Hearing held on reducing Russian River water flows

The first public hearing was held Wednesday on a far-reaching federal order that lowers flows in the Russian River and requires habitat restoration for coho salmon and steelhead.

"This is a historic moment," said Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith, chairman of a committee of local, state and federal officials in charge of implementing the order. "This work has been going on for 11 years. This is the blueprint for fisheries management."

The National Marine Fisheries Service is ordering summertime flows in the upper Russian River be lowered by reducing releases from Coyote Valley Dam to enhance habitat for steelhead, which is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The lower flows from the dam, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers and Sonoma County Water Agency, also mean less water at the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner, where federal biologists want the sandbar left in place to create a freshwater lagoon.

The Water Agency also is being required to put in clusters of boulders and logs to create habitat for steelhead and coho salmon, which are listed as endangered, in six of the 14 miles of Dry Creek.

The belief is the habitat will protect fish in Dry Creek without reducing the flows, which could affect 600,000 customers who rely on Lake Sonoma water.

The program is expected to cost $100 million over 15 years, paid for by water customers and federal funds.

About 150 people attended Wednesday's hearing at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

Rohnert Park Mayor Jake Mackenzie said he is concerned about costs being passed on to water customers, who are conserving water and still seeing their rates go up.

"There are pocketbook issues," Mackenzie said.

Guerneville resident Brenda Adelman said biologists should also be looking at the impact of toxins and pesticides being washed into the river.

"While your efforts are fine and may produce results, if there isn't action on this, you are wasting your time and money," Adelman said.

David Keller of Petaluma, a member of Friends of the Eel River, said legal and illegal diversions from the river should be studied and less water diverted from the Eel River into Lake Mendocino.

"If the flows are reduced in the Russian River during the summer, does that mean that water stays in the Eel River? There are fish in the Eel that need water, too," Keller said.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.