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The San Joaquin River Reconnects to the Delta and the Sea

2010-03-17T00:47:05Z

On March 12th, the San Joaquin River was reconnected to the Bay-Delta and the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 60 years using natural river flows. Part of the San Joaquin River Settlement in 2006, the flows being released from Friant Dam this spring, combined with storm runoff from a few small tributary creeks, were enough to re-wet 150 miles of river, join with the Merced River and continue on downstream to the Bay. The goal of these releases in advance of reintroducing salmon in 2012 is to collect data to improve our understanding of the river and begin the process of healing the San Joaquin. For salmon fishermen, these flows represent a rare piece of good news during a time when salmon populations have crashed throughout the state, leading to the closure of the commercial salmon fishery for the past two years. But really all Californians have reason to be excited. The San Joaquin is one of our state’s great rivers and a vital public resource to be enjoyed by all. But perhaps even more importantly, restoring the San Joaquin can serve as an example for resolving other water resource conflicts in the state. Environmentalists, farmers, fishermen and resource agencies can work together to balance water needs so as to sustain agriculture, support a healthy environment and improve water quality for millions of Californians.

Life-giving flows resume on the San Joaquin River

2010-02-02T01:22:44Z

This week, flow releases out of Friant Dam resumed as part of the effort to restore the San Joaquin River that resulted from the historic settlement agreement between NRDC, the Friant Water Users Authority and the federal government. Last fall, from October 1st to November 20th, flows were released to the San Joaquin River for the first time in over 60 years. Those initial flows were covered extensively in the media, from the local Fresno paper to the New York Times.

The 2006 settlement agreement set in motion one of the largest river restoration efforts in the nation by requiring flows and salmon to be restored to the San Joaquin River, which was dried up and lost its salmon runs in the 1940’s. The restoration flows being released in these initial years – called Interim Flows - are intermittent in nature and are less than the full flows that will go down the river once the river channel is restored and barriers to salmon migration are fixed.

The flows that began on February 1st will continue until December 1st of this year and will provide a wealth of information critical to the restoration effort. The releases this spring will be the largest yet – up to about 1600 cubic feet per second –enough water to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool in about 53 seconds. Given that the river has been dry for most of the last 60 years, releasing flows several years before salmon are reintroduced in 2012 will help refine our knowledge about the river and how best to manage the limited water provided under the Settlement (about 18% of the historic flows) in ways that maximize the benefits to fish and wildlife. Over the next few months data will be collected regarding water temperatures and other habitat characteristics of the river. Information will also be collected about the river’s ability to convey flows in order to identify places where the channel may need to be modified to safely carry higher releases of water. Additionally, these flow releases will help improve water supply management by providing opportunities to recirculate and reuse restoration flows for agricultural purposes once the water has provided the intended environmental benefit.

The resumption of restoration flow releases down the San Joaquin River, even at a fraction of its once mighty flows, is a monumental event. Aside from being a major step forward in restoring California’s second longest river, it will also provide flows to the struggling San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem, a source of water for 23 million residents, and help revive the ailing salmon runs that are the life blood of California’s commercial fishing industry. But perhaps even more importantly, these flows and the restoration effort are an example of how farmers, fishermen, environmentalists, and state and federal agencies can work together to implement real solutions to California’s conflicts over water resources.

The Signing of the Omnibus Lands Bill and the Restoration of the San Joaquin River

2009-03-31T18:33:59Z

When President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Lands Bill yesterday many wonderful things happened, not the least of which was legislation completing a settlement that ended one of the West's longest water battles. The San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act gave federal agencies the authority and funding to carry out one of the largest salmon and river restoration programs in the history of the United States. After 18 years in court and two years of planning and preparation, the first natural flows in over a half century will once again create a living river sustaining fish and wildlife. Under the Settlement, salmon will be reintroduced in 2012 - nearly sixty two years since the last fish died out in the face of a dry river bed - with the goal of nearly 30,000 spring run Chinook returning to spawn each year. Once again, the San Joaquin River will earn the distinction of being the second longest living river in California.

But the Settlement is about much more than just fish and wildlife. Future generations will be able to swim in cool clean waters fresh from the Sierra and fishermen will be able to cast their lines along its bank. And the Settlement is also about protecting agriculture. While some water (around 18% on average) will now remain in the river instead of being diverted for agricultural uses, the Settlement provides certainty for farmers about what their future water supplies will be, as well as provisions to help mitigate water supply and other impacts.

The restoration of the San Joaquin River has been made possible by many. From George Warner, an early fish and game employee who in 1950 held in his hands one of the last salmon he tried for years to save, to Hal Candee, who filed the original suit in 1988 and worked for 21 years to restore flows and fish. There are legislators, particularly Senator Feinstein and their staff as well as staff from over a dozen fishing and conservation groups that have worked hard for many years in the belief that the river would be restored. And there are representatives of the Friant farmers who in the end saw what needed to be done and worked to find a path forward -outside the court room. It was not easy and surely not popular with everyone, but they had the strength and wisdom to seek to gain a better outcome by working together rather than sustaining an unmitigated court ordered judgment.

But here is not where the story ends, but rather begins. Hard work lies ahead for all of us who now must implement the Settlement and legislation to create a living river. There will undoubtedly be many challenges ahead, as we try to modify a landscape that has grown up around a dry river bed and will now have to adjust to the river being wet once again. There will be a need to look at ways to offset water supply impacts without harming the environment. But just as with the settlement, only by working together can the best possible outcome be achieved and benefits realized by everyone. Restoring the San Joaquin to its once massive flows and wide-spread floodplains is not possible - and it's not the goal of the Settlement. Instead, the goal will have to be a river, scaled down in size but living none the less, so salmon and other native fish will have sufficient water and habitat to be self sustaining without the need for permanent hatcheries. Restored flows will create riffles for salmon spawning and sand bars to support willow and cottonwood trees that will benefit migratory birds and other wildlife. And all Californians, now and for generations to come, will once again have a living river to enjoy.