A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 29, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Freeman Diversion hinders steelhead: Water district must build new facility, officials decide
Following years of debate, officials have ruled the Freeman Diversion on the
A fish ladder does exist on the 30-foot diversion. But it does not allow steelhead to move up the river, which is deemed one of the most important watersheds in
While environmentalists applauded the decision, United Water Conservation District, which operates the diversion, was disappointed with the outcome that could cost the district tens of millions of dollars in the coming years.
United Water had fought to counter an earlier draft opinion by the NMFS. The district found the final report "extremely disappointing," and called the 2011 timetable to build a multimillion dollar facility "difficult if not unfeasible," said General Manager Dana Wisehart.
While the opinion does not outline specifics of what needs to be built, officials at California Trout said the report is a step in the right direction. California Trout filed a suit against United Water more than five years ago claiming a violation of the Endangered Species Act.
"This document is a good outcome that provides an outline for the best minds to work for a good solution for the fish," said
The 122-page document calls for a panel of experts to convene and figure out the best mechanism for fish to get around the Saticoy facility, which diverts water to a series of ponds and canals and recharges aquifers in the Oxnard Plain and
A plan of short-term solutions is expected to be drawn up as soon as this winter. Once a new facility is agreed upon, the plan calls for it to be built and operational by 2011.
The existing facility doesn't work, and fish can't find their way to the ladder during the rainy season's high flows, the report says. From 1994 to 2002, the most adult steelhead that have been seen in the diversion in one season is two.
Though United Water proposed fixing the existing fish ladder, NMFS said a completely new system is needed, though the old structure could be integrated into a newer, bigger project.
"It creates a pinch point in the system, and it will prevent steelhead from getting to where they need to spawn," Craig Wingert, a supervisory fish biologist with NMFS, said of the existing diversion.
The price tag for a new fish ladder varies from $28 million to $60 million, United Water officials said. Wisehart said the district would have no choice but to pass a rate increase onto its customers.
And she said the 2011 timetable is untenable.
"In my experience, it's downright impossible," she said.
The 2011 date was chosen because that is when United Water will have paid back the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which lent the district the funds to build the diversion.
"We do need to get moving, and that is why this deadline is so short, because we have used up so much time," said Ron Bottorff, chairman of the Friends of the
United Water could still fight the decision by filing a lawsuit, but such actions have not been discussed, Wisehart said.
On the
The
Now the fish can't get past the Freeman Diversion, which is about 12 miles from the ocean, and up into Sespe Creek, a tributary of the
Friday's opinion is seen by many environmentalists as a way to hasten the fish's restoration and allow the fish to get to the rich habitat in watersheds of
"It's the environmental overhead for the water delivery system in Southern California where we messed up the river and creek fish passages," David Pritchett, a member of the Southern California Steelhead Coalition, said of the decision. "It's a sign that the region is not sustainable or self-sufficient if the environmental quality of the river has to be degraded at the same time."#
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jul/29/freeman-diversion-hinders-steelhead/
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