Reclamation will slash lower American River flows to only 800 cfs

Reclamation will slash lower American River flows to only 800 cfs

by Dan Bacher

Just in time for the first of the returning fall Chinook salmon on the lower American River, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced this afternoon that it is dropping water releases from Nimbus Dam from 1500 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 800 cfs between September 1 and 4.

Here's is the flow change order from Reclamation:

Project: Nimbus Dam

Please make the following release changes to the American River:

Date Time From (cfs) To (cfs)

09/01/2015 0100 1500 1400

09/01/2015 0500 1400 1300

09/02/2015 0100 1300 1200

09/02/2015 0500 1200 1100

09/03/2015 0100 1100 1000

09/03/2015 0500 1000 900

09/04/2015 0100 900 800

The reason for the cutback in flows? "Storage conservation," said Peggy Manza of Reclamation.

Over the past 3 years during a record drought, the Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources have systematically drained Folsom Reservoir, along with Trinity Reservoir on the Trinity River, Shasta Lake on the Sacramento River and Lake Oroville on the Feather River, to export subsidized water to corporate agribusiness interests on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley, Southern California water agencies and oil companies conducting fracking and other extreme oil extraction methods.

Folsom Lake is currently holding only 201,600 acre feet of water, 21 percent of capacity and 32 percent of average. The water level is 367.35 feet in elevation, 98.65 vertical feet from maximum pool.

Due to the poor management of the American and Folsom Lake by the state and federal governments, this year saw the lowest record return of Central Valley steelhead to Nimbus Fish Hatchery, only 143 adult fish. In a good season, as many as 3,000 to 4,000 adult steelhead return to the hatchery.

I worked for over two decades with a coalition of fishermen and environmentalists, most notably the Save the American River Association, to restore Central Valley steelhead - listed as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) - to the American River, the Sacramento area's "crown jewel." However, all the work of so many is being squandered to serve the insatiable greed of corporate agribusiness and Big Money interests.

“The steelhead died for a noble cause - almonds," quipped Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), in February.

California's almond orchards use almost 9 percent of the state's agricultural water supply, or about 3.5 million acre feet, according to Carolee Krieger, Executive Director of the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN). "That's enough water to supply the domestic needs of the Los Angeles Basin and metropolitan San Diego combined - about 75 percent of the state's population," she said. (http://m.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Why-almonds-cover-California-5655309.php)

During the current drought, agribusiness has expanded almond tree acreage in California by 150,000 acres, including 50,000 acres put into almond production in 2014 alone, according to USDA data. (http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/05/15/californias-thirsty-almond-acreage-grows-by-150000-acres-during-record-drought)

For many years, the Bureau of Reclamation has been reducing American River flows during the peak steelhead spawning period in the winter and spring and then again during the peak Chinook salmon spawning period in the fall - and then releasing high flows during the summer and late spring to provide export water for agribusiness and Southern California water agencies. This continuing pattern of Bureau water operations, particularly when it occurs during a record drought, only serves to drive Central Valley steelhead and salmon populations closer to the edge of extinction.

For more information, go to: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/18/1365277/-American-River-steelhead-run-is-worst-on-record