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Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Merced River has a vital role; Re-licensing of Merced Irrigation District’s dams could have far-reaching consequences

Posted by: Maven on July 7, 2009 at 8:38 am

From the Merced Sun-Star:

The Merced River is not often thought of as ground zero in the state’s water wars. Most think of it as just one of many dammed-up rivers that make their way from the Sierra to the Valley floor and feed the San Joaquin River’s path north.

But because of the overuse of the San Joaquin River water south of Merced County, the Merced River has effectively become the San Joaquin’s headwaters, according to water managers and environmentalists.

So the re-licensing of Merced Irrigation District’s dams on the Merced River with the Federal Energy Commission may have much farther reaching consequences in a state water system of interconnected mazes of pumping stations and canals.

“The Merced is essentially the headwaters of the San Joaquin River,” said Ron Stork, a senior policy advocate at Friends of the River, an environmental group. Three rivers, the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus — the Merced being the first and furthest south — are all that contribute to the San Joaquin’s meager northward flow.

Read more from the Merced Sun-Star by clicking here.

Picture credit: Photo of Merced River by flickr photographer glsol.

July 7, 2009 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley

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