Supervisor Mike McGuire tonight will host an annual community meeting along with the Dry Creek Valley Association, Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, and the Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency) from 6pm-8 pm at the Lake Sonoma Visitors Center to provide information on planned construction in Dry Creek.  Major construction will be happening in the Lambert Bridge area of Dry Creek this summer on a project to enhance habitat for endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead and Chinook. In addition, there will be information on plans for the second and third miles of habitat enhancement. All neighbors are encouraged to attend, provide feedback and ask questions.

A component of the meeting will serve as the scoping session for the beginning of the environmental process for Miles 2-6 of the habitat enhancement project. The environmental process will be outlined and a soon-to-be released Notice of Preparation (NOP) will be discussed. The NOP describes the proposed project that will be analyzed in the Environmental Impact Report and identifies the issue areas that will be studied during the environmental review.

Dry Creek carries water from Lake Sonoma to the Russian River and is a critical component of the Water Agency’s water transmission system serving 600,000 people. To learn more about NMFS’ Biological Opinion and Dry Creek requirements go to www.scwa.ca.gov/drycreek/.

Event Details
Date:  Monday, May 12
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Lake Sonoma Visitors Center 3333 Skaggs Springs Road, Geyserville, CA

Starting tonight in Sebastopol a series of public forums will be held  to discuss significant progress on the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Management Plan (Plan). These meetings will also include a unique opportunity to see information developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on groundwater in the Santa Rosa Plain that could help shape the future of water management in Sonoma County.

These forums will provide a brief look at what is being considered in the Groundwater Management Plan including possible management components, monitoring programs, and integrated water management programs. A cutting-edge Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Model (Model,) developed by the USGS, will also be described at the meetings. The model is a coupled surface water and groundwater flow model which helps predict trends in groundwater levels over a period of time based on changing water use and weather patterns. This will become an essential planning tool to sustainably manage groundwater supplies.

The Plan is being developed by a balanced group of stakeholders called the Santa Rosa Plain Basin Advisory Panel (BAP). The goal of the Plan is to locally manage and protect groundwater resources through non-regulatory measures to support all beneficial uses, including human, agriculture, and ecosystem in an environmentally sound, economical, and equitable manner.

Community Forums discussing the Plan will be held at the following locations:

Sebastopol:               
May 12 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Sebastopol Community Center
390 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472

Windsor:                   
May 14 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Windsor Library Forum Hall
9291 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor, CA 95492

Rohnert Park/Cotati:
May 21 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Rohnert Park City Council Chambers
130 Avram Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Santa Rosa:              
May 28 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
City of Santa Rosa Utilities Field Office
35 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Additional information is available online at www.sonomacountywater.org/srgroundwater.

Warmer temperatures are forecasted and that means outdoor irrigation typically increases. Now is the perfect time to check for outdoor irrigation leaks in your sprinkler or drip systems.  Learn more about this and other outdoor water saving tips at www.wateroff.org.

Regional water supplies still remain below average due to the drought.  Below are some updated water supply statistics:

Reservoir water supply storage capacities to date:
Lake Sonoma:  75%
Lake Mendocino:  45%

Cumulative rainfall totals for the time period of July 1 through May 12:

Ukiah:
Average (1894-2013) 36.16”
Current year: 16.70” which is 46.2% of average

Santa Rosa:
Average (1952-2013) 30.33”
Current Year:  18.08” which is 59.6% of average

Get updated water storage statistics at www.sonomacountywater.org.

 

Invasive mussels beware!  Popeye the mussel-sniffing dog is returning to Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino this summer to inspect watercraft for invasive quagga and zebra mussels.  Boaters at both reservoirs will be asked to voluntarily allow Popeye to inspect their watercrafts for the thumb-sized mussels that have infested 27 reservoirs in California, causing millions in damage to water infrastructure and the environment.  If a mussel is found on a boat, the boat will not be allowed to launch and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be immediately notified. Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino are currently mussel free.

The mussels reproduce quickly overtaking a waterway and destroying its natural habitats and fisheries, clog water infrastructure and result in millions of dollars in maintenance costs.  To date, the mussels have caused more than $500 million in water infrastructure damage nationwide.  Ongoing research has yet to formally find a method to removing the mussels from an infested waterway. 

Popeye will randomly inspect boats at both reservoirs between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the following dates:

May 24
May 25
June 7
June 8
July 4
July 5
August 2
August 3

Boats are the primary vector for the spread of mussels from infested waterways to non-infested waterways.  The mussels first arrived in the Great Lakes from Europe in the 1980’s and have spread to many water bodies in the eastern and Midwestern United States, including California. The first confirmed find of zebra mussels in California occurred in 2008 in San Benito County at San Justo Reservoir.  That reservoir is now closed to boating recreation due to the mussel infestation. Quagga mussels have now been found in waterways within San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties.

The voluntary mussel inspection program is sponsored by a North Coast consortium of local governments working together to develop a mandatory watercraft inspection program to help keep the mussels out of local waterways.  Learn more about the Consortium at www.dontmoveamussel.com.