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The Foundation’s Northern California tour shows participants where California’s water system begins

Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2010 at 8:17 am

feather river 2Rebecca Scott fills us in on all the activities of the Water Education Foundation’s action-packed Northern California tour:

Many people don’t think about where their water comes from, which is ironic since the average family turns on the faucet 70 times a day. It is important to acknowledge the systems behind the faucet – the systems that transport water throughout all of California. The majority of people in California receive some of their water from the State Water Project (SWP) and the Central Valley Project (CVP), both of which begin in Northern California.

In October, the Foundation held its Northern California Tour which gave participants an inside look at the dams and rivers that feed into the water system of the whole state. What happens up north affects the water supply to the south, as we have clearly seen with the off and on shutting down of the pumps due to fish population decline and the biological opinions.

On the tour one of the many issues we discussed was the biological opinion requirements to change operations at several of the dams and facilities we visited in an attempt to restore the declining populations of salmon and steelhead. I led the tour, and Rita Schmidt Sudman, the Foundation’s Executive Director, joined the group. This tour not only gave us a better understanding of Northern California water issues but also shed light on the fact that everything in water is connected in California.

The tour participants met at the Sacramento airport, and we all piled in the bus and headed to the California Farm Bureau. Donn Zea from the Northern California Water Association met us there and gave an overview of Northern California water issues. He touched on the concern of legislation affecting established water rights as well as the low-amount of water transfers this year because of the farmers’ high commodity prices.

feather riverDWR’s Gary Bardini briefed us on key flood dates in California history in the Sacramento Valley. If you live in Southern California, you may ask yourself why you should be concerned with flood systems of the North. Gary made it clear that if a levee breaks in the North you may not get your water in the South because the transportation system has been disabled…pretty good reason to care. We also learned that of all natural disasters in California, 60% are flood-related.

The discussion of floods continued on to our next stop at Plumas Lake in Yuba County. After the 1997 flood, there was a bond issuance and cost sharing formula to create setback levees so the river can meander naturally.

Doug Handen from Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (TRLIA) and Dan Wanket from GEI gave us a tour of the Bear River setback levee and the Feather River setback levee active construction site. Traveling along the earthen levees in a bus is quite an adventure.

The flood of 1997 caused a break in a Feather River levee which resulted in the flooding of RD 784 and the death of 3 people. The Feather River setback levee will be the largest setback levee ever built in California and will provide benefits for both environmental and flood control. It is quite an impressive project.

Our morning ended with a delicious lunch at the Yuba County Water Agency. It was a beautiful October day, and we stood in the warm sunlight socializing before lunch. At lunch, Curt Aikens, General Manager of Yuba County Water Agency, spoke about the history of Yuba County, as well as the Lower Yuba River Accord. The Accord involved 5 years of negotiations involving Yuba County Water Agency_Curt AikensMWD of Southern California and 18 other agencies and stakeholder groups to enhance in-stream flows along 24 miles of key salmon and steelhead habitat in a manner that preserved Yuba County’s ability to meet its water supply, hydropower and recreation needs. This year the agency received the state’s highest environmental award. To learn more about the Lower Yuba River Accord, check out the Foundation’s recent publication “The Lower Yuba River Accord: From Controversy to Consensus.”

DWR’s Stacy Cepello set the scene for our next stop at the Feather River Fish Hatchery by discussing Feather River restoration and FERC implementation work. If you have ever been on our tours, you know that we never waste a minute; we not only have speakers at each stop, but speakers perform a balancing act talking to the group on the bus from one stop to the next. How can you have a more captive audience than people on a bus?

On the way, we passed Thermolito Afterbay below Oroville Dam where the water from the State Water Project is kept in shallow pools to warm for use on rice fields.

Feather River Fish HatcheryThe Feather River Fish Hatchery was next on our agenda where DWR’s John Ford arranged for a special viewing for our group of the hatchery operations. Oroville Dam prohibits salmon and steelhead trout from returning to their home stream to spawn so the Feather River Fish Hatchery, one of California’s largest hatcheries, was built.

At the hatchery, there is a barrier dam, which blocks fish from swimming upstream and forces them to do a left-fin turn and enter the concrete fish ladder. The fish ladder has viewing windows to see the fish’s harrowing journey up the ladder to their death. Most anadromous fish, such as salmon, spawn and then die.

The hatchery operations speed the process up and artificially fertilize and hatch the fish eggs. The process was a shocking sight to some. You can learn more about the hatchery and operations on their website at http://www.water.ca.gov/recreation/locations/oroville/FeatherRiverTour/jhtml/jbook_1.html?45.

Lake OrovilleJohn Ford directed the bus on to Oroville Dam. As we drove along the top, we were able to see how low the water level actually is. Oroville Dam is the tallest earthen dam in the US, and Oroville Reservoir is actually a hidden recreation spot of the North as well as the largest storage facility for the State Water Project. The water in the reservoir is used to operate the Oroville facilities in Butte County, which is the official starting point of the SWP, and includes Lake Oroville, Thermolito Forebay, and Thermolito Afterbay along with two pumping-generating plants and one power plant.

John bid adieu to the group, and we headed to the Butte Creek Siphon. For once the bus arrived early at a site, and we watched as the three speakers arrived one by one in clouds of dust on the Butte Creek Siphon_Allen Harthorndirt road in the middle of a farm. You might think this is an odd place to be meeting, but not on a Foundation water tour.

The siphon is a CALFED restoration project on Butte Creek, which was constructed because of the negative effect the previous diversion strategy and dams had on the fish runs. The siphon pulls diverted water 30 feet beneath the bed of Butte Creek in three 850-feet long parallel tubes each 10 feet in diameter, which eliminated the need for the other diversion and the two dams on the creek.

Allen Harthorn from Friends of Butte Creek, Ted Trimble and Eric Larrabee from Butte Creek Siphon_Ted TrimbleWestern Canal Water District shared the history of the area and the siphon. After much discussion and with the help of some federal funds, they were able to remove the dams and replace with a siphon to improve the fish spawning habitat and continue irrigation diversions. Rita remembers the day when Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt held the sledgehammer and welded the ledge to symbolically show the dam coming down.

The night ended at the Larrabee’s duck club or rather duck chalet. We pulled up to the chalet as the sun was setting in the background. The inside was garnished with busts of exotic animals, a fire place and a bountiful buffet of food from the Italian Guy, a local caterer.

Jason Larrabee is a former Foundation Water Leader and worked for a California congressional representative in DC. Eric Larrabee, his brother, is on the board of directors for the Western Canal Water District, and he talked about working as a farmer. Butte Creek Siphon_Eric LarrabeeThe question about the rice farmers in the district supporting increased storage was raised and followed by a lengthy discussion.

After many questions, Bryce Lundberg ended the evening with a lighthearted quiz for the group on what they know about rice with bags of rice treats as prizes. You should check out the Foundation’s slide card on how much water it takes to produce various foods – you’d be surprised.

Day two began with an in-depth presentation on groundwater. DWR’s Dan McManus talked about the Northern Sacramento Valley groundwater conditions. DWR has challenges measuring groundwater because they can only do it with willing participants and landowners. It is a challenge to monitor things when there are no legal requirements to participate, but the recent legislation attempts to get the ball rolling on some groundwater measurement.

John Gamper from the California Farm Bureau Federation discussed the attempts of the legislature in the last couple years to eliminate funding for the Williamson Act. John Merz, Executive Director from the Sacramento River Preservation Trust, was the last speaker at breakfast, and he set the stage for the participants to hear a different viewpoint on some of the stories and victories we had learned about on the tour. He described some of the early fights in the 80s in the Sacramento Valley water world. People and organizations that could hardly converse with each other due to differing views have now learned the ever important lesson of compromise. With funding, growing environmentalism and cooperation among stakeholders, John’s organization has made tremendous progress.

Woodson Bridge ParkTalking about compromise and progress, the next stop was Woodson Bridge County Park. Woodson Bridge is one of several locations along the Sacramento River that is now constrained due to riprap placed first during a 1958 flood control project. The project we discussed aims to restore the natural fluvial function of the river where it is currently restricted due to revetment.

Through the years, the goals, struggles and plans for this area have changed. From rip rap to palisades, the restoration ideas have evolved but now they all agree it’s important to keep the bridge and road intact. One of the ideas on the scene now is to move the river to the natural path and add a bypass to move it into another channel to keep the bridge. Why you may ask, well considering projects and money this is the only bridge in a 10-15 miles radius.

The Nature Conservancy plays a role in the changes of the land, and as a land owner they are involved in the restoration as well. DWR’S Aric Lester and The Nature Conservancy’s Ryan Luster joined the Red Bluff Diversion Dam_Paul Freeman Reclamationgroup to talk about the Woodson Bridge project and erosion control on the Sacramento River.

After spending the morning in the hot Northern California sun, the next stop was welcomed. We turned down another dusty road, past a “No Entry” sign and picked up Paul Freeman of the Bureau of Reclamation alongside the road. Paul is the Division Chief of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, and he had set up a white tent, chairs and a podium, which provided a very needed rest in the shade.

Paul gave an overview of the operations of the dam which was finished in 1966, but proved to be an impediment of fish passage on the river. The Red Bluff Diversion Dam’s gates are lowered to form Lake Red Bluff, which enables the gravity diversion of water from the Sacramento River into the Tehama-Colusa and Corning Canals to irrigate 150,000 acres of farmland.

Red Bluff Diversion Dam2Due to the endangered species issues, the gates have been left open more and more through the years. Tom Kisanuki from the US Fish and Wildlife Service talked about the decline in fish populations and how a fish ladder was not the answer in this case because green sturgeon have difficulty climbing fish ladders. In all the years of fish counting, not a one has made it completely up the ladder. Plans now are to leave the gates open and to build a temporary pumping plant while constructing a final pumping plant.

The loss of the reservoir has raised concerns in the recreation community, but many are feeling positive about the new pumping plant and the improvement of fish passage. Tom stated that this is the plan, but they are unable to ensure that this will work.

Red Bluff Diversion Dam_Jeff Sutton - Tehama Colusa Canal AuthorityJeff Sutton, General Manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, shared the history of the district and the current activity of constructing the temporary pumping plant and the plans for the permanent pumping plant. He also stressed the value of crops in the area, and the importance of continuing the diversions for farming.

We had lunch across the river at the Sacramento River Discovery Center. The Sacramento River Discovery Center provides education, conservation, and outreach programs to build understanding, appreciation and stewardship for the river and its resources.

Assemblyman Jim Nielsen had lunch with us and spoke about the latest in the water debate. Nielsen gave an up-to-the-minute talk on what was happening with the proposed legislation. Sacramento River Discovery Center_Asm Jim NielsenHe discussed water rights as well as groundwater pumping and interference.

After lunch, we headed to Shasta Dam, which is the second largest concrete dam in the United States. There is enough concrete in Shasta Dam to make a sidewalk long enough to wrap around the world at the equator. A former Water Leader, Ryan Murdock, with MWH, the primary consultant for the study (Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation) on raising the Dam which has been brought up numerous times since 1980, met us at the visitor’s center and presented information about the study while standing in front of a grandiose wall of windows overlooking the dam.

Sheri Harral, the tour director at Shasta Dam, gave us a tour of the dam. The building of the dam started in the depths of the depression and was the keystone of the federal project. All 50 of us fit into the one elevator and dropped 428 feet to the base of the dam and entered into a hallway resembling that of what you would find in a hospital from the 30s with green tile walls and terrazzo flooring. We formed two lines on either side of the hall and followed the instructions of our guide to clap in unison. shasta damWe heard the clap travel down the gallery at the speed of sound and echo back to us at 758 miles per hour!

Sheri zipped through the facts and dates and provided for us an energetic and passionate overview of the people involved and the feat that was overcome with the construction of this Dam. After Sheri’s tour, we took the elevator back to the top of the Dam and met the bus.

On the bus ride over the bridge, we peered down from the Dam and saw the three houseboats waiting for us at the dock to take us for an afternoon cruise on Lake Shasta. In addition to learning about the districts, water transfers, fish passage, endangered species and restoration, recreation is an important issue that needs to be experienced on our tours. After all, the point of the tours is to get out of your office and to the location, so we try to include a little actual involvement with the water.

The walk to the houseboats was straight down a long ramp and far out onto the dock because of the low water level. After everyone made it onto the three houseboats, we took off to cruise around the lake and watch the sun lowering in the sky. The conversation was thick with discussions of the issues addressed in presentations throughout the two days.

It was our time to relax and reflect as the sun reflected off the water. For me, there is nothing more restful than being out on the water. John Dunlap, a retired engineer, was a speaker on the Foundation tours for many years, and now for 12 years, he has been a houseboat captain for the cruise – a definite highlight of the tour.

At dinner that night, Rita gave a brief history of water in California and introduced long-time respected engineer Joe Patten from CH2M Hill, who joined us for dinner. Mark Oliver, also from CH2M Hill, provided an overview of how issues in Northern California are related to the Bay-Delta and gave a chronology of concerns from a consultant’s point of view.

Breakfast on the third day began with a presentation by Mary Marshall from the Bureau of Reclamation on the Battle Creek Restoration project. The studies have been going on for many years and now they are actually starting the removal of the five dams, beginning with Wildcat Dam, to help improve fish spawning habitat on Battle Creek.

Jim Pedri from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board met up with us at the hotel in Redding and began the discussion of water quality in the North. Whiskeytown LakeIt was a treat to have him join the tour as he is retiring in a year, and he knows the latest and the greatest on water quality issues.

On the way to Clair Hill-Whiskeytown Dam Overlook and visitor’s center, he shared the history of pollution in the Northern California watersheds back to the days of the 60s and 70s when anything and everything was dumped in the river. The safeguards to water quality are important to those that use water in California.

The Whiskeytown Dam on Clear Creek was dedicated by John F. Kennedy in 1963 with the quote “we should realize our Whiskeytown Lake2resources and make them useful.” Times have changed, for we now realize that the creek is not only a resource of the people but also of the fish, and there are processes and challenges of keeping the water cold enough for spawning fish, something that in the 40s – 60s was not a priority.

Whiskeytown reservoir is probably most well-known for being a popular recreation area, but there is quite a complex system of tunnels and temperature screens to tap water of another watershed, the Trinity system, and bring it into Whiskeytown reservoir and then to Keswick Reservoir and on to the Sacramento River.

Through the years, the effects of gold mining, gravel extraction, dams, timber harvest, development, and roads in the lower Clear Creek watershed have led to Iron Mtn - Treatment Plantdegradation of stream channel and riparian conditions and contributed to the decline of the lower Clear Creek fishery.

Matt Brown from the US Fish and Wildlife Service also met us at the Whiskeytown overlook and spoke to the group about the Clear Creek restoration project. The project includes increasing in-stream flows, channel rehabilitation, restoring sediment transports, restoring native riparian vegetation, reducing salmonid stranding and improving fish passage. The project’s results have been positive, and they are seeing improvements in the salmonid populations.

We continued on to view the Spring Creek Debris Dam and then visited the Iron Mountain Mine treatment plant located on Spring Creek, one of the most polluted and acidic streams in the world. Mining for zinc and metals in WWII and throughout history has caused much pollution not only to Spring Creek but also to the Sacramento River. Iron Mountain Mine has been listed as a Federal Superfund site since 1983.

Spring Creek Debris Dam_dredging projectSpring Creek Debris Dam was constructed to catch sediment, and serves primarily to collect severe acid mine drainage stemming from the Iron Mountain Mine. Currently, there is a dredging program to by CH2M Hill to remove the sediment that has gathered at the dam. The treatment plant has rust colored debris settling pools that are emptied, and the debris is then trucked to a disposal pit at the top of Iron Mountain, all in an effort to keep pollution out of the rivers and tributaries.

We had a brief stop at the Sundial Bridge on our way through Redding as we began our trek back to Sacramento. The graceful bridge crosses the Sacramento River, and it put Redding on the map. Sundial BridgeThe giant sundial reaches high in the air and casts a shadow on the hour-marked stones at the end of the bridge in coordination with the time of day. This stop provided the chance to stand on the bridge and gaze at the waters of the Sacramento River flowing beneath you.

Lunch was at the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District and set under the trees on the river. Wonderful scenery, shade and delicious food from a local taqueria set the scene for an enjoyable presentation by Thad Bettner, General Manager, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID).

GCID was one of the first large-scale agricultural water users and has historical water rights on the Sacramento River that date back to 1883. The GCID pumping plant is located on an oxbow of the Sacramento River, and at times GCID diverts up to 1/4 of Sacramento River. Thad talked about the years of fighting over fishery issues in the 80s and 90s and building of the new pumping plant and screen.

Glenn Colusa Irrigation District_Thad BettnerWith passage of the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), GCID received funding for the new pumping plant and fish screen, and change finally came. The board accepted the fact that a new fish screen was needed because of the high fish mortality rates, and the federal funding they received to construct the screen. The funding was to the tune of the USBR covering 75% of the cost and they split the other 25% with the state.

We had a tour of the fish screen which consists of a 600-foot extension to the pre-existing fish screen. The screen is equipped with a cleaning wiper that slides along the entire length of screen, all six hundred feet.

So far we had seen that people and fish need water, but birds need water, too. A visit to the Delevan Wildlife Refuge made the picture complete. The wildlife refuge has multiple uses including hunting and waterfowl habitat. The refuge received water from Glenn-Colusa and is ensured to get a certain amount of water from CVPIA.

Sites Reservoir_Dave Bogener DWRFarmers were busy burning what seemed like their 10% allotment of rice stubble because the rain was on the way. There was a hazy backdrop to the birds flying over the refuge. More than 200,000 ducks and 100,000 geese come to the refuge each winter. The birds are smart: they know when hunting season begins and when to fly and when to not fly in the area.

The final site we visited was the proposed project site of Sites Reservoir. A heated discussion on the proposed Sites Reservoir with DWR’s Glen Pearson, Dave Bogener, an Environmental Scientist from DWR, and Steve Evans from Friends of the River brought a conclusion to a tour that once again emphasized the complexity of water issues.

While we were talking about the reservoir, the issue was being debated in the state legislature as part of a bond to possibly be decided by voters in November 2010.Sites Reservoir_Steve Evans After many investigations, including endangered species, the site was selected from a bevy of many sites and was narrowed down as the best site by DWR. Steve expressed concerns for the seismic, temperature and economic funding issues of the project.

It was interesting to stand at a site that may be under water one day while looking around at the houses and ranches that would be removed in this beautiful rural location. We invited a local landowner to speak. She wasn’t able to make it, but has stated in several articles her support of the project.

The ride to the airport was filled with our extremely knowledgeable resource speakers DWR’s Todd Hillaire and the Bureau’s Peggy Manza answering last minute questions specific to the operations. Todd’s pitch was to be involved in Bulletin 160 and involve yourself in the process. People can go online to be involved at http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/. Our day ended where it began just two days before at the airport, but we had returned with a new understanding of our state water system.

It’s time for you to be involved in a Foundation water tour and see firsthand where your water comes from. For more information, view the Water Education Foundation website at www.watereducation.org. We have the new 2010 tour dates and information posted, and you should also check out the “Where does my water come from?” page, and of course, remember to check Aquafornia daily for the scoop on what’s going on in water.

The Foundation thanks the following organizations for making this tour possible: California Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Reclamation – Mid Pacific Region, CH2M Hill, MWH, Parsons, Davids Engineering, GEI Consultants – Bookman-Edmonston Division, Somach Simmons & Dunn, California Farm Bureau Federation, Central Valley Flood Control Association, Yuba County Water Agency, Western Canal Water District, Northern California Water Association, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority and Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District.

Photos of the Feather River & Shasta Dam by flickr photographers Rajiv Patel, tjgiordano, and mlhradio (Creative Commons).

January 4, 2010 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives

Comments

One Response to “The Foundation’s Northern California tour shows participants where California’s water system begins”

  1. Rita Schmidt Sudman on January 4th, 2010 5:58 pm

    Good summary of the trip.

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