water “rights” dating back into the 1800s are being confronted by laws of even greater antiquity:
California Fish and Game Code section 5937, enacted in its present version in 1957, is a statutory manifestation of the public trust doctrine which traces its history through colonization back to Roman law. It reads in part: “The owner of any dam shall … allow sufficient water to pass over, around or through the dam, to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below the dam.”
“On April 12, 1852, less than two years after its admission to the Union, California criminalized the act of creating instream obstructions to salmon migration, reflecting longstanding English prohibitions on instream obstructions.” Rebirth, p. 817
“The 1915 Flow Act provided that “the owners or occupants of any dam or artificial obstruction shall allow sufficient water at all times to pass through such fishway to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below said dam or obstruction.” Rebirth, p.822 “
“[T]he public trust doctrine highlighted the perpetual nature of obligations on state agencies and private parties pertaining to the use of natural resources in California. Second, the public trust doctrine broadened private standing to enforce environmental laws such as 5937, which themselves lack citizen suit provisions.” Rebirth, p. 855
Over the last seven years Water Audit has used the combination of FGC 5937 and the public trust doctrine in repeated successful efforts to secure bypass flows from dams operated by cities, counties and state agencies. As Dr. Moyle has written: “The most important ingredient for stream fish habitat is often lacking or in short supply: flowing water.” In this matter, after reviewing the numerous images collected by the community, he has declared: “I can say with scientific certainty that all of these fish require, at a minimum, a sufficient flow of water to remain in good condition.”
The litigation proposes a community alternative will maintain both river and irrigation flows by relocating diversions to downstream of the City. Fortuitously, this year’s heavy rains have provided an illustrative prototype for success by allowing fish to survive into the summer this year, demonstrating the possibilities if water is returned to the channel. The injunction motion is supported and illustrated by declarations from local activists, showing illustrations of life and beauty in what last year was a dusty gravel pit.
“A local group that’s suing the City of Bakersfield for how it manages the Kern River, is seeking a court order that would force the city to keep water in the normally dry riverbed as this year’s massive runoff begins to recede.
“The relief sought is narrowly focused,” states the motion for a preliminary injunction filed Wednesday by attorneys for Bring Back the Kern. “It does not seek to change the City’s management of the Kern River allocations, but only to restrain the City from diverting water that is required to keep in good condition the fish that currently exist below each of the Weirs, a clear and unequivocal dictate of California law.”” [Read More]
“California courts have long recognized the state’s duty to protect its tidelands, navigable waterways, and submerged lands (i.e., the land below the high tideline) under the common law public trust doctrine. However, California’s public trust doctrine has operated more as a background principle, than an independent force of law for most of its history — even after the seminal National Audubon Society v. Superior Court. … In the five years since ELF, the courts have seen a growing number of cases alleging that cities, counties, or other trustee agencies failed to consider the indirect impacts of their decisions on the public trust uses or values. These cases have included challenges to certain land developments, as well as administration of surface and ground waters. Thus far, no court has clearly delineated what indirect effects trigger an agency’s duty to consider and protect the public trust when administering non-trust resources.” [Read More]
“Napa County has work to do to get Napa Valley wine country groundwater supplies in balance for the long haul. … Groundwater beneath the valley floor is pumped mostly for agriculture, as well as for businesses and homes. Those supplies are crucial to the success of wine country and the local economy. Groundwater also feeds the Napa River and creeks during hot summer months, helping fish and aquatic life. … The 2021-22 year brought some red flags, which the groundwater report calls “undesirable results.” One is a reduction in groundwater storage. The other is a depletion of water in surface waterways that can be fed by groundwater.” [Read More]
“Ideas flowed at a recent forum on how to manage Napa Valley water, which is the lifeblood for local cities, world-famous wine country and the environment.
Save Napa Valley Foundation — formerly Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture — and other groups put on the Napa Water Forum. It took place Friday, March 24 in the Native Sons of the Golden West building in downtown Napa. … Peter Moyle, co-founder of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, talked about how Napa County has a “reconciled ecosystem.” The idea is to protect native birds, fish and other species while also recognizing that the system is different than before the arrival of Europeans.
“It means there’s no going back to the prior condition,” he said. … Napa County has 14 water agencies — five cities and nine special districts, though not all have reservoirs. Brendon Freeman, executive officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County, talked about the possibility of some type of countywide water district.” [Read More]
Moderator Ted Grantham, PhD (Professor, UC Berkeley) Welcome and introduction
1:40
Peter Moyle, PhD (Co-founder of the Center for Watershed Sciences, UC Davis) Rich Marovich (First and past Putah Creek Streamkeeper) Lessons to be learned from the Putah Creek process
2:05
Bruce Barge (President, Napa RCD) Lucas Patzek, PhD (Exec. Director, Napa RCD) Biological and environmental monitoring and fish passage barrier remediation.
2:40
INTERMISSION and discussion
3:00
Brendon Freeman (Exec. Officer, Napa LAFCO) Collaboration within the County; a potential water district
3:10
Craig Weightman (Habitat Conservation Program Manager, CDFW) Overview of CDFW’s Regulatory Role
3:20
Joy Eldredge (Dep. Director of Utilities, City of Napa) Watershed tributary monitoring water quality sampling and analyses, and Napa OneRain flow monitoring Collaboration with other county water entities Plans for Conn Dam
3:40
Mark Kram, PhD (President, Groundswell Technologies) Contemporary integrated multi-modal monitoring systems
The purpose of the Napa Water Forum 2023 – the Refugia Project is to share with the public events relating to two topics: Napa stream remediation and monitoring. Panelists will speak to what their entity has done, is doing and plans to do in the near future.
Because millions of Napa County taxpayer dollars and many years have been spent (and are being) spent on these issues, we asked for Flood Control, the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), its Technical Advisory Committee, and their consultants, LSCE and Stillwater, to come and tell the public about their efforts. Staff agreed to participate, probably because they are rightly proud of what they are hoping to do in the near future, and possibly because they wanted the rare opportunity to meet with colleagues. It was going to be a cooperative exercise in public communication.
We issued our public announcement to the Forum. All normal so far.
This is when it gets weird. After our public announcement, acting Napa County CEO David Morrisoninstructed all Napa County employees not to participate. They understood this as an edict that could cost them their jobs.
This is puzzling for two reasons. First, why should the County not participate in a public gathering? Is not communication of their actions part of their duties? But it is the second factor which is truly repugnant: Last week the LSCE, the GSA consultants, County planning staff presented a private water briefing to the Farm Bureau. Two supervisors attended. That meeting was closed to the public and there is no public record. The public paid for every single person that provided that briefing, and for the two supervisors to attend, but the County and the Farm Bureau will not share what was said.
At first, shocked and intimidated by the arrogance of this conduct, the sponsors of the Forum considered Morrison’s decision to have fatally wounded the event, but on reflection they realized that this was just the same old thing, different day. Mr. Morrison apparently believes (perhaps with good cause) that he, the County staff, and the Supervisors, all answer to the Farm Bureau and not to the public. The available evidence suggests that Morrison holds old fashioned values of taxation without representation: while County voters may pay salaries and consulting fees, they should have no expectation of public consultation. Representation is reserved for more important constituencies.
We reject that proposition. The Forum will go forward.
If County officers are prohibited from presenting their own work to the public, volunteers from the public will do the job for them. Someone will read the County’s words — and the words of the State — and will report to the public what has happened, is happening, and what is planned to happen in Napa in the future. As one of Water Audit California’s directors quipped: sunshine will come, whether or not you cooperate.
We will still introduce plans that may solve the County’s water issues, and showcase admirable already work being done by others. The County has had little to do with those ideas or actions so far, so their presence will not be missed.
Water Forum 2023 will be held on March 24, 2023, at the Native Sons Hall, 937 Coombs Street, downtown Napa.
Presenters will speak to the future of county-wide integrated water and wastewater systems. Topics will include:
the project to remove all stream obstructions on Napa steelhead salmon streams to help restore recently lost populations;
an update on environmental and beneficial monitoring systems, including the projects underway to remedy fill in gaps in monitoring, including wells, groundwater dependent ecosystems, and the surface-water groundwater interface;
a demonstration of the near-future in water monitoring, including comprehensive streaming-data of country water sensor systems to County desktops;
relationships with the UC system to bring their expertise and capabilities into Napa;
proposals to integrate county-wide water resource integration;
a proposal that could solve the County’s water problems for the balance of the century, while simultaneously providing access to over 250 miles of presently-blocked stream habitat;
NOTE: SEATING IS VERY LIMITED. For those unable to get tickets, the gathering will be available via online streaming after the event. Due to the generous sponsorship of Save Napa Valley Foundation and Mennen Environmental Foundation, free tickets are available WaterAuditCA.org. Parking is available across the street. Doors open at 1 p.m., presentations begin at 1:30 p.m.
Two powerful state and federal agencies have stuck their toes, so to speak, into an ongoing lawsuit against Merced Irrigation District demanding the district reopen a long defunct fish ladder.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service both sent letters to Merced Irrigation District after Water Audit California sued the district over the fish ladder on the Crocker-Huffman Dam, about 30 miles northeast of the City of Merced.
It wasn’t the first time the agencies had sought to have Merced Irrigation District get the fish ladder running again. They had both sent letters in 2009 and 2010, directing the district to reopen the fish ladder, which had been closed since the 1970s…
After Water Audit filed its lawsuit last September, both agencies again sentletters to Merced Irrigation District reiterating their desire to see the fish ladder reopened and offered to meet with the district and provide technical assistance to help get it going again.” [Read More]
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. There will be an example of a state-of-the-art comprehensive monitoring system that addresses both consumptive and environmental concerns; agencies will introduce their diverse initiatives for a comprehensive fish passage plan for rehabilitating the Napa Valley stream system; and presenters will offer their ideas for adding redundancy and capacity to the Napa consumptive water system, while simultaneously remediating much of the environmental harm caused to date.
There will be limited seating, so please reserve tickets early.
Water Audit California wishes to comment on the Brent Randol article in the Napa Register highlighting “salmon making their way up Putah Creek,” which outlined the admirable success from Solano County efforts at reestablishing salmonid populations. A similar project is just about to make its much-needed public launch in Napa County.
Two statistics are representative of the cumulative effect from neglect of Napa watercourses. Seventy-five years ago, about 6,000 to 8,000 salmonids returned annually to spawn in the Napa River. Now only about 80 fish return each year. California freshwater shrimp are believed to have lived in the Napa Valley since the Jurassic period – for more than 25 million years – but they are now believed rendered extinct for lack of a trickle of water.
Environmental remediation projects are by their nature complex undertakings, rendering half-measures largely a waste of time and money. As an incomplete illustration, if salmonids do not have access to suitable spawning gravels with sufficient cold water, they cannot reproduce. Barriers obstructing passage to spawning gravels are as destructive to sustaining fish populations as drying the waterways.
We should use this brief break in water woes to establish collaborative, co-operative, county and department wide environmental best practices and adaptive management. The same skills and resources that have made Napa a globally enviable agricultural powerhouse can simultaneously revitalize its environment.
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. There will be an example of a state-of-the-art comprehensive monitoring system that addresses both consumptive and environmental concerns; agencies will introduce their diverse initiatives for a comprehensive fish passage plan for rehabilitating the Napa Valley stream system; and presenters will offer their ideas for adding redundancy and capacity to the Napa consumptive water system, while simultaneously remediating much of the environmental harm caused to date.
There will be limited seating, so please reserve tickets early at WaterAuditCA.org.
“Conservation groups are going to court to try to bring back a flowing river in Bakersfield, where for years so much water has been diverted in canals to supply farms that the Kern River is usually reduced to a dry, sandy riverbed.
Six environmental groups sued the city of Bakersfield, saying that continuing to allow diversions of water upstream from the city harms the environment and the community.
“The river is just in a state of total collapse,” said Kelly Damian, a spokesperson for the group Bring Back the Kern. “That’s readily apparent to anybody who goes and just looks at the river. It’s dry. It’s dead. It’s derelict. It’s a blight on the community instead of what it should be.”” [Read More]
The recent rains have brought the Auburn Ravine to life, and the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) has announced the new Hemphill fish passage is now flowing water.
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. The completion of the new fish ladder in November 2022, closes the book on a 20-year process involving citizen advocates and regulatory agencies. WAC anticipates reports of fish migration and spawning early in the new year.
The annual Winters Salmon Festival and the return of Chinook salmon to Putah Creek is a testament to the tireless efforts and unyielding zeal of Mr. Marovich throughout his career. While his service as Putah Creek’s streamkeeper will surely be missed, Mr. Marovich’s 21 years of service to the conservation of California’s water resources has undoubtedly left a legacy that will last for many years to come. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for Mr. Marovich’s dedicated service to the preservation of Putah Creek and wish him and his family my best as he enters retirement.
The Winters Salmon Festival, inaugurated in 2016, celebrates the return of Fall-run Chinook to the lower reaches of Putah Creek. In 2022, the festival recognized the man generally acknowledged as being pivotal to the return of the salmon run: Solano County Water Agency’s streamkeeper, Rich Marovich. For 21 years, Rich Marovich led the community of stakeholders and rights-holders to through cooperative projects to restore and protect Putah Creek as an ecological, economic, and community resource. His legacy is an example of successful community watershed stewardship, an inspiration for communities across California.
HONORING RICH MAROVICH ON HIS 21 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE
HON. JOHN GARAMENDI
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, November 7, 2022
Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rich Marovich for his 21 years of service with the Solano County Water Agency. Through his work as streamkeeper of Putah Creek, Mr. Marovich has shown a ceaseless dedication and passion for protecting and preserving our community's natural resources.
Mr. Marovich is originally from Palo Alto, California, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Plant Science at the University of California, Davis. After college, he worked at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, where he administered the department's first Endangered Species Program.
After years of drought, the Putah Creek Accord restored the natural flow of the creek; with this restoration, the need for a streamkeeper emerged and Mr. Marovich was a natural choice for the role. Putah Creek's 70-mile-long stream extends from the Cobb Mountains to the Yolo Bypass making it a major fishing and wildlife resource. To maintain the creek and protect its resources, Mr. Marovich was ever diligent as streamkeeper in improving water quality and conserving creek resources. Through his position, he also provided educational resources to the community regarding the creek's importance and collaborated with landowners along the creek on cleanup efforts.
In addition to his work preserving Putah Creek, Mr. Marovich created several environmental projects including the development of plant nurseries, food cultivation efforts, and critical fundraising campaigns for assessment programs related to the creek's condition.
The annual Winters Salmon Festival and the return of Chinook salmon to Putah Creek is a testament to the tireless efforts and unyielding zeal of Mr. Marovich throughout his career. While his service as Putah Creek's streamkeeper will surely be missed, Mr. Marovich's 21 years of service to the conservation of California's water resources has undoubtedly left a legacy that will last for many years to come. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for Mr. Marovich's dedicated service to the preservation of Putah Creek and wish him and his family my best as he enters retirement.
HONORING RICH MAROVICH ON HIS 21 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE
HON. MIKE THOMPSON
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, November 14, 2022
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleague, Rep. John Garamendi, to honor Rich Marovich for his 21 years of service with the Solano County Water Agency. Through his work as streamkeeper of Putah Creek, Mr. Marovich has shown a ceaseless dedication and passion for protecting and preserving our community's natural resources.
Mr. Marovich is originally from Palo Alto, California, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Plant Science at the University of California, Davis. After college, he worked at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, where he administered the department's first Endangered Species Program.
After years of drought, the Putah Creek Accord restored the natural flow of the creek; with this restoration, the need for a streamkeeper emerged and Mr. Marovich was a natural choice for the role. Putah Creek's 70-mile-long stream extends from the Cobb Mountains to the Yolo Bypass making it a major fishing and wildlife resource. To maintain the creek and protect its resources, Mr. Marovich was ever diligent as streamkeeper in improving water quality and conserving creek resources. Through his position, he also provided educational resources to the community regarding the creek's importance and collaborated with landowners along the creek on cleanup efforts.
In addition to his work preserving Putah Creek, Mr. Marovich created several environmental projects including the development of plant nurseries, food cultivation efforts, and critical fundraising campaigns for assessment programs related to the creek's condition.
The annual Winters Salmon Festival and the return of Chinook salmon to Putah Creek is a testament to the tireless efforts and unyielding zeal of Mr. Marovich throughout his career. While his service as Putah Creek's streamkeeper will surely be missed, Mr. Marovich's 21 years of service to the conservation of California's water resources has undoubtedly left a legacy that will last for many years to come. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for Mr. Marovich's dedicated service to the preservation of Putah Creek and wish him and his family my best as he enters retirement.
“The annual Winters Salmon Festival returned on Saturday, Nov. 5, after not being held since 2019 due to the pandemic. The Salmon Festival celebrates the annual return and migration of the fall-run Chinook salmon to the lower Putah Creek habitat. Many attendees walked along the creek in hopes of glimpsing the salmon as they made their way up.
Rich Marovich was celebrated for his 21 years of service as the Solano County Water Agency’s streamkeeper. A bench featuring detailed salmon in metal was dedicated in honor of his legacy, and Marovich received resolutions from Assemblymemer Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Congressman John Garamendi.” [Read More]
“A long defunct fish ladder on an historic dam on the Merced River is the focus of a public trust lawsuit by advocacy group Water Audit California.
The lawsuit, filed in late September, demands the Merced Irrigation District repair and properly maintain a fish ladder on the Crocker-Huffman Dam, about 30 miles northeast of the City of Merced.” [Read More]
“Several public interest groups have issued a direct challenge to Bakersfield over the Kern River alleging the city has not lived up to its responsibilities to address the public trust.
Water Audit California, an advocacy group based in Napa, sent a letter to the Bakersfield Water Resources Department July 27 demanding the city conduct a study of how its diversions from the river are impacting the public trust and determine ways to avoid those impacts.
The letter stated if the city didn’t authorize the study before September 15, Water Audit would sue.” [Read More]
“The Hemphill Dam passage improvements will greatly improve Auburn Ravine for spawning and rearing by native fishes. It is a good example of improvements needed to benefit native fish populations at hundreds of locations across the state.”
Peter Moyle, a UC Distinguished Professor Emeritus and advisor to Water Audit
“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. … The Resource Conservation District and Water Audit California recently brought academics and regulators on a tour of the sites. One goal is to find a way to obtain fish barrier removal permits from state and federal regulators in a cheaper, faster way. “This is a test of the process,” said Rich Marovich of Water Audit California. “The agencies all want this work to be done, but I think sometimes they don’t see how they stand in their own way.”” [Read More]
“The Lake Marie reservoir, created in the late 19th century as part of a Napa State Hospital water mini-empire, might in the 21st century help locally rare steelhead trout.
Water Audit California has used lawsuits to try to gain more water from local reservoirs for downstream fish habitat. In this case, the California Department of State Hospitals recently agreed to a settlement.” [Read More]
“Carefully-placed boulders in a Napa River stretch near St. Helena might mean more water for fish and other aquatic life during the dry summer months.
That’s the assessment of a Water Audit California report done by StreamWise. And, if getting water from rocks sound biblical, there’s no miracles being proposed here.
The report suggests placing “rock vanes” in the river. Rock vanes are lines of rocks each weighing a quarter-of-a-ton to a ton positioned to direct water flow toward the central portion of a river or stream channel.” [Read More]
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 Camille 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.
Clear, cold water from the headwaters of Camille Creek flows into Lake Marie year-round. Below the Lake Marie dam, the creek passes through Skyline Park and residential neighborhoods. The mouth of the creek is at the Napa River near the Napa County Animal Shelter.
Lake Marie was built around 1880 and upgraded in 1908. The fourth jurisdictional dam built in the state, it is one of the oldest in California. Its history reflects Napa’s development from the earliest days of ranching. Lake Marie supplied water for Napa State Hospital for most of a century and supported hundreds of acres of farming and ranching activities until after World War II. Water is now supplied to the hospital from other sources, and in place of agriculture is the Skyline Park. With 1,020-acres of wildland crisscrossed by trails, the park is the nearest destination for hiking and mountain biking for many Napa residents.
California Fish and Game Code section 5937, adopted in 1915, requires dam owners to bypass enough flow to allow fishes living downstream to thrive. Like most dam owners, the Department of State Hospitals never operated their dam in accordance with the rule, and, for more than a century, no water has been bypassed for fish. This creates artificially dry conditions downstream and makes it harder for fishes to survive. An alternative to bypassing flows would have been removing the dam to allow water to flow freely, but as Lake Marie is a destination with abundant recreational benefits, removing the dam was not seen as a preferable option by either party.
A habitat assessment by R2 Consultants estimates that providing even small early summer flows will provide substantial benefits to Napa fishes. It was learned that young out-migrating anadromous fish, spawned upstream in the Napa River, use the waters below Lake Marie as their last opportunity to feed and mature before going to the ocean. More and cooler water to swim in and increased food availability in the early summer months will support additional fish growth, and therefore higher survival and return rates.
At this time, between 60 and 120 steelhead reared in Camille Creek are estimated to return from the sea to spawn annually. The projected ten-times survival rates means that Camille Creek could produce 600 to 1,200 adult steelhead in average and good water years.
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 the legislature and protecting the rights of the people. Addressing members of the bar association, the authors draw from Water Audit’s experience to suggest “four key insights into creating successful litigation campaigns elsewhere.”
Water Audit has secured permission to host this article on its website and a copy is published below.
Past legislative efforts to protect fishes were well-informed, but these laws were seldom enforced and now read as a series of broken legislative promises. Time and again, private interests overwhelmed efforts to protect the public good. This is the structural failure that Professor Joseph Sax sought to address through the modern public trust doctrine. Yet there is hope.
Private litigation built on public trust standing is reinvigorating old laws. By suing to enforce these laws as the legislative expression of the public trust, private attorneys general can require the state to fulfill its promises of healthy fisheries in California. Private litigation by Water Audit California (Water Audit) has breathed new life into California Fish and Game (CF&G) Code § 5937, a statute requiring dam owners to release enough water to keep downstream fish in good condition, and improved environmental conditions in the Napa River watershed. Water Audit is just one player in a broader litigation ecosystem, but its story shows that sound science and focused litigation can reopen historic habitats and increase fish populations.
The video below was recorded at the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Public Meeting #2, on Sep 29 2021, 6:00 PM–7:30 PM, for Water Audit California by Israel Valencia of Infinity Visuals. A full-screen version is available from our video server.
The video below was recorded at the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Public Meeting #1, on Sep 22 2021, 6:00 PM–7:30 PM, for Water Audit California by Israel Valencia of Infinity Visuals. A full-screen version is available from our video server.
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.
These videos were recorded by WAC as a public service and are being released under a Creative Commons license so they an be entered into the public record.
Official documentation related to the meetings was published by the county on its Public Meetings on Groundwater in Napa County page. To the best of our knowledge, the County has no published a recording of the third meeting, which was held October 6 on Zoom.
[LINCOLN, CA, AUGUST 5, 2021]. Legal action by Water Audit California has prompted Nevada Irrigation District to adopt a fish passage improvement plan for Hemphill Dam in Auburn Ravine.
This habitat improvement project is timely. Low flows and high water temperatures have made 2021 a dismal year for salmon and steelhead in California. Hemphill Dam is blocking access to prime spawning habitat, and its removal will benefit migratory fishes, especially in hot, dry years like this one.
“The Hemphill Dam passage improvements will greatly improve Auburn Ravine for spawning and rearing by native fishes. It is a good example of improvements needed to benefit native fish populations at hundreds of locations across the state,” said Peter Moyle, a UC Distinguished Professor Emeritus and advisor to Water Audit.
Hemphill Dam is an eight-foot tall barrier that diverts water flowing through Auburn Ravine into a canal serving Turkey Creek Golf Club and the Sun City Lincoln Hills residential community. Further downstream the Ravine provides water to the rice farms west of California Highway 36.
On July 28, the NID’s Board of Directors approved removal of the existing structure and the construction of a nature-like rock ramp within the stream channel that will allow fish to swim upstream to spawn. A fish screen will be installed on the canal intake to prevent fish and lampreys from entering.
The upstream crest elevation of the ramp will be two feet lower than the existing dam crest. “The rock ramp structure would provide fish passage while also improving sediment continuity over the dam and likely improving bank stability upstream of the dam,” according to NID’s Environmental Impact Report.
A 2011 NID study reported that the area upstream of Hemphill Dam in Auburn Ravine is the best potential salmonid spawning habitat in all of Placer County. Restoring fish passage will benefit Threatened Central Valley steelhead and spring-run Chinook, as well as fall-run Chinook, a Species of Special Concern, without any impairment of the existing water deliveries.
“The Auburn Ravine is important for juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon that are emigrating from the upper reaches on their journey to the Pacific Ocean via the Sacramento River during winter and spring months. The Auburn Ravine also appears to provide rearing habitat for non-natal rearing of juvenile winter and spring-run Chinook salmon,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife in a 2015 memorandum.
In December of 2019, Water Audit California commenced a legal action alleging that the NID’s facility created an unlawful stream obstruction. In January 2020 Water Audit and NID entered into a settlement agreement that provided a final EIR would be published by April 1, 2021, and that this adoption of a plan would follow. It is anticipated that construction will be part of NID’s 2022 budget.
NID’s recent action is the near-culmination of a 20-year process. Citizen advocates and regulatory agencies including NOAA Fisheries, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Friends of the Auburn Ravine, and Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead all contributed to this success.
“A review of 170 years of water-related successes in California suggests that most successes can be traced directly to past mistakes. California’s highly variable climate has made it a crucible for innovations in water technology and policy. Similar water imperatives have led to advances in water management in other parts of the world. A close look at California’s water model suggests that “far-sighted incrementalism” is a path to progress. Given the complexity of water management systems, better scientific information and new policy tools must be developed coherently and collaboratively over time. A history of learning from previous failures can guide progress towards stable, secure, and resilient water systems worldwide. This includes learning from other regions and other “water models” – the one option clearly superior to innovating in response to your own mistakes is learning from the errors of others.” [Read more]
The Planning Commission last week approved the 20,000-gallon-a-year winery. The planned 4,638-square-foot building at 2072 Mount Veeder Road will replace a house and barn that burned in the 2017 Nuns fire… Water Audit California, meanwhile, urged the county to deny the application. Grant Reynolds of the group wrote that Pickle Canyon Creek runs through the property and that the upper reaches of the creek are viable and critical steelhead fish habitat. This project should be subject to separate review to ensure it wouldn’t injure the “public trust” associated with Pickle Canyon Creek. Also, more study is needed to show whether the project would diminish flows in Redwood Creek located downstream, he wrote.” [Read more]
In Napa Valley, a stone’s throw from the vineyards of the dejected farmers interviewed in your article, other farmers are adapting for life in a warmer climate. The Tofanelli family continues to dry farm well-placed vineyards as they have for almost a century. Others, like family-owned Spottswoode, actively research climate change adaptation and rapidly adopt water-saving methods.
The distressed vineyards were planted in areas known to have high fire risk and/or inadequate water supplies. We’ve known about climate change for decades but failed to develop policies to deal with it, at all levels of government.
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.
Amber Manfree Napa, Calif. The writer is a consultant for Water Audit California and other community organizations.
“In Napa Valley, the lush heartland of America’s high-end wine industry, climate change is spelling calamity. Not outwardly: On the main road running through the small town of St. Helena, tourists still stream into wineries with exquisitely appointed tasting rooms. …But drive off the main road, and the vineyards that made this valley famous — where the mix of soil, temperature patterns and rainfall used to be just right — are now surrounded by burned-out landscapes, dwindling water supplies and increasingly nervous winemakers, bracing for things to get worse.” [Read more]
“Descendants of the Pomo, Mishewal Wappo and other native peoples gathered at Wappo Park on Sunday to pay tribute to the Napa River through speech, song and prayer.
“Life is water and water is life,” said Sal Garcia-Pinola, a member of the Pomo.
Sunday’s gathering took place amid a severe drought that has resulted in water rationing for St. Helena customers and a Napa River that resembles a series of puddles more than an actual river.” [Read more]
“If there is going to be another lawsuit, I suspect it will involve commercial development vs. public trust if or when development of any kind in St. Helena can even be considered given our critical water crisis. I truly hope I am wrong about that, particularly considering the significant amount of general fund money and countless staff hours the city has already wasted over the years fighting and losing lawsuits.
I cannot imagine anybody not knowing this nevertheless “public” means all of us without partiality to commercial enterprise. Maybe our city council will voluntarily embrace the importance of public trust, which is crucial to a healthy society, and we will not need any more lawsuits.” [Read more]
“As a director of Water Audit California, I was bemused to read the response of the city of St. Helena’s attorney to our litigation (“Water Audit California sues St. Helena over water management” June 19). It is ironic that the attorney alleges that we were fishing for information for future litigation, when in fact the city provoked this lawsuit by refusing to provide the information it promised in our February 2021 Joint Statement.” [Read more]
Water Audit has obtained the 2021 draft Rector Creek Stream Fish Population Technical Memorandum prepared for California Department of Veteran Affairs by Stillwater Sciences.
Water Audit has obtained the 2021 draft Rector Creek Water Year Type and Watershed Model Technical Memorandum prepared for California Department of Veteran Affairs by Stillwater Sciences.
“Water Audit California sued the City of St. Helena this week over its management of water. The watchdog group says the city is violating its “public trust” responsibilities relating to the Napa River and its aquatic habitat. It cites the city’s policies on groundwater pumping, well permitting, and water consumption by vineyards and wineries.
…
Months of negotiations between Water Audit and the city resulted in a joint statement issued in February in which the city agreed to collect water level and extraction data from wells, provide a summary of the data to the public, conduct a comprehensive review of the water system, develop new protocols for use of the Stonebridge wells, work with Water Audit on installing stream gauges at local waterways, and consider “impacts to public trust resources” in evaluating well permits and water connections.
Water Audit’s lawsuit claims the city failed to provide water data referenced in the joint statement, resulting in the new litigation.” [Read more]
WATER AUDIT SUES ST. HELENA OVERALLEGED FAILURE TO UPHOLD PUBLIC TRUST
[NAPA, CA, JUNE 17, 2021]. 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.
“There doesn’t appear to be enough information available about water availability for anyone to make informed decisions, or for the public to understand what is going on,” Grant Reynolds, a director of Water Audit said. The suit cites poor documentation of major water uses, including pumping at the City of St. Helena’s Pope Street wells complex, and water deliveries to vineyards, wineries, and Meadowood resort.
Water Audit’s complaint does not ask for changes to existing water uses. Instead, it seeks an injunction to stop the City from issuing new groundwater well drilling permits until enough information is available to make informed water allocation decisions. The complaint identifies the authority of NOAA Fisheries, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Departments of Water Resources and Fish and Wildlife, and requests their participation in decision-making.
“When water managers are asking people to cut back their personal water use, residents deserve honest accounting of the community’s water assets. At the very least, planners should not approve new commercial well permits if existing use is drying our waterways and pushing endangered species closer to extinction,” Reynolds said.
June through mid-October is the driest time of year in Napa Valley. It’s when water demand is highest from agriculture, wine production, and landscaping, and when flows are lowest in creeks. Water use by agriculture and landscaping increases in droughts.
Pope Street Wells
USGS records show that drying of the Napa River adjacent to the Pope Street wells complex has increased in frequency and duration while the City has increased pumping of groundwater for municipal use. In dry years, 30% of St. Helena’s supply comes from these wells, according to LAFCO’s 2020 Municipal Service Review. A 2014 Luhdorff and Scalmanini Consulting Engineers report stated that public water supply wells were dewatering the Napa River in this location and, in 2016, recommended that Napa County install additional monitoring of groundwater-surface water interactions where data are lacking.
”You may refuse to measure what you do not wish to manage, but you cannot evade trustee duties simply because it is inconvenient,” Reynolds said.
Vineyards
Water demands of the 1,080 acres of vineyard within St. Helena city limits have the potential to deplete surface water resources. The suit seeks to determine which operations may be doing so, and to ensure that their practices are not in conflict with public trust responsibilities, which include maintaining flows in waterways.
“There is a balancing act between private interests and public interests. It is unacceptable to impoverish the public trust for private gain,” Reynolds said.
Wineries
The suit gives examples of murky water agreements between City of St. Helena and wineries, including Spring Mountain Winery, Sutter Home, Beringer/Treasury, and Trinchero Family Estates. What little is publicly known about sales of municipal water to large industrial users suggests that companies pay less than residents for water from the same sources, and that they consume over 20% of the City’s annual drinking water supply.
“Wineries may have a greater impact on creeks than vineyards do, because of the timing and intensity of water use,” Reynolds said. Wine production requires about six gallons of potable water per gallon of finished wine, and peak water demand comes during late August through October, when crush pads, tanks, and hoses require cleaning. Wineries source water from municipal supplies and from their own groundwater wells.
The highest concentration of wineries in Napa Valley is around St. Helena. At least twenty-eight wineries are located inside St. Helena’s boundary, and Napa County has permitted over 13 million gallons of total wine production for over 90 wineries within a half-mile of city limits. City of St. Helena does not publicly report permitted production for wineries it oversees, however Napa County’s winery database suggests that over 10 million gallons are permitted within city limits. Actual production is contingent on crop yields and imported grapes.
Meadowood
Meadowood resort appears to be receiving water subsidized by St. Helena rate-payers, and current operations may be out of compliance with Measures J and P. In 1990, Meadowood and the City of St. Helena entered into a contract for the delivery of 20 million gallons of water annually. Initially, Meadowood paid the same rate as St. Helena residents for water, plus a surcharge covering the cost of pumping water uphill to the facility. In 2016, the contract was amended and the surcharge was eliminated. Since that time, ratepayers in the service area have subsidized pumping costs. It appears that the change was never announced, and the revised contract has not been publicly posted.
“St. Helena residents subsidize water delivery to Meadowood, and then the resort’s transient occupancy tax is paid to Napa County. It’s not a great deal for St. Helena residential rate-payers,” Reynolds said.
Carpenter agreement
Poor water-resources oversight is also evident in a 1962 agreement between the City of St. Helena and Dr. Lewis Carpenter. When Bell Canyon Reservoir was built, it impounded the location of Dr. Carpenter’s preexisting water right, so the City agreed to allocate up to 400 acre-feet per year of water in the reservoir to him. The agreement states explicitly that the right belongs to Dr. Carpenter only, and is non-transferrable without prior written agreement. No documentation for a transfer of the right has been located by Water Audit, and Dr. Carpenter passed away in April 2013. Although his death should have ended the contract, the City of St. Helena has delivered water under his agreement as recently as 2021. The volume of the delivery is not well-documented. It may be 30.6 acre-feet, or up to 400 acre-feet.
“The amount of water is secondary; the first priority is a credible accounting system so that making informed water management decisions is possible,” Reynolds said.
Public Trust
According to California law, cities and counties are required to manage environmental resources in the same way that a trustee of an estate has fiduciary duties over financial assets. Maintaining records, disclosing facts, and acting solely in the interests of beneficiaries are essential requirements. Water resources and the plants and animals they support are all part of the public trust.
“Water Audit’s actions are all in pursuit of a single goal: protecting the public trust of resources which sustain all of us,” Reynolds said.
***
The full complaint is available on the Water Audit California website.
A view of the Napa River, looking downstream, adjacent to Pope St. well complex in St. Helena on June 6, 2021.
Watering has stopped at the Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School soccer field in June, 2021.
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. The full complaint below.
A week ago, we filed a lawsuit against the County of Napa for Negligent Breach of Trustee Duties and related issues. (See Napa County sued over care of Napa River in the Napa Valley Register.)
We’ve decided to publish the full text so you can read our reasons for yourselves. Here are some photos which more accurately illustrate the dewatered state of the Napa River.
“The public trust arises from the fundamental relationship between a government and its citizens, and from the basic expectation that renewable natural resources should remain abundant, justly distributed, and available to future generations.
…The County has failed to acquire and/or report to the public the information necessary to keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed of the status of the public trust.”
Summary: 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.“
There is simply no meaningful analysis of water supply to inform the public of potential impacts from the Proposed Project. This is especially disconcerting in a time of extreme drought, and when the Proposed Project will be diverting surface water upstream and away from Lake Hennessey, the major local water source for the City of Napa’s public drinking water system.
“Water Audit California is suing to make Napa County increase oversight of groundwater pumping for vineyards, wineries, and other uses, claiming that the pumping affects the Napa River.
The lawsuit said the county has a “public trust” duty to care for the river. The idea is that too much groundwater pumping from wells can keep groundwater from seeping into the river during dry months, to the detriment of fish and other aquatic life.” [Read more]
“The City of St. Helena has agreed to monitor local groundwater levels and stream flows, averting a potential lawsuit from an environmental advocacy group.
Following months of negotiations, the city and Water Audit California released a joint statement Friday announcing the city will collect monthly water levels and annual extraction totals for local wells and provide a public, “scientifically useful” summary of the data.” [Read more]
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 and thereby lead the way for other Napa communities to fully understand the essential relationship of water to our lives. year ago at our Water Forum we advocated that there is a better way than conflict, and this Joint Statement is proof positive of our belief.
“Bremer Family Winery found a bright spot in its long tussle with the county over what’s legal on the Deer Park property — it can keep a masonry barn and a bathroom built within a stream setback.
In an appeals hearing on Dec. 8, the county Board of Supervisors agreed to overturn a Planning Commission decision and issue conservation regulation exceptions for the two structures. It will take a final vote on Feb. 2.” [Read more]
“CALISTOGA — Stemming from litigation dating back to 2008, the City of Calistoga is confronted again with a long-standing threat from an environmental group over the operation of Kimball Dam.
Grant Reynolds, a director of Water Audit California, delivered a letter to the City of Calistoga on Monday criticizing the city for not fulfilling its commitment to complete a “stream study … and other aspects of its commitments.”” [Read more]
“ST. HELENA — An environmental advocacy group is threatening to sue the City of St. Helena over its handling of groundwater.
Grant Reynolds, a director of Water Audit California, delivered a letter to the city on Monday criticizing its use of the Stonebridge wells for municipal use and “a pattern of exercising no discretion” in issuing permits for new wells.” [Read more]
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.
“The recent removal of the sediment-filled York Dam in Napa County has reconnected two miles of steelhead trout habitat that has been blocked for over a century. While the dam itself was small and non-functional, it took nearly 30 years to accomplish removal. Thousands of barriers to stream flow and fish passage similar in size and impact to York Dam are scattered throughout California, contributing to population declines in native fishes and other freshwater species.”
* * *
“Given that most dams in California were built in the last century, many are no longer functional or provide limited benefits to people. Non-functioning dams should be removed in a safe, planned manner, before they fail on their own.”
“The recent removal of the sediment-filled York Dam in Napa County has reconnected two miles of steelhead trout habitat that has been blocked for over a century. While the dam itself was small and non-functional, it took nearly 30 years to accomplish removal. Thousands of barriers to stream flow and fish passage similar in size and impact to York Dam are scattered throughout California, contributing to population declines in native fishes and other freshwater species.”[Read more]
Responding to concerns filed by Water Audit California, Farmstead Lodge promised that approval of its well permits requests would decrease their demand on groundwater by approximately 50%.
“As a response to the recent devastating events in Napa County, Water Audit California has expanded our remit to include fire as an essential component of the environment. We have secured the advice of a leading scholar on the subject and are in the process of assembling another outstanding advisory subcommittee.”
“In a quiet corner of Napa County, tucked away in the hills above its famous valley, a bucolic trickle of a creek is now flowing free after languishing behind a dam for more than a century. The waters of York Creek began their unabated journey to the Napa River on Sept. 14 for the first time since the latter part of the 1800s, when they were corralled in order to irrigate thirsty vineyards and provide drinking water to the little town of St. Helena about 1.5 miles downstream. Now, after 27 years of starts and stops, a lawsuit brought by state regulators, a court order, a long-running federal fine and the threat of further legal action from environmentalists, the old earthen dam is finally being removed in order to restore a portion of the creek to a more natural state.”[Read More]
“Another Bremer Family Winery brouhaha, this one over a barn and other structures built too close to a stream, landed in the laps of Napa County planning commissioners with the subtlety of a live grenade.
The Planning Commission on Wednesday decided by separate votes that two structures can stay and two must go. John and Laura Bremer can appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors, so that might not be the final word.” [Read More]
“The St. Helena City Council awarded a $3.2 million contact this week to an Arcata firm to remove the Upper York Creek Dam. McCullough Construction will be charged with notching the dam, restoring the creek’s aquatic habitat, and removing an illegal barrier to fish passage that the city first agreed to remove in 2006. Work is scheduled to begin next week and finish by the end of October.”[Read More]
“On June 23, 2020, Water Audit California sent the following extraordinary letter to the Napa County Planning Commission, staff, county counsel, and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The authors raise a number of issues regarding the processing of the Bremer matter that should be of concern to all of us. We feel compelled to share it with you.” [Read more]
“Water Audit has two concerns herein: (1) the preservation of the Napa County stream setback provision, and (2) the application of proper policies and practices considering environmental matters. Water Audit believes that riparian ways should be seen as sacred ground, an essential foundation of the community’s environmental health.”
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. Take a first look and then revisit the website once in a while to see how the research evolves. Comments and suggestions are encouraged. https://therefugiaproject.org
Three months ago, 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. Recognizing the complexity of water allocation in our state, Active Management gives voice to all beneficial users while at the same time recognizing the existential urgency of coming into balance with nature. 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. Two experts on community engagement informed attendees how to arrive at consensus decisions in a Master Class that should perhaps be revisited by the newly formed Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
Thanks to our speakers, co-sponsors, and wonderful audience, the water forum at Native Sons Hall was a great success. We appreciate the role you’re playing in changing how Napa approaches water issues.
“Various environmentalists are saying that the old adage about “water being for fighting over” doesn’t have to apply to Napa County. The group called Water Audit California has used lawsuits to pry water releases from local reservoirs for fish and has threatened a groundwater-related lawsuit against Napa County. The group last week co-sponsored a forum to suggest another way.” [Read more]
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 Fielder (2014 UC Press). His most recent book is “Floodplains: processes and management for ecosystem services“, with Jeff Opperman as the lead author and Amber Manfree, Joan Florsheim, and Eric Larsen as coauthors (2017, UC Press).
He has served on numerous advisory bodies, including the Ecosystem Restoration Program Science Board of the California Bay-Delta Authority and the National Research Council Panel on the Klamath River. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms (novel ecosystems); use of floodplains by fish; and reconciliation ecology.
Dr. Ted Grantham
Dr. Ted Grantham
Cooperative Extension Specialist and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow with the Water Policy Center of the Public Policy Institute of California.
Dr. Grantham is an eco-hydrologist interested in the impacts of human activities on river ecosystem health. His extension activities are focused on the translation of research into sustainable, cost-effective solutions for managing water and the environment. Lead author of Systematic Screening of Dams for Environmental Flow Assessment and Implementation, with co-authors Dr. Moyle and Joshua Viers, and the California WaterBlog article “California water rights: You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” He has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley’s Department of Science, Policy and Management.
Teri Jo Barber
Teri Jo Barber
Registered Hydrologist, American Institute of Hydrology
Ms. Barber uses her expertise in hydrology and storm water management in her design and restoration work in northern California wildland rivers, streams, and wetlands. Her bioengineering projects on erosion and sediment control challenges utilize natural materials that enhance ecological productivity while repairing streambank failures, stabilizing landslides, and reversing hillslope gullies. She has experience evaluating municipal sourcewater quality, in permitting construction projects, and in construction management. Teri Jo has more than 24 years of experience implementing bioengineering projects in streams of Northern California using rocks, large wood, small wood, brush, straw, and native plants. Using images of field conditions with personal experience, she will discuss the challenges facing Napa County in relation to dynamic surface water/groundwater interface. She has an M.S. Watershed Management and a B.Sc. in Water Quality from Humboldt State University, certification as a professional surface water hydrologist through American Institute of Hydrology, and a stormwater designer certification through the Northcoast Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Dr. Douglas Tully
Dr. Douglas (Gus) Tully
Lead developer of the Scott Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model
Dr. Tully’s doctoral research focused on groundwater-surface-water interactions in agricultural groundwater basins with groundwater dependent ecosystems. He has experience with development, sensitivity analysis, calibration, and uncertainty analysis of integrated hydrologic models. He was one of the lead developers of the Scott Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model (SVIHM), which is currently being used to formulate the groundwater sustainability plan for the basin. He has a B.S. in geology from UC Santa Barbara, a M.S. in hydrology from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and a Ph.D. in hydrology from UC Davis.
Rich Pauloo
Rich Pauloo
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, UC Davis
Mr. Pauloo is a PhD Candidate in physical hydrogeology at UC Davis researching emerging regional-scale threats to aquifers, such as nonpoint source contamination and domestic well failure. He will discuss the use of tools from geostatistics, 3D groundwater flow and contaminant transport, statistical/machine learning, optimization, calibration, and mathematical modeling to explain and forecast the behavior of hydrologic systems. He was recently awarded a top prize in the 2019 California Water Data Challenge by the state of California for his work on making water quality data accessible.
He will explain how drought and unsustainable groundwater management have negatively impacted communities in California’s Central Valley, and what Napa can learn from these case studies when planning for basin-scale integrated surface and groundwater management. The role of data acquisition and analysis using remote sensor networks, data science, data visualization/communication, and open source software will also be discussed.
Rich Marovich
Rich Marovich
Putah Creek Streamkeeper
Mr. Marovich has been the Putah Creek Streamkeeper since 2000, leading complex and cooperative projects to protect the resources of Lower Putah Creek. He has won over $12 million in competitive grants for physical and biological studies, community planning and habitat enhancement projects including: abating and deterring trespass and illegal dumping; controlling invasive weeds; stabilizing eroding banks; restoring natural channel form and function; and establishing native vegetation. He also manages a native plant nursery staffed with community volunteers. His prior experience includes 25 years with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation leading a statewide program to protect listed species from pesticide exposure.
Dennis Bowker
Dennis Bowker
Environmental Facilitator
Mr. Bowker was the winner (1994) of the Environmental Law Institute National Wetlands Award for his work at the Napa Resource Conservation District. The principal author of the Napa Hillside Vineyard Development Manual and the Napa River Watershed Integrated Resource Management Plan, his watershed projects have included such major wineries as the Robert Mondavi Winery, Buena Vista Vineyards, Comaine Chandon, the Sterling Winery, and the Carnerios Quality Alliance. As a consultant and facilitator through the federal government’s US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, he provided leadership to collaborative efforts to manage and resolve public and private environmental conflicts nationwide, and in Asia, South America and Europe.
“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 agencies seek to apply a complex web of statutes, ordinances, regulations, principles and practices to constrain harm to the public trust, while an entire industry of “entitlement” advocates seek to extract individual benefit from the public commons. The entire process is mired in a stalemate of expensive controversy.
Napa County has the opportunity to lead the way with environmental reconciliation. We submit for your consideration a new vision of the future proposed by the prestigious Public Policy Institute that is founded on good science, best practices, and adaptive management.
We are hosting a forum with a distinguished panel of experts who are non-political, unbiased purveyors of the facts. The experts will discuss the evolution of a new conflict-free approach to examining the relationship between development and the environment, the field conditions in the Napa watershed, and the most recent technology in measuring and modeling. We will present the testimonial of a successful streamkeeper, and a how-to-do-it discussion led by a world class environmental facilitator.
All interested persons are welcome. Seating is limited. Gates will open at noon. The presentations begin at 1:00 and will be followed by a hosted reception to allow for informal discussions and networking. Directions to the private venue at the Napa Airport will be emailed to you after your registration.
Update: Feb 4, 2020
Due to the large number of participants, we have overwhelmed the on-site parking at the venue and will be using the Napa County Airport general parking lot for our event. Starting at noon a shuttle bus will take you to the venue a short distance away. Look for the white canopy indicating the pick up point. The shuttle bus will have Water Audit’s logo on the door. Please allow an extra few minutes for this process.
There is limited handicap parking at the venue. After entering the airport turn left on Airport Road and continue to Gate 4, where security will direct you to our hangar.
Update: Feb 6, 2020
Registrations for our Napa Water Forum were much greater than the airport venue could properly accommodate. We have been able to relocate at the same time and date into the historic (1915) Native Sons building, which is located in downtown Napa, directly across the street from the municipal parking garage. The building is handicap accessible.
Please re-calibrate your navigation devices to 937 Coombs Street, on the corner of First Street, in Napa, California, 94559. Doors will still open at noon February 7, 2020, and the presentations will begin at 1 p.m., but no shuttle is required.
“Water Audit cannot, however, remain silent about the proposed Ordinance, as that legislation that appears to pose a direct threat to interests of the public trust. Recent events and research have elevated our concerns to outright alarm. …We see no discussion in the Board of Supervisor’s record of the impact that these identified new demands will have on the public trust. To the contrary, in its comment on the Ordinance the Center for Biological Diversity set forth an estimation of the water demands of the potential additional winery authorized capacity – a volume that far exceeds the bypass volume that Water Audit has worked so hard to obtain.”
“Napa County intends to cut red tape for what it deems to be modest winery expansion requests, even though a group called Water Audit California warned of possible legal action.
County officials said the goal is simply to move consideration of more routine decisions from the Planning Commission to county staff, such as adding a few employees or a certain amount of wine production. Environmental rules and public noticing will still apply.
But Water Audit California is expressing concern that streamlining could hurt streams and fish.” [Read more]
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 suit seeks a court order to “compel the respondent to remediate the Hemphill Dam’s impairment to fish passage, and to cease the unlawful kill of fish caused by the inadequate manner of diversion.”
“YOUNTVILLE — Even with California’s lengthy drought in the rear-view mirror, the reservoir feeding Yountville and the Veterans Home of California is running low. Just how low may determine what the town – and state regulators – do to curb water use and boost supplies as the dryness of summer approaches.
New monitoring equipment at Rector Reservoir northeast of Yountville suggests water levels are falling at such a rate that the state Department of Veterans Affairs, which owns both the reservoir and the Veterans Home, should plan for a possible shortfall in the middle of August as a precaution, according to CalVet Secretary Vito Imbasciani.” [Read more]
“ST. HELENA — The City Council has approved a short-term plan to bypass more water from Bell Canyon Reservoir into Bell Creek, in response to a lawsuit claiming that the city has degraded fish habitat in the creek by historically capturing too much water in the reservoir.
The council also approved contracts to install equipment measuring how much water the city diverts from Bell Creek, and to conduct studies that will lay the groundwork for a permanent bypass plan within the next 12 to 18 months.” [Read more]
“ST. HELENA — An environmental advocacy group that sued the city last year over water diversion at Bell Canyon Reservoir is now threatening a separate lawsuit over the long delay in the removal of the Upper York Creek Dam. Grant Reynolds of Water Audit California, a public benefit corporation, wrote a letter to the city on Feb. 11 requesting various city records involving the dam, and followed up two days later with a letter threatening to sue “to compel the city to action.” The dam has been declared a barrier to fish passage, and its removal has been on the city’s to-do list since at least 1993 when, in response to a state lawsuit, the city agreed to a court order pledging to remove the dam by Nov. 1, 1993. The order was lifted in 2001 to help the city apply for grant funding, and in 2010 the city entered into a settlement agreement with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries pledging to remove the dam by 2012.”[Read More]
“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 Department of Veterans Affairs and provides water to both the military retirement home west of Yountville and to the town itself.” [Read more]
“An environmental advocate who filed a claim against the city of St. Helena in May has now sued the city for allegedly failing to bypass enough water into Bell Creek.
According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 10 in Napa Superior Court by Water Audit California, the city has violated state regulatory limits on the diversion of water into Bell Canyon Reservoir, one of the city’s primary water sources, and failed to install state-mandated equipment to monitor water flows at Bell Canyon dam.” [Read more]
The following is the full text of the Amicu Brief of the California Attorney General, filed with the First Appellate District, in support of the plaintiffs in Grant Reynolds v. City of Calistoga.
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“DFW”)1 respectfully request leave to file this brief as amici curiae. The brief addresses three issues directly relevant to the dispute between the parties. First, the City of Calistoga (“City”) mischaracterized arguments advanced by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the SWRCB and DFW as amici curiae in the court below. Second, as a matter of law, the City is not a trustee agency for purposes of the public trust issues presented in this case. Third, if the City’s dam does not release sufficient water to maintain fish in good condition, the State trustees’ remedies are not limited to an action for judicial review of the City’s determination of adequate flows.
The following is the full text of the Amicu Brief of the California Attorney General, filed with the Napa Superior Court, in support of the plaintiffs in Grant Reynolds v. City of Calistoga.
