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Farmers are fallowing millions of acres, development of wastewater use is expanding, communities everywhere are conserving, and we are forced to overuse our groundwater aquifers, a solution that will come back to bite us very soon. But we have not investigated the root of the problem. We need more surface water storage if we are to meet the unnatural release and ever-increasing use of our stored water supply for fish flows directed to the ocean for unproven and overstated expected results.
Why are salmon numbers down in the Eel River? There are many reasons, including decades of over-fishing, logging that filled spawning creeks with silt, egg harvesting to ship elsewhere, the pike minnow, cannabis cultivation both legal and illegal that drains and poisons creeks—and then there is Lake Pillsbury and Scott Dam, or the Potter Valley Project.
PG&E is expediting the planned removal of Scott Dam and thus Lake Pillsbury, which is supposed to benefit salmon. Yet the construction of Scott Dam with no fish ladder blocked a minute portion of the thousands of miles of actual spawning habitat available in the Eel River drainage for salmon and steelhead. Keep in mind that fish are still spawning within this available habitat up to and including Soda Creek, Welch Creek and Panther Creek just below Scott Dam. Their historic numbers are down there too.
The Eel River Diversion has been the subject of continuous biological study. The diversion amount, rate of flow, and timing, has always been managed to mimic natural flows with the goal of improving fisheries survival and habitat. The small percentage of total water generated in the upper Eel River being diverted into the East Branch Russian River is not depriving fisheries survivability or reproduction. In fact, water stored in Lake Pillsbury is being used every day of the year to supplement normally low or dry flows throughout the summer and fall for migrations of salmon and steelhead.
It benefits no one to remove Scott Dam and the 77,000-acre feet of water storage it provides. Lake Pillsbury provides a multitude of beneficial uses within four counties, serving more than 700,000 people and wildlife. Management of this precious renewable resource is vital to California. All we need is the determination, dollars, and yes, our state and federal elected officials support to press forward with the solution to keep Scott Dam in place.
Cape Horn Dam downstream has a fish ladder but it has always been difficult to maintain. The design is unable to manage the high gravel load of the Eel River. It has been redesigned to accommodate a fish passage system with a state-of-the-art screened diversion. This will be done to protect fisheries without discontinuing the diversion completely. This could have been accomplished years ago.
Our elected representatives must step up. We all need to say enough is enough. We must protect the people’s share of developed water storage for all people and agricultural uses through a balanced formula that includes fisheries and environmental resources.
Steven Elliott, Potter Valley
Says a guy that directly benefits from the free water provided on the backs of PG&E rate payers. Pay for your own water and quit looking for tax payer handouts to support your unsustainable farming practices
Excellent letters Steve. Fair and factual.
Your comments are correct. The salmonoids are just not coming back. The Eel has main tributaries, the middle fork, south fork , the Van Duzen and other large creeks. Why are those streams so bad for returning fish? Common sense tells you that Scott Dam is not the whole reason for our loss of fish.
We need the water for fish, fire protection, agriculture, domestic use and recreation, Get real people!