[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 8/18/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

August 18, 2008

 

3. Watersheds –

 

 

 

Voluntary water conservation puts Lake Mendocino in shape for salmon

The Press Democrat- 8/18/08
By BOB NORBERG

For the second consecutive year, water conservation efforts are paying off in the North Bay area.

 

The Sonoma County Water Agency is meeting its goal of reducing the amount of water it takes out of the Russian River by 15 percent, allowing water to be stockpiled in Lake Mendocino for release during the fall salmon run.

 

Officials credit conservation efforts by the agency's major customers -- the cities and water districts from Windsor to San Rafael -- and now project there will be enough water left in the reservoir for October releases.

 

"They said they were doing a similar effort as last year, they would reduce the water by 15 percent from 2004, and that was the basis of what happened last year," said Don Seymour, principal engineer for the Water Agency.

 

The Water Agency has been diverting less than 70 million gallons per day from the Russian River at its intake pumps at Wohler and Mirabel, near Forestville, Seymour said.

 

Without the conservation measures, the average in past years had been about 80 million gallons per day, Seymour said.

 

This is the second year the Water Agency has asked its customers to conserve water.

 

By the end of January, Santa Rosa's rainfall was 3 inches above normal, good news coming off a weather year when rainfall was 30 percent below normal.

 

But less than an inch of rain fell after March 1, resulting in the driest spring on record. The water year ended with Santa Rosa recording 24.03 inches of rain, far less than the 31.01 inches that has been the average for the past 30 years.

 

In June, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought, freeing restrictions on some water delivery to hard-hit areas. But voluntary conservation measures in Sonoma and Marin counties were all that was needed.

 

Last year, the Water Agency was under a state mandate to conserve the water after Lake Mendocino fell dangerously low at the beginning of summer.

 

The Water Agency wants to have about 40,000 acre-feet in the lake Oct. 1, when it will begin releasing water into the Russian River for the fall migration run of chinook salmon.

 

Lake Mendocino this past week was at about 55,300 acre-feet, according to the Water Agency.

 

"We are projecting 42,000 to 43,000 acre-feet. We are hoping that will be sufficient for the fish," Seymour said.

 

"We are feeling confident that we will have an adequate water supply for that migration."#

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080818/NEWS/808180308/1350&title=Voluntary_water_conservation_puts_Lake_Mendocino_in_shape_for_salmon