Sierra rivers – source of much of California’s water supply – must be thoughtfully and locally managed, Amador Water Agency leaders said today, after a bill to designate 37 miles of the Mokelumne River as Wild & Scenic died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee last week. AWA opposed the bill.

The current historic drought brought into focus that State Senate Bill 1199 as written would have jeopardized the ability of Mokelumne River water managers to meet the water needs of local residents now and in the future, according to Gene Mancebo, AWA General Manager.

AWA officials expressed their appreciation to state Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto and Assembly Member Frank Bigelow, R-O’Neals, for their invaluable efforts and support.

Local water managers from seven agencies in Amador and Calaveras counties attempted to work with State Senator Loni Hancock -- Oakland, author of SB 1199, and the bill’s co-sponsors to amend the bill to protect water supplies and provide flexibility in water management, while designating the Mokelumne River “wild and scenic.”

However, the bill would have closed off the water agencies’ opportunity to expand existing facilities or develop new facilities in the tributaries upstream of the designated 37 miles in order to shore-up existing supplies and provide new supplies to meet the counties’ future water needs, according to Mancebo.

Amador County, Calaveras County Water District, Calaveras Public Utility District, Calaveras Amador Mokelumne River Authority, Jackson Valley Irrigation District, the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority and other organizations joined with AWA in proposing amendments for regional water supply flexibility, he said.

Bill co-sponsors Foothill Conservancy and Friends of the River rejected these amendments, which would not have impaired the river’s environmental values, Mancebo said. The amendments would not have changed the bill’s prohibition on new dams and other diversion structures within the designated 37 miles and would not have adversely affected the current flow requirements for the river.

Mancebo pointed out that, with the proposed amendments, agencies would still have to meet all federal, state, and local requirements for any new water supply project, such as California Environmental Quality Act, federal and state endangered species acts, National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Power Act, Antiquities and National Historic Preservation Acts, and the public trust doctrine, as well as many other regulatory requirements. 

“Any wild and scenic designation must provide local managers with flexibility while safeguarding water supplies for rural communities in Amador and Calaveras counties,” Mancebo said.

The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee due to legislators’ concerns about fiscal impacts, including $878,000 in state funds for a watershed management study that would have been unable to proceed towards implementation without significant revisions and to provide water to cities and rural areas in Amador County during droughts.

posted by TSPN TV on Thursday, Aug 21, 2014