Summer arrives along the river
Dams put in place along Russian River to create swimming holes
Greg Durst lifts a large plank into place on the temporary dam at Vacation Beach in Guerneville Monday morning.
JOHN BURGESS/THE PRESS DEMOCRATPublished: Monday, June 15, 2009 at 4:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 15, 2009 at 4:22 p.m.
Workers Monday put the final touches on two summer dams along the lower Russian River, even as nearby business owners wait to see how much water will flow over the temporary barriers starting next month.
The seasonal dams at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville and down river at Vacation Beach provide swimming holes for several miles of a river that meanders through a winding canyon crowned with redwoods.
But this year the Sonoma County Water Agency has warned that it may sharply curtail the river’s flows this summer from Lake Mendocino in order to store enough water for fall salmon runs. The low flows could affect canoe rentals, as well as the number of swimmers and sunbathers who come to the river.
“We’ve been working with the recreational folks and we understand their concerns,” said Brad Sherwood, a spokesman for the water agency. He said it was too early, however, to predict how much water will be flowing downstream from the Fourth of July through Labor Day.
“We’re hoping that in Guerneville that it (lower flows) doesn’t have an impact,” said Laura Wilson, a manager and co-owner of her family’s Johnson’s Beach & Resort. “And that’s due to the summer dams.”
In recent days, workers for the Russian River Recreation and Parks District installed parts of the dams. But Monday was the first day that the state Department of Fish & Game allowed the dams to begin holding back the flow, said Dana Zimmerman, chairman of the district’s five-member board.
The dams consist of steel pilings or A-frame braces, connected by thick wooden flashboards, some of them nearly 6 inches thick.
On Monday at Vacation Beach, a harbor seal squirmed over a lower section of the flashboards and proceeded down river. A blue heron perched among the work and later circled above the pool that was forming.
Nearby dump trucks backed across a moveable steel bridge to release gravel for what will become a summer road crossing.
At Johnson’s Beach, Zimmerman showed construction plans dated 1955 for that dam’s steel pilings. Others said the river has had summer dams for 80 to 100 years.
“This produces a lot of pleasure to a lot of people,” Zimmerman said.
Another summer dam is on schedule to be completed by the county on June 26 at Healdsburg, said Paul Kelley, a county supervisor who represents the city.
Meanwhile, the state Water Resources Control Board has given the Water Agency permission to lower the river flow starting July 6 to as low as 35 feet per cubic second below Dry Creek near Healdsburg. Such a low flow hasn’t been seen along the river in at least three decades.
The state, meanwhile, has told Sonoma County to have residents and business cut use of the river’s water by 25 percent, and for Mendocino County, by 50 percent. The result has been voluntary conservation programs in Santa Rosa and other cities.
Zimmerman called the minimum river flow this summer “nearly nothing.” Should such low flows occur, he said, a major issue “will be what quality the water is behind the dam.”
The state has ordered the county to increase its monitoring of the river for water temperature, bacteria and dissolved oxygen.
This month storage at Lake Mendocino has benefitted from cooler weather and from extra Eel River water shipped from Lake Pillsbury through a hydroelectric project, Sherwood said.
Business owners expressed optimism that such factors might allow the water agency to provide the water they need.
“We’re all hopeful that there may be enough that everybody’s happy,” said Linda Burke, who with her brother Bob owns Burke’s Canoe Trips near Forestville.
Workers Monday put the final touches on two summer dams along the lower Russian River, even as nearby business owners wait to see how much water will flow over the temporary barriers starting next month.
The seasonal dams at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville and down river at Vacation Beach provide swimming holes for several miles of a river that meanders through a winding canyon crowned with redwoods.
But this year the Sonoma County Water Agency has warned that it may sharply curtail the river’s flows this summer from Lake Mendocino in order to store enough water for fall salmon runs. The low flows could affect canoe rentals, as well as the number of swimmers and sunbathers who come to the river.
“We’ve been working with the recreational folks and we understand their concerns,” said Brad Sherwood, a spokesman for the water agency. He said it was too early, however, to predict how much water will be flowing downstream from the Fourth of July through Labor Day.
“We’re hoping that in Guerneville that it (lower flows) doesn’t have an impact,” said Laura Wilson, a manager and co-owner of her family’s Johnson’s Beach & Resort. “And that’s due to the summer dams.”
In recent days, workers for the Russian River Recreation and Parks District installed parts of the dams. But Monday was the first day that the state Department of Fish & Game allowed the dams to begin holding back the flow, said Dana Zimmerman, chairman of the district’s five-member board.
The dams consist of steel pilings or A-frame braces, connected by thick wooden flashboards, some of them nearly 6 inches thick.
On Monday at Vacation Beach, a harbor seal squirmed over a lower section of the flashboards and proceeded down river. A blue heron perched among the work and later circled above the pool that was forming.
Nearby dump trucks backed across a moveable steel bridge to release gravel for what will become a summer road crossing.
At Johnson’s Beach, Zimmerman showed construction plans dated 1955 for that dam’s steel pilings. Others said the river has had summer dams for 80 to 100 years.
“This produces a lot of pleasure to a lot of people,” Zimmerman said.
Another summer dam is on schedule to be completed by the county on June 26 at Healdsburg, said Paul Kelley, a county supervisor who represents the city.
Meanwhile, the state Water Resources Control Board has given the Water Agency permission to lower the river flow starting July 6 to as low as 35 feet per cubic second below Dry Creek near Healdsburg. Such a low flow hasn’t been seen along the river in at least three decades.
The state, meanwhile, has told Sonoma County to have residents and business cut use of the river’s water by 25 percent, and for Mendocino County, by 50 percent. The result has been voluntary conservation programs in Santa Rosa and other cities.
Zimmerman called the minimum river flow this summer “nearly nothing.” Should such low flows occur, he said, a major issue “will be what quality the water is behind the dam.”
The state has ordered the county to increase its monitoring of the river for water temperature, bacteria and dissolved oxygen.
This month storage at Lake Mendocino has benefitted from cooler weather and from extra Eel River water shipped from Lake Pillsbury through a hydroelectric project, Sherwood said.
Business owners expressed optimism that such factors might allow the water agency to provide the water they need.
“We’re all hopeful that there may be enough that everybody’s happy,” said Linda Burke, who with her brother Bob owns Burke’s Canoe Trips near Forestville.
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