State Board Order 2009
View information on the 2011 State Board Order
The State Water Resources Control Board order allowing reduced flows during the summer of 2009 in the Russian River and setting conservation goals for all Russian River water users ended on October 2. The continued request from the Water Agency to conserve water however remains firm. The region served by the Russian River remains in drought conditions and it is unknown how much rainfall we will get this winter and spring to replenish our reservoirs. The Water Agency asks that you please continue your conservation efforts into the fall and winter.
Overall, the requirements of the State Water Resources Control Board order were met or exceeded, including a 30 percent reduction in diversions by the Water Agency from the Russian River. Storage levels at Lake Mendocino currently exceed those of prior dry years due to the careful daily management of flows in the Russian River by Water Agency operators and the conservation efforts by the Water Agency’s contractors and other Russian River water users, including those municipalities outside of the Water Agency’s service area. To date, Lake Mendocino has approximately 48,000 acre-feet of water stored behind its dam. That water is now available to be released for the migration and spawning of Chinook salmon in the Russian River this fall. The next Water Agency ENews will feature an update on the Chinook migration.
The Water Agency is grateful to its customers and Russian River water users in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, including the municipal, agricultural and business communities for stepping up and meeting the State Water Resources Control Board’s order. The Water Agency is especially appreciative to the general public for their stellar conservation efforts. Without the support and action undertaken by each and every community member, we could not have met our goals.
The Water Agency will continue to provide monthly water supply updates on its Web site and will issue a final report on its accomplishments under the order by the end of this year. View below for a full list of order reports and water supply information.
Temporary Urgency Change Petition Reports, December 2009
- Russian River Recreation Assessment Report
- Temperature and Water Quality Monitoring Summary Report
- Term 16 Water Conservation Status Report
- Fisheries Monitoring Report
- Term 18 Report
Term 15 Status Reports
- Term 15 Status Reports - The Agency is compiling monthly status reports collecting information on our contractors conservation efforts this summer.
State Water Board Documents
- State Water Resources Control Board Final Order, May 28, 2009
- State Water Resources Control Board Order, April 2009
- State Water Resources Control Board Public Workshop - May 6, 2009
- State Water Resources Control Board Order Public Notice
Water Agency Documents/Presentations
- Water Quality and Temperature Monitoring Plan to Comply with Water Rights Order WR-2009-0027-DWR
- Fisheries Monitoring Plan to Comply with Water Rights Order WR-2009-0027-DWR
- Staff Presentation to State Water Board at Public Workshop- 5/06/09
- Water Conservation Plan to Meet Requirements of Term 15 - State Water Resources Control Board Order WR 2009-0027-DWR
- Sonoma County Water Agency Temporary Urgency Change Petition
- Letter from Water Agency General Manager Randy Poole to Water Advisory Committee Regarding the State Water Board Order, 4/9/09
Russian River Water Quality Information
The following bacteria and nutrient samples are updated weekly. If you have any questions related to the samples, please call George Lincoln at 707.547.1930.
- View bacteria sample results here (updated 10/5/09). The Sonoma County Environmental Health Department Web site also includes the results.
- View nutrient sample results here (updated 9/18/09).
In coordination with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the Agency maintains five multi-parameter water quality sondes on the Russian River located at Hopland, Diggers Bend in Healdsburg, the Agencies river diversion facility (RDS) at Mirabel, Hacienda Bridge and Johnson’s Beach. The sondes take real time readings of water pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen content (DO), specific conductivity, turbidity, and depth, every 15 minutes and transmit the raw data via telemetry to the Agencies operations center. In addition, the Hopland, Diggers Bend and Hacienda Bridge (Russian R NR Guerneville CA) data is provided in cooperation with the USGS on its “Real-time Data for California” website.
For those interested in a daily set of water quality data from the sondes, the Agency offers an “email subscription” available to the public via the Agencies website. To receive water quality report e-mails, send an e-mail to RR.Quality@scwa.ca.gov with Subscribe in the subject line. To remove yourself from the e-mail list, send an email to RR.Quality@scwa.ca.gov with Unsubscribe in the subject line.
Because of the Urgency Change Order and the expected change in flows, the Water Agency, in consultation with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department, is collecting water quality samples from the Russian River at several locations from Lake Mendocino to the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner. Bacteria sample collection is being conducted each Thursday at the following Russian River recreational areas:
Commisky Station Road; Cloverdale River Park (County Park); Geyserville Hwy 128 Bridge; Alexander Valley Road Bridge; Camp Rose; Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach; Steelhead Beach; Forestville Access Beach; Hacienda Bridge; Sunset Beach; Johnson’s Beach; and multiple sites at Monte Rio Beach