Welcome to the Sonoma County Water Agency's new and improved electronic newsletter - ENews. We updated ENews to better communicate with you on important Water Agency news and information. You will find more communications options such as links to our growing social media sites like Facebook. You will also find an expanded list of Water Agency events and meetings that we encourage you to attend. We hope you enjoy the new ENews and thank you for your ongoing interest in our water resources, environment and community! Let us know how we can continue to improve our communications with you. Send your communications tips and input to our public affairs department at publicaffairs@scwa.ca.gov.

Summer is nearly over and that means the school year has begun. The end of summer also means the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps Program is wrapping up some stream maintenance projects and the Water Agency's Water Education Program is gearing up for a busy school year ahead. Read below about how the Youth Ecology Program has worked hard to keep youth employed while improving our streams' flood protection functions and restoring natural habitat. You will also hear about our Water Education Program and their plans for the coming school year. Our youth are our future and we at the Water Agency are pleased to support them through various technical and educational programs.

Again, thank you for reading ENews and taking time out of your day to learn more about the Water Agency and how we are striving to secure our future by investing in our water resources, environment and community.

Sincerely,
Grant Davis
General Manager

School is back in session!  That means the Sonoma County Water Agency's Water Education Program is back in the classrooms of over 200 schools throughout Sonoma and northern Marin counties educating over 5,000 students.   The Water Education Program is a comprehensive approach to helping educators teach students the value of water as an important natural resource. Water conservation and stewardship of our local watersheds is promoted throughout the program. 

Highlights of the 2012 – 2013 program include:
 •Classroom instructional presentations for grade 3
•Field study opportunities for grades 4,5 & 6
•Headwaters2Ocean pilot program ( 5 classes of 5th & 6th graders)
•The Musical Watershed – a school wide assembly program
•Professional Development Workshops for teachers
• New After School Program
•Curriculum Materials for grades K-12
•Lending Library for teachers including videos, interactive models, books and printed materials
•Poster contest for grades 3 & 4 and high school video contest
 
And so much more!  Learn more about the Water Education Program by visiting our Website. 
 

Imagine picking up a pair of garden loppers in and trimming a hedge that starts in Windsor and ends at the Golden Gate Bridge. In essence that’s what the young people working for the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps have accomplished over the last four summers. Since 2009, the SCYEC has employed more than 900 young people, 14-24, in jobs throughout the county that improve the environment or the community. More than half of the crews have worked on flood control channels maintained by the Water Agency to reduce flooding and improve habitat. In total, these crews have removed and selectively trimmed invasive species, picked up trash and planted native species on more than 60 miles of creeks. They have removed tons of debris and garbage and have planted thousands of native plants that will grow into refuges for birds, fish and many other animals.

A spot in the SCYEC is coveted, with applications far exceeding the available jobs. Most of the young people are paid $8 an hour, while senior crew members (18 or older and trained to handle power tools) earn $10 an hour. For many SCYEC crew members, this is their first paid job.

“For many of the young people employed by the SCYEC, their paycheck helps pay the rent and puts food on the table,” said Water Agency Director Efren Carrillo. “It’s a great program for both the community and families.”

The $1.9 million 2012 program is administered by the Sonoma County Human Services Department. Six nonprofit youth providers hire, train and administer paychecks for youth workers. SCYEC is funded by the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) through the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board. The program also receives funding from the federal TANF program and from the Sonoma County Water Agency for work conducted on the flood control channels that the Water Agency maintains. The SCYEC receives additional support from other project hosts and through local grants, including a generous grant from the Sonoma County Fish & Wildlife Commission.  Learn more about the program at www.youthecologycorps.org.
 

The Sonoma County Water Agency is in the process of updating its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.  The Plan details efforts underway to protect water supply infrastructure during a disaster.  Public review and comments on the current Plan are welcome during the public comment period that starts on September 4 and concludes on September 28.  Read and comment on the current Plan here.

During the next week, construction will start on the first phase of a six-mile habitat enhancement project in the Dry Creek Valley. The purpose of the project, which is being conducted by the Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency) in cooperation with private landowners and by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is to provide habitat for endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead and Chinook. During the first phase of this multi-year project, an estimated 560 tons of boulders and 202 trees, root wads and logs will be used to create backwaters, side channels and shady habitat for the young fish that live in Dry Creek during the summer.  Learn more about this project.
 

During the week of September 17th to 22nd residents can drop off their unwanted medication at a participating drop off location.  View a list of the drop off locations here.

Boaters going to Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino this past Labor Day weekend met Popeye, the mussel-sniffing dog.  Popeye performed 150 voluntary boat inspections to help prevent the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels from infesting North Coast waterways.  No mussels were found.  Two public meetings have been scheduled to discuss the mussels and prevetion efforts currently being planned for Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino.  See pictures and learn more about mussel prevention efforts underway in the North Coast. 

Below are the current water supply storage capacities for the reservoirs within the Russian River water supply system: 

Lake Sonoma:  91 percent of water supply capacity

Lake Mendocino:  68 percent of water supply capacity

Lake Pillsbury (Owned and operated by PG&E):  48 percent

View current reservoir levels online.

Learn how to save water in your home and outdoors.