Russian River mouth reopened, preventing Jenner flooding

The Sonoma County Water Agency took emergency action Saturday afternoon to breach the mouth of the Russian River after the estuary waters came dangerously close to spilling into Jenner.

As it was, the river rose right to the edge of the low-lying commercial district, edging up toward Cafe Aquatica, the local post office and the Jenner Visitor Center, which came within inches of flooding.

Volunteers had worked late Friday afternoon to move anything that could be damaged by water off the floor to higher levels, according to Michele Luna, executive director of Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, which operates the center, a former boathouse. They also disconnected electronics and ensured things like taxidermied animals were out of harm’s way - preparations that actually made them late to the organization’s annual holiday gathering in Guerneville, Luna said.

The water “didn’t get in the building this time,” she said. “A couple of years ago it did, so we dodged the bullet. But we’re always prepared.”

The river crested just above 10 feet Saturday, a foot above flood stage, after days of heavy surf and king tides conspired to seal the river shut with a rising wall of sand pushed across the mouth. Rainfall and overwash of waves, meanwhile, raised the water inside the berm, threatening low-elevation areas of town that were flooded under similar circumstances two years ago.

In that case, the water reached 12.25 feet in Jenner, flooding the visitor center and flowing into surrounding parking lots. Both instances occurred during the time of a Super Moon, when the moon moves closer to Earth than usual, exerting a greater than average gravitational pull. The estuary also rose above flood stage in 2001, reaching 11.1 feet, the water agency said.

As surging tides pushed the water above 8 feet late last week, they prevented water agency crews from safely cutting an outlet channel through the beach, which requires moving an excavator onto the sand at the north end of Goat Rock State Beach near the jetty, agency maintenance lead Gary Tourady said.

“Thursday and Friday we started to get out there, but the swells were so high, the waves were so high, it was going over the whole beach,” he said.

It appeared the next attempt would have to wait until Monday. But after keeping a close eye on the tidal situation Friday, Tourady monitored the beach Saturday in hopes that a window for the work would open in the afternoon, during the low tide.

During a quick “tailgate meeting” around 1 p.m., the decision was made to go for it, he said.

The crew cleared 390 cubic yards of sand, about the equivalent of 39 dump truck loads, Tourady said.

It’s unusual for the water agency to attempt a breach on a weekend in large part because of generally higher numbers of visitors at Goat Rock, Tourady said. Once the channel is cleared, the river begins pouring through, widening the mouth and drawing curious visitors who may put themselves in harm’s way as rushing water undermines the stability of the banks.

But even at 7 feet, the agency has to start paying attention, and by Saturday the water was rising very quickly, he said.

“It definitely got up to the edge of the parking lot entrance,” Cafe Aquatica owner Aron Parks said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.