Salmon in Lagunitas Creek, photograph shared by Terence Carroll
We are in a historic drought and getting a preview of what a future with limited water may look like. Our water infrastructure is stressed, communities are on the verge of rationing water, and the need to find new sources of water are being explored through discussions and actions related to desalination, building water pipelines, and the implementation of new well drilling.
Often, the focus of the drought is framed on the negative impacts on people, which leaves out the impacts on our natural environment. The drought is not only impacting the human environment, it is having profound negative impacts on the natural environment and species. One only has to take a look at our watershed with dry creeks and stressed trees and vegetation to begin to get a glimpse of the implications. The natural environment needs water not only to support habitat and species, but also to recharge our community water sources.
One of the impacts not being discussed are the decisions by local water districts to adjust water release requirements to creeks to support species. Locally, Marin Water (formerly Marin Municipal Water District) has filed an emergency use petition to change the timing and reduce the amount of water that they put back into the creek to support the endangered coho salmon population. The need for this arrangement is due to the damming of the creek.
This issue is controversial. Marin Water is concerned if we receive the same amount of rainfall as we did last winter, we will run out of water by approximately June of next year. Action must be taken. We cannot rely on the historical trends of rainfall and typical water sources from the past as our climate is changing without extremely significant conservation at a minimum.
This begs the questions, 1) Should our contingency plans already include taking water away from the wild salmon who are fighting for the survival of their unique species? 2) Is there anything we can do to conserve water for species while also exploring new water sources and water conservation efforts? 3) Are we individually and collectively doing enough?
Marin Water is the largest water district in the County serving 191,000 customers. During this drought, they set a water conservation target of 40%, but have only saved 27%.
The amount of water that Marin Water would save by reducing the amount of water released to the creek is about equal to the remaining water savings goal that they have not yet met.
The Marin Water proposal to not return water to the salmon will be considered by the State Water Board without a public meeting, which is typical for these types of water rights changes. To follow up on the written comments that we submitted to Marin Water last month and our comments at the hearing, EAC submitted comments with our concerns on the impact to the fish and wildlife and has met with the State Water Board already to express our concerns. We are encouraged that Marin Water will likely be subject to rigorous monitoring standards.
We will continue to engage on water conflicts, challenges, and conservation issues , which impact both our human and natural environments. Like many complex issues, there is no magic bullet for the West’s water challenges and archaic system. problem. We will all need to explore a suite of tools including: 1) understanding and tracking the use of our current water sources, 2) developing new partnerships and coordination across jurisdictional boundaries, 3) recycling water and creating pathways to restrict potable water use for irrigation and outside water sources, 4) conserving water, 5) and changing how we think about water.
Read our comments to the State Water Board
Learn More about Marin County groundwater by reading our report, Beneath the Surface: A Proactive Analysis Exploring California and Marin County Water Resilience in a Changing Climate.
