Update on water supply and low flow issues
By Brenda Adelman
The low flow issue has become a very complicated subject, but we will attempt to address it as clearly as we can. First, Randy Poole, chief engineer of the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) stated at a recent meeting that “low flow” (minimal summer dam releases) would not be considered in the Biological Opinion due out from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in a few months. That document, for the time being, will only address current operations.
This document defines Federal concerns about the water system’s operational impacts on threatened and endangered fish species. New “low flow” requirements, were they to occur, could diminish summer flows so greatly that it would have a major impact on recreational activities in the lower river.