California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Earlier this month the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted an updated emergency regulation for the Scott and Shasta River watersheds that maintains minimum flow requirements and authorizes curtailment orders in the event flows fall below those levels.
The SWRCB in a release stated the regulation was necessary to “protect imperiled fish, ensure adequate water supplies for human health and livestock needs, and support ongoing drought recovery.”
They went on to point out that over the past four years, flows in the the rivers dropped below minimum baseline-protections levels and while precipitation this year is trending above average, conditions could rapidly change.
The rivers, which are key tributaries in the Klamath watershed, are crucial water sources for Siskiyou County and are important habitat for federally and state-threatened coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout. They are also of immense economic, ecological and cultural importance to tribes and the surrounding communities.
“Successive years of dry conditions have severely impacted critical fish populations in the Scott and Shasta River watersheds, requiring us to take measures to protect their very existence,” said board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “Continuing the emergency regulation enables us to maintain minimum flows in the Scott and Shasta rivers and to help with the recovery from long-term drought impacts. Updates to the regulation also simplify the reporting and monitoring requirements.”
Located near the Oregon border, each watershed covers approximately 800-square miles and is surrounded by mountains, with large valleys, tributaries and cold-water habitats that facilitate spawning and rearing of juvenile salmon. The hydrology of the two watersheds differs significantly, however. The Scott receives more precipitation and relies heavily on snowpack for its water supply. The Shasta is dominated by volcanic formations, with high infiltration rates into groundwater aquifers that feed a strong spring system. It also has a reservoir and a watermaster to manage the resources.
